social work section heading

Social Work Manager Development

A national framework to support the learning and development needs of frontline social work managers

This framework has been developed by Skills for Care and the National Skills Academy for Social Care working in partnership with a number of wider stakeholders.

The framework draws closely from work undertaken in 11 demonstrator sites across England that include input by people who use services, local authorities, higher education institutions and voluntary and community organisations. These sites are listed in the acknowledgements section. 

The findings have also been tested out with a number of national and local bodies, such as the Social Work Reform Board and have been presented to, and incorporate feedback from, workshops and conferences with a wide range of stakeholders.

 

The sections of the framework

To meet the needs of this range of audiences the products aim to be flexible and "searchable" allowing people to access the areas they need and to leave the rest, whilst at the same time working together as a coherent whole for those who wish to understand the process of framework development and underlying principles, as well as the specific elements. Therefore, this document is supported by a number of clickable sections, which are outlined in the below diagram and can be accessed by the menu on the right-hand side.

Each section is designed to provide examples of best practice, links to useful tools and research evidence to support planning and implementation of effective leadership and development which makes a positive impact.

 

1. Before you start - elements to consider in the pre-planning phase 

2. Establishing and agreeing underlying principles

3. Identification of development needs 

4. Agree the desired outcomes and 5. Delivery methods

6. Organisational 'fit'

7. Assessment of impact

8. Put in place a system to assure quality

Who the framework will support

The framework is designed to support first line managers in social work services for adults. The Framework aims to be presented in a manner which is easily accessible and relevant to a number of audiences which include:-

  1. Front line practitioners who are aspiring managers and wish to understand the skills and knowledge required to move into a management role and to support identification of their development needs.
  2. Front line managers who are either new to management or in a new role and wish to use the framework to identify their development needs.
  3. Established frontline managers who wish to maintain and improve their skills and work effectively in a changing context.
  4. HR and professional development staff who want to understand the development needs of a key group of managers, possibly as part of a restructure or workforce re-design process.
  5. Senior managers who wish to change their service by supporting managers to work in different ways / take on different responsibilities.
  6. Training providers and awarding bodies who are seeking to develop and accredit programmes to meet the needs of social work managers. 

 

The bigger picture

Although the framework is designed specifically for use in social work services for adults a number of the demonstrator sites have been working across both adults and children's services. This website also references work which is applicable across the wider social care sector.

An overview report titled Making of the Framework provides a background and overview of the methodology and process used in the development of the framework and a number of the models in it maybe useful to those who are seeking to draw learning from a range of projects.