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Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) and the voluntary and private sector

 

 

This section of the website is specifically designed to give information to voluntary and private sector social care employers interested in supporting newly qualified social workers (NQSWs). It will also be of interest to NQSWs who are employed in a voluntary sector or private agency irrespective of whether their job title includes 'social worker'. Scenarios and a case study are available to demonstrate the range of work that social workers perform in the voluntary and private sector and how the ASYE can be managed.

The website is intended to encourage and support voluntary and private sector employers and their newly qualified social workers to engage with the ASYE - it is a real opportunity to contribute towards developing a vibrant, well-qualified workforce equipped to deliver high quality social care outcomes across the whole sector:

  • "Here are some great opportunities in the voluntary sector for work that is challenging, rewarding in ways which drive you forwards to becoming a confident social worker" - Rebecca, a NQSW in a community based mental health service
  • "Enabling Nadifa to do her ASYE not only helped her develop individually but to progress in her role as a team member, which strengthens the service as a whole" - Manager in a domestic violence outreach service

The ASYE

For recent social work graduates, the ASYE is all about being able to continue to grow and develop as a practitioner in a structured way through a managed workload, regular supervision and access to related training and development. A newly qualified social worker's progress will be supported and assessed in a way which reflects the complexity of social work practice.

Funding of £2,000 is available to support the employer and the NQSW for the financial year 2012/13, to find detailed information about the ASYE click here.

The benefits to your organisation

If you are a small employer in the voluntary or private sector, you may have concerns about the resource implications of the ASYE. Information about the funding available to support employers can be found in ASYE 2: Registration and funding.

The benefits for small employers and the business case for the ASYE have been clearly demonstrated through the development of the Practice Learning Consortium (PLC) model, a project supported by Skills for Care. Cost benefit analysis: Building capacity within the voluntary and private sectors to support Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) in adult services provides some examples and illustrations to support this. 

As is demonstrated in this report, small voluntary sector employers have gained significant benefits from being part of the ASYE, strengthening internal professional relationships and improving outcomes for people who use services.

Support available for employers in the private and voluntary sector

The success of the project illustrated in the report above, builds upon partnerships with and between small employers. As a result of this work the Practice Learning Consortium (PLC) has been asked to extend the original project and is working with Skills for Care Area Officers to disseminate information and expertise, providing local and national support for employers.

The support available to individual employers includes:

  • information about the ASYE and how to access funding
  • links to any existing local networks and partnerships
  • guidance on sourcing and contracting with external supervisors
  • guidance on forming partnerships with other employers in your area
  • advice, training and support
  • information and advice for individual NQSWs employed in the voluntary and private sector

For those smaller employers who are thinking about setting up a partnership to deliver the ASYE, information on how the PLC has managed the process is available within the PLC model.

For larger or national organisations the PLC is developing new ways of working. They have already started to develop some joint areas of work focusing on the ASYE with a Nottingham-based Housing Association. Support to larger organisations will take the form of information events, training, consultancy and workshops.

Supporting Employer Transition Fund partnerships

Skills for Care support partnerships between local employers and universities through the Employer Transition Fund (ETF). These partnerships are being asked to include voluntary and private sector employers as formal partners. Support is available for local Employer Transition Fund partnerships who want to strengthen their links with these organisations

For the ETF partnerships, Skills for Care and the PLC can provide information about:

  • involving small voluntary and private sector employers in the ASYE
  • associated developments in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) - supervisor and assessor training
  • building capacity through partnerships between employers.

The PLC has experience of mapping exercises for voluntary sector engagement with the ASYE and may have links to employers of social workers in your area. They have also produced a series of briefing papers specifically addressing how small voluntary sector employers can meet the requirements of the ASYE. These include guidance on contracting with external supervisors and assessors and the benefits to small employers of registering newly qualified social workers for the ASYE.

Details of local partnerships and contacts are available on the ETF Partnerships
page.

Sufficiency, range and complexity of work

An important element of the ASYE is that newly qualified social workers undertake a sufficient range and complexity of work to meet the standards identified in the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF). Questions had been asked as to whether social workers in the voluntary and private sector work at the same level of complexity as their counterparts in the statutory sector. The evidence available shows that social workers across all settings manage complex and challenging casework - dealing with assessments, safeguarding, legal interventions and multi-agency working. The ASYE will ensure that newly qualified social workers are able to work safely and independently with people who use services and carers . You can read a number of scenarios which demonstrate the sufficiency, range and complexity of work undertaken by social workers in the voluntary sector.

Assessment - case study

One of the innovative features of the ASYE is the use of holistic assessment which focuses on a social worker's performance and progression over the year to meet the standards described in the PCF, more information is available ASYE 3: Support and assessment.

Holistic assessment is designed to be flexible and creative, using a variety of sources of information. Employers are being encouraged to develop their own approach to holistic assessment in partnership with other employers or universities to ensure a consistency of standards. More information about this is available in ASYE 5: Informing judgements and processes.

For an example of how holistic assessment works in practice and how social workers in voluntary sector settings have met the standards, 'Lana'- a case study in developing evidence for assessment will be available shortly

Additional case studies are available which illustrate:

  • the standard required for successful completion of the ASYE
  • holistic assessment.

Contact us

If you would like further information about the support available to third sector employers, please contact  Skills for Care by email to asye@skillsforcare.org.uk or to contact the Practice Learning Consortium use the details below:

Practice Learning Consortium (PLC):