14-19 Society Health and Development Diploma

14-19 Diplomas were introduced by the Government as set out in the 14 -19 White Paper "14-19 Education & Skills" (February 2005).

Part of the reason for their development was recognition (in large part due to feedback from employers) that a greater emphasis in education needed to be on the development of transferable, work relevant skills. The need was also recognised for a more flexible learning route that provided the opportunity for every young person to achieve success.

It is envisaged that the Diploma will help keep young people in learning for longer - and give them a sufficiently broad education to progress to further/higher education or employment.

Diplomas are not intended as a direct preparation for an occupation, but require the development of good basic skills and broader skills desired by employers.

In addition to adult social care, the Society, Health & Development (SHD) Diploma incorporates health, community justice and the children and young people's workforce.

The Diploma is one of a range of options that 14-19 year olds are able to choose from.

What does the Diploma mean for the Adult Social Care sector?

Along with Skills for Health, Skills Active and Skills for Justice, Skills for Care (through its employer consultations) has worked hard to ensure that the content of the Society, Health and Development Diploma reflects our real world of work.

It provides the young person with the opportunity to integrate personal learning and thinking skills (which include team working, self-management and creative thinking) directly into social care and helps them make the link between learning and relevance to work.

The Diploma's design means that young people will have the opportunity to develop essential employability skills which are valued by people who use services and employers, along with gaining an insight into the current and future practices and work in adult social care. This will support the young person to make an informed career choice.

Why should employers get involved?

By getting involved there are potentially many recruitment and retention benefits to employers, particularly the opportunity to raise their profile as a local employer with schools and colleges and influence the development and 'growing' of the local social care workforce.

To succeed it will be important to develop a good partnership with your local consortium; its schools and colleges.

Through this partnership you will be able to help support and develop the teachers' understanding of our world of work; how this has and continues to change, and the job career opportunities available in adult social care.

The expertise offered by employers, organisations, staff and people who use services from a range of services and fields will enable the teachers to deliver the breadth and depth of adult social care in the diploma.

It will be important for young people to have the opportunity to apply their learning directly into the social care context, along with other work related activities such as placements and talking to employers, staff and people who use services all who have significant hands on expertise and knowledge about the social care sector.

Your involvement can be invaluable in developing the young persons understanding of what social care is about and to support teachers in developing the skills needed in social care so that young people will be better able to fit into the work environment and undertake job specific training from the start of their employment.

Through two consultations, employer contributions have already influenced the content of the principal learning and criteria development of our Society, Health and Development diploma so they can be of real benefit to the workforce.

How can Employers support the Diploma?

As an employer you are a critical partner in your local consortium. Your direct involvement is essential to ensure that young people gain a full appreciation of the breadth and depth of the sector and the opportunities available.

The following activities are an example of how employers can be involved. However, this list is not exhaustive - you may have other initiatives and examples:

• Playing a role in teacher training days
• Offering student work placements
• Supporting the development of learning resources for teachers
• Delivering talks in local schools
• Offering work-based visits for groups of pupils
• Providing opportunities for work shadowing

To find out how an employer in Hackney is supporting their local consortia please click here

If you would like to be put in touch with your local consortia, please contact your regional Skills for Care 14 19 lead

Further Information

For further information about the content of the Diploma as well as the resources available please e-mail: diploma@skillsforhealth.org.uk or visit the SHD Diploma website: http://shd.skillsforhealth.org.uk/

The Diploma Support website (www.diploma-support.org) contains useful resources for practitioners.

Information about the full range of Diplomas can be found at: http://www.education.gov.uk/16to19/qualificationsandlearning/thediploma

Teacher Resource Pack created by our North West region: http://northwest.skillsforcare.org.uk/entry_to_social_care/recruitment/teacher_resource_pack.aspx