SWS: Change programmes

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Practice governance

To develop practice governance that:

ensures and supports the delivery of safe and effective practice
allows professionals to deliver services in an innovative, responsible and accountable way

ANDREW LOWE, CHAIR, PRACTICE GOVERNANCE

‘Much has happened since the last Changing Lives newsletter in the world of practice governance.

‘Along with other Chairs I attended a Northern Learning Network Conference in Aberdeen in March. One of the noticeable responses from Aberdeen was the need to be clear about our terms — what is practice governance?What is citizen’s leadership? At the subsequent practice governance meeting we determined to provide a glossary of terms used and definitions of them.

‘Later in March, the group had a session with Phil Cropper, Air Traffic Services, Regional Manager at the Civil Aviation Authority about the practice governance of air traffic controllers. This may seem a big leap from SocialWork but there are many useful connections and a lot of lessons learned that will inform our thinking around safe practice, and procedures which empower professionals to make good decisions and support them when things go wrong.

‘After attending a meeting of the Users and Carers Forum to find out about their work on Citizen Leadership, we agreed to offer their document concerning the Principles and Standards for Citizen Leadership to agencies in Scotland on a consultation basis. If the document is supported we will seek its approval as guidance for this area of work.

‘We are working on identifying the key principles of the role of the Chief SocialWork Officer.We have now drafted a document which sets out the rolein detail and we have begun a round of consultation with discussion at the National SocialWork Services Forum and with the Chief SocialWork Officers. with a wider consultancy event at some point.’

August 2008

The draft guidance on the Role of the Chief Social Work Officer has now been agreed with ADSW, COSLA, SOLACE and representatives of NHS Community Health Care Partnerships. The Group will shortly be seeking Ministerial and Cabinet approval to issue the guidance for formal consultation. A team of consultants have been commissioned to help develop a Practice Governance Framework for Social Work Services. Following an initial presentation to the Group, a revised specification setting out a clear vision of what the Framework should look like is being produced. Further work is currently being carried out on the Reserved Functions of a Social Worker paper. The Principles and Standards of Citizen Leadership was published in April.

Next Meeting of Practice Governance Group: 9 September

March 2008

The Practice Governance Group met on 29th January and discussed the principles and requirements of the role of the Chief Social Work Officer. Following discussions with ADSW and SOLACE, the proposals regarding the role of the CSWO will now go out for wider consultation. The group is also commissioning work on populating a Practice Governance Framework that has been developed.

December 2007

The Practice Governance Group met on 6 November and discussed the principles and requirements of the role of the Chief Social Work Officer. The requirement that every local authority should have a CSWO is set down in legislation and one of the elements of the 21st Century Review of social work services was a strengthening of the governance and leadership roles of the Chief Social Work Officer. In developing this the group identified a number of key issues that need to be clarified and addressed, including role and function, scope, rights and responsibilities and accountability and reporting arrangements. An initial discussion was held at the National Social Work Services Forum in September and initial discussions have been held with ADSW and SOLACE. An outline for a Practice Governance Framework has been developed and work will continue on populating that.

Themes

Practice governance impacts on and relates to every strand of social work services. Changing Lives visualises social work practitioners who are responsible and accountable practitioners. This means that they need to be equipped and supported to make decisions with their clients safely and effectively. This also means that they must have greater freedom to find innovative solutions to complex problems.

This vision creates significant challenges for organisational leadership and management. A clear framework of accountability, responsibility and practice governance will be required to take this forward.

Workstreams

The Practice Governance Change Programme will take forward work under the following six workstreams: Developing and implementing a framework for accountability, responsibility and practice governance, Developing a research and development strategy, Developing tools to inform evidence based practice and risk management, Developing a new approach to citizen leadership, Chief Social Worker and Consultation and supervision

Please click here to view the Practice Governance Groups Workplan 2007