Welcome to the social care sector and a career in social care that offers challenging and rewarding opportunities to work with adults, children, young people, families and older people.
You have joined the largest workforce within the NI Health and Social Care sector and your role is vital to ensuring the people you support receive the care and support they need.
Registration and Standards
As an entrance level social care practitioner, you need to register with the Social Care Council, the regulatory body for social care practitioners and social workers in Northern Ireland.
Registration with the Social Care Council requires you to work to the Standards of Conduct and Practice. The Standards describe the values, attitudes and behaviours expected of social care registrants in their day to day work and outline the knowledge and skills required for competent practice. They provide a baseline against which your conduct and practice will be judged.
To maintain your registration with the Social Care Council and to evidence that you are meeting your Standards of Conduct and Practice you must undertake and record a minimum of 90 hours of continuous learning and development during each registration period (every 5 years for social care practitioners) – this is called Post Registration Training and Learning or PRTL.
Completing continous professional learning or CPL supports you to evidence you are meeting the following standards:
- Standard of Conduct 6: As a social care worker, you must be accountable for the quality of your work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving your knowledge and skills.
- Standard of Practice 6: Develop yourself as a social care worker.
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The Care in Practice (CiP) Framework
A new Care in Practice (CiP) Framework has been developed and launched to support social care practitioners to develop professionally by providing two interlinked pathways:
- a continuous professional learning pathway, and
- a qualification pathway to support your career progression.
CiP provides a flexible continuous learning framework and qualifications pathway that puts you in charge of your continuous professional learning.
This can include the following:
- Through life, learned experience and work
- Having conversations/listening, observing, reading, questioning, mentoring and coaching (this can be with your peers and/or managers).
- Undertaking qualifications
- Attending in-house and other training
- Undertaking digital learning for e.g. Learning Zone and SCIE
- Supervision/one-to-ones
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Induction – Why is this important?
As part of your continuous professional learning and development journey, your employer must provide you with an appropriate induction. This is the first step along your continuous learning and development journey.
What is Induction?
It sets out the first things a new practitioner needs to know to allow you to do your job safely and effectively within the first three to six months of starting work.- It is a way to check your knowledge and understanding of your new role and responsibilities.
- It should help support you to identify your strengths and what additional learning you will need to improve your practice.
- As part of your induction, your employer may also support you to undertake a new employment-based entrance level qualification, the Level 2 Certificate in Safe and Effective Practice, within your first 6 months of working in the social care sector.
NB: You will be supported by your employer to complete your induction.
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Individualised Learning Plan
When you start your social care career, your employer should work with you to develop your individualised learning and development plan or personal learning plan.
These plans provide an agreement between you and your employer about your learning and development needs.
It is important that you:
- Plan your learning and development with your manager.
- Undertake your learning and development.
- Keep a record of your learning.
Go to Entrance Level Social Care Practitioner | CIP Framework to learn more.
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Learning Zone Resources
The Social Care Council have developed a range of resources to support your continuous professional learning and development journey including digital guides and learning resources providing you with more information about registration, standards and induction as follows:
- Getting Registered – What this means?
- Standards for Conduct and Practice for Social Care Practitioners
- Induction Programme for Social Care Practitioners
Scroll down to access these resources or go to Learning Resources to find out more.
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More Information and Guidance
See Associated Resources for quick access to key guidance documents including: Standards for Conduct and Practice for Social Care Practitioners, Induction Programme for Social Care Practitioners and Evidence Workbook.