Standard 8 is about creating strong partnerships and collaborating with stakeholders to recruit, retain, develop and support the social work workforce. Stakeholders include employers, sector bodies, government, unions, higher education institutions and other training providers.
Supporting the workforce and improving service through partnership
Employers should:
- engage with local, regional and national social work partners (including regional alliances, safeguarding partners, Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and national social work bodies) in a commitment to continuous improvement across the organisation
- engage with advisory groups and networks (such as the QAA SBSS Advisory Group and Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard Independent Advisory Group) to keep up to date with best practice and contribute to improvement across the sector
- implement formal partnership arrangements with social work education providers that promote and enable effective joint planning (in particular for the provision of placements in a statutory social work setting), shared communication and activities to further the delivery of social work education and CPD
- engage in networks to promote and share best practice and develop opportunities for joint research and evaluation. These relationships will enable social workers to participate in research-based activity, grounded in the principles of the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research
Developing future social workers through partnership
Employers should:
- provide high quality placements and support for social work students by drawing on strong partnerships with stakeholders
- contribute to the recruitment and retention of social work students locally, regionally and nationally by engaging with sector initiatives and working with partners
- work collaboratively with partner organisations to consistently deliver and improve high quality social work education.