social work section heading

The evaluation of the implementation of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)

Return to the full range of ASYE pages

Skills for Care (SfC) has commissioned HOST Policy Research (HOST) to conduct an independent evaluation of the implementation of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) in the adult social care (ASC) sector.

Building upon the existing NQSW framework, the ASYE aims to ensure that NQSWs receive consistent support in their first year of practice so that they are able to become confident and competent professionals.

It is important that the ASYE is evaluated in order to ensure that it is meeting its core objectives to improve the profession of social work. Specific areas under scrutiny will be:

  • The quality and perceived usefulness of the support materials issued by SFC and the DfE, including the capability statements and other additional resources to support the implementation of the ASYE
  • The communications process, including the clarity of the messages issued and the consistency between the outputs from the various bodies involved in the ASYE
  • The delivery and assessment of the ASYE, including how this differs from the previous NQSW framework, how employers are informing their judgements about the ASYE assessment and how well the expectations of employers and NQSWs have been met in relation to supervision, workload management and dedicated development time.
  • The overall success (or otherwise) of the implementation and on-going delivery of the ASYE and how this contributes to the Reform Board's objectives.

The evaluation will cover the period from September 2012, when the ASYE was launched, until October 2013, when the majority of the first cohort of Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) will be completing their ASYE.

This piece of work will be gathering feedback from NQSWs and their employers (predominantly their line managers/assessors) through a variety of methods:

In addition, a series of depth interviews will be undertaken with key stakeholders from across the sector. Many of these stakeholders have also been invited to sit on a 'virtual' steering group for the project to ensure that a wide range of views and perspectives are represented by the project.

All participating organisations and their NQSWs will be invited to participate in the evaluation. Organisations, who are receiving funding of £2,000 per NQSW to facilitate the implementation, will have agreed to participate in the evaluation as a condition of their funding. They will be asked to encourage all of their NQSWs to participate in the evaluation and we anticipate that a large proportion of them will.

The anticipated timescale for the evaluation is:

September/October     2012
  • First cohort of organisations sign up to the ASYE
  • HOST/SfC develop the research tools
  • Application made to ADASS to research approval
  • Applications made to NHS R&D sites (where appropriate)

November/December 2012
  • NQSWs asked to consent to participate in the evaluation
  • First survey sent to employers / NQSWs (cohort one)
  • HOST to attend one of SfC's early implementation workshops (in an observer capacity)

January/February         2013
  • Second cohort of organisations sign up to the ASYE
  • First survey sent to employers / NQSWs (cohort two)
  • Second survey sent to employers / NQSWs (cohort one)
March/April                      2013
  • Second cohort of organisations sign up to the ASYE
  • Telephone interviews with sample of organisations not signing up to the ASYE in the first year
  • Three case study visits (cohort one)
  • Four focus groups (cohort one)

May/June                        2013
  • Second survey sent to employers / NQSWs (cohort two)
July/August                      2013
  • Final survey sent to employers / NQSWs (cohort one)
  • Three case study visits (cohort two)
  • Two focus groups (cohort two)
September/October      2013
  • Final report due (end October 2013)

If you have any further queries about this evaluation, please do not hesitate to contact us at: nqsw@skillsforcare.org.uk

Return to the full range of ASYE pages