Question reference: S4W-30395
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 7 March 2016
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Current status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 March 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a target for upskilling social workers through advanced clinical postgraduate training in attachment.
Answer
Social work qualifying courses have been specifically identified as having a systemic focus on attachment in a mapping study commissioned by the Scottish Government that reported in December 2012.
https://www.celcis.org/files/4814/3817/9734/Attachment-Matters-For-All.pdf.
All social work qualifying courses must meet the Standards in Social Work Education, which include the need for students to understand psychological and physiological theories of individual and social development, identity and functioning from infancy onwards.
The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a target for advanced clinical postgraduate attachment training for social workers, however the Standards for Social Work Education are being reviewed by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC, a Scottish Government non-departmental public body) to ensure they reflect changes in policy and practice.
The SSSC also provides a range of support to employers of social service workers to help them deliver their responsibilities to support and assist workers to achieve the qualifications required for the role they undertake and for their continuing professional development.