Proposed structure for the Children and Young People's Workforce ...

2010- Workforce Strategy Draftpeople’s workforce is called ‘the big deal’. It maps out the skills, knowledge andcompetences the workforce needs for the future; this will form the basis for agreements, or‘deals’ to be made between employers, education and training providers, funding agencies,sector skills councils and Government about how these future skills and qualifications will bedeveloped.The SSA is designed to:• make sure that the skills the children’s workforce wants and needs are the skills thechildren’s workforce gets;• put employers in the driving seat, giving them real influence over how the skills of thechildren’s workforce are developed; and• make sure people in the children’s workforce receive high quality learning and careerdevelopment opportunities.The SSA identified that future needs are:• skills to support new types of workers carrying out roles that extend across previousboundaries;• key generic skills that are required by some staff across the whole workforce,including literacy and numeracy, communication and interpersonal skills and IT skills,plus those within the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for children and youngpeople;• enhanced skills across the workforce are needed to raise the status of the workforce,ensure a high level of quality in provision across England and secure improvedoutcomes for children and young people;• better understanding of the match between skills and appropriate qualifications.Learning supply will need to change to match demand. This means that:• the large number of qualifications available may need to be rationalised, as thecurrent provision is confusing for employers and potential new entrants to the sector.There is a need for clear guidance on appropriate qualifications for roles, their fitnessfor purpose and usefulness across the whole children’s sector;• there are regional gaps in provision that need to be addressed;• a wide range of non-accredited training is currently undertaken in the sector, and it isimportant to ensure this is accredited where appropriate;• delivery of learning/training provision is not always sufficiently flexible to meetemployer needs. Some employers have raised issues around the overall quality ofprovision. A demand-led approach to the supply of learning would ensure employerscould access appropriate training;• funding for training and development is complex: simplification and clarification wouldmaximise the impact and effectiveness of investment;• improved data on current skills/qualifications held by the workforce would enablebetter planning for the future.v. The Protection of Children in England: A Progress ReportIn March 2009 The Lord Laming report "The Protection of Children in England: A ProgressReport", was published following the death of Baby P. Lord Laming’s report indicated thatthe national direction of travel of legislation, guidance and practice for safeguardingchildren and protecting their welfare is sound but more needed to done be to make sureservices are provided consistently and effectively for all children in need of help andprotection. It stated that “the need to protect children from significant harm and neglectis ever more challenging.Version 2.6 35