One portal – a world of social care knowledge

ADASS members received presentations from 5 agencies focussed on supporting sector-led improvement at their recent Gateshead seminar, namely:

· The Local Government Group

· Skills for Care

· Social Care Institute for Excellence

· Research in practice for Adults

· National Skills Academy – social care

The unanimous opinion of those present summed up by ADASS Workforce Network Chair Jo Cleary was – that’s great, we didn’t know that’s what you did and good to see it all in one place in a leaflet.

The challenge was laid to down to take things further through a single portal on the web. Thereby the participants thought life could be made easier for those seeking the best support, advice and knowledge. ADASS members clearly want a cooperative support service where organisations complement and augment each other rather than a competitive one where there is duplication and complexity.

CPEANOSE has searched web for the leaflet to no avail so has reproduced it here as a starter to the single portal:

http://www.cpea.co.uk/knowingwhatworks.html

Help give (residential) child care a professional voice

The Institute of Childcare and Social Education (ICSE), of which I am Interim Chair, held a General Meeting on 14 March 2011. Discussion was lively, and the main thrust was to focus on the needs of registered managers of children’s homes, who hold the key to the quality of services provided, need first-rate support and training, and deserve professional recognition through registration.

It is a time of threats to services because of budget cuts and I believe it is time for the child care profession to get involved, and provide support and leadership to its own; monitoring the impact of government cuts, pointing to alternatives.

ICSE has now been relaunched as a body for concerned professionals to come together and make sure that both practitioners and managers have a voice. It is not only a matter of facing the government’s cuts squarely. There is also a lot positive going on such as the introduction of social pedagogy, educational therapeutics and restorative practice, the development of play and the continued impact of children’s centres.

Ways need to be found to ensure that the positive momentum of these developments is not lost, and that the services survive the cuts till the financial times become easier.

If these matters are of concern to you, join the ICSE and help to give your profession a voice, then please get in touch at info@icse.org.uk