Social care managers and frontline staff in direct contact with service users should be the next groups to join the Social Care Register, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) will recommend to Government.
The recommendation follows a three-month sector-wide consultation carried out by the workforce regulator in England which generated a high response from across the sector.
The majority of respondents backed the GSCC’s proposal to register social care managers as the next priority group after the registration of qualified social workers, with 179 of the 225 respondents in favour. This was based on the role managers have in setting the organisational culture and the responsibility they have for supervising other social care workers.
However, a substantial number of those responding to the consultation argued that the order should give a higher priority to social care workers who pose the highest risk to service users. As a result, the Council will recommend to the Government that outreach and domiciliary care workers, residential childcare workers and those working in residential family centres should be the next groups to be registered along with social care managers.
Chair of the GSCC Rodney Brooke said:
“As soon as the Government gives the GSCC the go ahead we will start work on detailed arrangements for extending registration to all social care workers. Registration is vital in ensuring the workforce is properly trained, checked and accountable. Focusing on those that set the organisational tone and those who work most closely with vulnerable service users means that registration will help assure high standards and benefit service users throughout the sector as quickly as possible.”
“We are grateful to all the helpful responses received during this consultation. The GSCC Council has taken note of the concerns and suggestions of the sector to produce some robust recommendations on this important issue, carrying the sector’s support, for Government’s decision.”
The GSCC will consult on details of how the registration process will work for the next groups to be registered.
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gscc 033.04 25 November 2004
Notes to editors:
1. The proposed order for registration after qualified social workers and social work students in the consultation was:
· social care managers;
· outreach and domiciliary care workers, residential child care workers, and those working in residential family centres;
· other residential care workers;
· staff working in adoption and fostering agencies, and adult placement services; and
· inspection and training staff in social care.
2. Having considered the informed feedback the Council will recommend the following order for the next groups for registration to the Minister:
· Outreach and domiciliary care workers, residential child care workers and those working in residential family centres to be registered at the same time as social care managers. Social care managers refer to all those responsible for the management of social care services, whether they are registered managers, duty managers or others with responsibility for overseeing and being accountable for decisions and services provided;
· Other residential care workers and those working in day services;
· Staff working in adoption and fostering agencies and adult placement services; and
· Inspection and training staff in social care.
3. The Council also feel there is a need to address further the question of which roles involving outreach work and one-to-one assessment working alone with service users should be included under the “outreach” category in the priority order, and have made this recommendation to Government.
Some concerns were raised about the parts of the care sector that currently fall outside the current regulatory framework by some respondents to the consultation, namely those employed by direct payment recipients, domiciliary care workers offering non-personal care and day service staff. Government have also been made aware of this.
4. The Government will now decide which groups of social care worker should be registered next. The GSCC intends to consult on how registration will be implemented for the next groups, once these have been decided. The register will not open to the next groups of social care worker set out in this consultation until later in 2005 or in 2006.
5. The GSCC considered factors such as whether service users were in particularly vulnerable groups (including children at risk or in care, young people with learning disabilities, people with mental illness, older people); whether the care setting heightened the risk (such as those cared for in their own homes, in residential care, day centre); and level of responsibility held by certain types of care worker (such as managers, trainers, educators, those involved in inspection or regulation).
6. Earlier this year following its elder abuse enquiry, the Health Select Committee highlighted concern “that service users may be placed at continuing risk from day-to-day contact with unregistered care workers” and that domiciliary care workers and other care workers needed to be registered without delay.
7. Qualified social workers were the first group to be registered by the GSCC and they need to be registered before the legal restriction, protection of title, comes into force on 1 April 2005. Social workers can call 0845 070 0630 for help with registration.
8. The General Social Care Council came into being on 1 October 2001. It was set up in England under the Care Standards Act 2000 to establish codes of conduct and practice for social care workers and employers, to set up a register of social care workers and to regulate social work education and training. Similar bodies exist in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.