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General Social Care Council \| Social Work Connections
In this issue:		08 December 2010


Section 1	Introduction	Print-friendly version
Section 2	News
Section 3	Features

December 2010 • Issue 11

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Reflect and analyse what's going on in our practice.

Discuss with other social workers the training you have been on and found beneficial, as well as the renewals process as a whole.

Discuss its implications with one another.

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Welcome to the December 2010 issue of Social Work Connections. You will have noticed that your newsletter looks quite different – this is to make it easier for you to find the articles of interest to you and also to keep you more connected with the news and updates on our main website www.gscc.org.uk . There are now links to the new forum for social workers and students, so you know what the hot topics are and can log straight into them. We hope you like the new design, and if you have any feedback or suggestions, please use our comments page . In this issue you will find information about our new website, the social worker events we've been attending and the latest update on our transfer to the HPC. You can also read our feature articles, which include a student's experiences during her practice placement, what our latest poll results told us about your views on drug, alcohol and substance misuse training within the Social Work Degree and progress on social work reforms to date. We hope you enjoy this issue.

Update on the transfer of GSCC's functions to the HPC As reported in the last edition, the Government has announced that the GSCC's functions will be transferred to the Health Professions Council (HPC) by April 2012 at the earliest. We don't yet know any more details of the timings of the transfer but the Health and Social Care Bill which is where the changes will be made provision for is expected to be published early in the New Year. Until the transfer your registration arrangements with us do not change. You are still required to maintain your registration, pay your annual fee, renew your registration, and complete post-registration training and learning. Read more
New GSCC website with forum for social workers Last month we re-launched our website – www.gscc.org.uk . The biggest development for social workers is a private forum where you can engage in two-way dialogue with us, as well as other social workers and students, on regulatory and social work issues. Read more		Registration renewal reminder Over 40,000 social workers are due to renew their registration with us over the next few months. If this applies to you, we will send you a reminder letter and renewal form three months before your registration expires. Read more

Social work events SCIE materials		Conduct hearing outcomes

High demand for drug, alcohol and substance misuse training to be included in Social Work Degree

Drug and substance abuse (c) Ashley Rose 2008

Social Work Connection readers want the social work degree to include training on drug, alcohol and substance misuse, according to the results of our latest poll .

More than 880 people responded to the poll, with an overwhelming 89 per cent saying they thought that training on drug, alcohol and substance misuse should be included within the core learning of the social work degree. Just 11 per cent said it should continue to be offered within post-qualifying courses.

The Education Working Group of the Social Work Reform Board is reviewing the content and delivery of the curriculum framework for social work. As part of this, they will be considering whether there needs to be more emphasis on certain issues including drug, alcohol and substance misuse training in the social work degree. Getting the right balance of all the knowledge, skills and values to prepare social workers for the complex and demanding jobs they do in many different settings is difficult. This is why opportunities for continuing professional development offer more specialist training.

Anecdotally we know that a large number of social workers have dealings with matters relating to drug, alcohol and substance abuse and would benefit from this training. This poll has also revealed to us the strength of your feelings and as a result we will convey your view to the Education Working Group at the next meeting on 13 December.

Have your say on the GSCC's online forum . Read more

Practice placements

Hannah Prescott is studying for a masters in social work at the University of Central Lancashire and is in her second year of study. During her first year she completed a placement at Creative Support, a not-for-profit company in Blackburn that provides services for people with learning disabilities, mental health problems and other needs. Here she talks about her first practical experience of social work.

Decision dice for making a choice (c) snigl3t 2007

If you fear that a colleague is working in a way that puts the safety of service users at risk should you report them? It’s a dilemma that many social workers will face at one time or another and your response will say a lot about the way you see your job and your profession.

Illustrative progress chart (c) GSCC 2010

The drive to strengthen social work that began when the last Government set up the Social Work Task Force in the wake of public concern about the Baby Peter case continues under the new administration.

Newsletter of the General Social Care Council

Editorital statement
Social Work Connections, the offical electronic newsletter of the General Social Care Council, is produced by the editorial team of the GSCC and provides a quarterly round up of news and information for registered professionals working in the field of social work.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission

ISSN 1757-5354

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Edited by the GSCC
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Update on the transfer of GSCC's functions to the HPC

New GSCC website with forum for social workers

Registration renewal reminder

High demand for drug, alcohol and substance misuse training to be included in Social Work Degree

Practice placements

A duty to 'whistle blow'?

Progress on social work reforms

Newsletter of the General Social Care Council