Social Work Qualifications and Regulation in European Economic Area (EEA)

1. Social Work Qualifications and Regulation in European Economic Area (EEA) Dr Shereen Hussein Senior Research Fellow Social Care Workforce Research Unit King’s College London shereen.hussein@kcl.ac.uk Presentation prepared for the IFSW

2. Rational for the research • Commissioned by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and Skills for Care and Development (SfC&D) • Increasing mobility of social work (SW) professionals across Europe and Beyond. • Demand for a transparent and fair approach to facilitate SW mobility within the European Economic Area (EEA) • Diversity of SW qualification and regulation processes across Europe Dr Shereen Hussein

3. Research aims • Provide up-to-date and standardised information on the status of social work profession and its regulation in the EEA. • To assist the GSCC, and subsequently HPC, and other European regulatory bodies in decision-making process. • Facilitate SW mobility across Europe. • Identify areas of commonality and diversity in SW training and regulation across Europe Dr Shereen Hussein

4. Research methods • Took place from December 2010 to June 2011 • Examined non-UK qualified SW professionals statistics • Reviewed the literature • Collected primary data from 24 European countries through an online survey and electronic communications • Documentary data analysis of communications and documents held by the GSCC Dr Shereen Hussein

5. Social Work professional activities in the EEA • Variability of activities • Most countries identifying ‘Assessing individuals, families, cares risks needs’ as one of the main SW activities • Least number of countries identifying ‘statutory responsibility of individuals they are working with’ or ‘advocacy’ as main core SW activities Dr Shereen Hussein

6. Dr Shereen Hussein

7. Social work regulatory and professional bodies in EEA countries • Among the 22 countries completing the survey, 12 (54.5%) indicated that social work is considered to be a regulated profession according to Article 3.1(a) of the Directive. • Out of the 10 countries indicating that the profession is not regulated, • half (5) indicated that SW education and training are regulated and geared towards the profession. • The majority of countries (n=13) have recognised (usually national) social work professional bodies. Dr Shereen Hussein

8. Social work education and qualifications • Majority of qualifications are geared toward social work, however, definitions of social work are very variable. • Great variability of practice placement lengths, timing and supervision. • Inconsistencies in monitoring and assessing fitness to practise. Dr Shereen Hussein

9. Internal Market Information • The survey collected information on whether each country intends to use the Internal Marketing Information (IMI), and the European Certificate of Current Professional Status. • Out of the 22 countries responding to the survey, 12 indicated their intention to use IMI, 4 indicated that they do not intend to use it and 6 did not provide information Dr Shereen Hussein

10. Country by country details • The report includes details of SW activities, qualifications and regulation for 24 EEA countries: • http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/sshm/scwru/pubs/2011/hussein2011eea.pdf Dr Shereen Hussein

11. Conclusion • The research has produced very valuable information on the social work profession, education and training, and regulation in a considerable number of European countries. • The overall analysis indicates the variation of social work activities and regulatory systems across Europe. • Of particular interest is the fact that taking statutory responsibility for individuals, whether children, families or older people, was not regarded to be part of social workers duties and activities in a considerable number of European countries. Dr Shereen Hussein

12. Points for further discussions • Interpretation difficulties and different layers of regulation, definitions, terminologies and the potential for lost meaning in translated texts • Opportunities through the EC Internal Market Information System (IMI) for mutual exchange on qualifications and regulatory fitness to practiseissues. • Extent and integration of practice learning, assessed alongside course curriculum or thereafter for the award of the qualification. Dr Shereen Hussein

13. Special thanks to • Catherine Holland, Social Care Innovation Hub: C.holland@leeds.ac.uk • Cathrine Clarke, Policy and Research Adviser, General Social Care Council: Cathrine.Clarke@gscc.org.uk • Further information, please contact: • Dr Shereen Hussein, Senior Research Fellow, King’s College London: shereen.hussein@kcl.ac.uk • (44) 207 8481669 Dr Shereen Hussein