What will the new regulator expect of social workers? On 1 August, regulation of social workers
in England will transfer to the renamed Health and Care Professions Council. The HPC’s Michael Guthrie outlines the new arrangement
A
ll social workers registered with the General Social Care Council (GSCC) on 31 July will automatically transfer to our
register on 1 August. Social workers should ensure they maintain their GSCC registration so that they can transfer without completing additional paperwork. The GSCC currently sets codes of practice, which social workers in England must meet to remain registered, and sets post-registration training and learning requirements (PRTL). When we take over regulation, social workers will need to meet our standards to stay registered, rather than the GSCC’s.
Conduct, performance and ethics These standards apply to all professions we regulate and are similar to the GSCC’s codes of practice. They are ethical standards, setting out the conduct and behaviour expected of registrants, including social workers. We will begin reviewing them by early 2013.
Profi ciency These are competency standards, setting out what is necessary for safe and eff ective practice. They explain what a student social worker must know, understand and be able to do by the time they
have completed their training, so that they can register with us. Once on our register, social workers must meet those standards of profi ciency that relate to the areas in which they work. The standards are complementary to the professional capabilities framework, which sets out the key capabilities expected of social workers as their career develops. We brought together stakeholders from
across the fi eld of social work in England to help us draft the standards. We also consulted on the standards to ensure they refl ected the values and principles of social work practice. We have recently agreed the standards and will publish them before the transfer.
Continuing professional development Once registered, social workers will need to meet our continuing professional development (CPD) standards, instead of the GSCC’s PRTL requirements. To meet these, social workers must undertake CPD that is relevant to their current or future role, and which they believe will benefi t their practice and service users.
Find out more We will carry out communications work before and after the transfer, will hold events for social workers and employers, attend conferences and write to all GSCC registered social workers. We have also prepared some frequently asked questions, which you can fi nd here. For information on the social worker
events we are holding visit the events section of our website.
Michael Guthrie is director of policy and standards at the Health Professions Council