Sector Engagement on the Codes of Practice for Social Care Employers and Workers, Practice Guidance

IntroductionSocial Care Wales is the regulator of the social care workforce in Wales. That means we register practitioners, set standards of practice, and make sure workers are fit to practise. We are also responsible for developing and improving the workforce, improving services, and supporting people to use research and data. We are funded by the Welsh Government.The Code of Professional Practice for Social Care Employers and the Code of Professional Practice for Social Care Workers underpin the regulatory work of Social Care Wales. They are reinforced by the improvement and development department through their work and are embedded throughout the suite of health and social care qualifications, the learning outcomes of the social work degree and the recently launched health and wellbeing framework cross reference the codes. For a user of care and support the Code of Professional Practice for Social Care Workers also sets out what they can expect from the people providing their care and support.Alongside the codes, there is Practice Guidance relevant to all registered roles. This describes what is expected of a registered person in that role and aims to support workers to deliver good care and support. The Practice Guidance builds on the Code of Professional Practice for Social Care Workers. The Practice Guidance is not enforceable but used to provide further information around certain elements of the code and practice.The Fitness to Practise Principles are currently an internal document used by the Fitness to Practise Team when making recommendations about cases related to registered social care workers. To date, the principles have not been consulted on or publicised with the sector and/or the public.What is required – “The Requirements”Since the last review of the codes in 2017, the Register has grown with the inclusion of domiciliary care workers, adult care workers as well as six other smaller groups. There are Welsh Government Action plans that need to be reflected in the resources including the Anti – racist Wales action plan, and other action plans due to be published that will also need to be considered.Social Care Wales wants to review:- Code of Professional Practice for Social Care Employers- Code of Professional Practice for Social Care Workers- Practice guidance for all registered groups~ The social worker – practice guidance~ The residential child care worker – practice guidance~ The social care manager – practice guidance~ The domiciliary care worker – practice guidance~ The adult care home worker – practice guidance- Fitness to Practise PrinciplesOutput1. Project plan identifying key milestones, project methodology, project management approach and issues/risk management2. Discovery phase- Work already carried on the resources- Where there are links with other work- Learning from other organisations who have done similar things3. A stakeholder engagement plan including methods and engagement approaches to engage with stakeholders across the social care sector, Users of Care and Support in Wales and internal Social Care Wales working groups4. Engagement resources5. Engage with the Social Care Wales working groups to understand:- what they think of the current resources (as listed above)- how they are used in their role/team/work- what could improve them- changes in format/audience- implications for changes6. Engagement with individuals and organisations in Wales through a variety of methods including focus groups to understand:- what they think of the current resources- how they are used in their role/team/work- what could improve them- changes in format/audience- implications for changesThis engagement is to be completed by 30 September 20237. Produce a report setting out the findings of the engagement including:- the social care sector’s current view of the resources- recommendations for amendments to the resources- recommendations of ways to increase usage, promotion and embed the resources into practice- Following the initial engagement, produce amended resourcesPlease see specification for further information