Testing partnership and preparedness in Northern Ireland during COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Northern Ireland has partnership arrangements for qualifying and post-qualifying social work education that joins the regulator, universities and employers in equipping social workers to practice safely to a high-quality standard. Covid-19 highlighted the need for social workers to manage its impact on individuals, families and communities. Government restrictions meant prioritisation of service delivery and early graduation for student social workers with rapid recruitment into frontline practice. This article considers the role of the regulator in governance of education and training whilst working collaboratively with government, employers and academics, supporting students entering the workforce and ensuring professional development for existing workers. In telling the story we explore the dovetailing of functions that tested flexibility and rigor of existing systems and partnerships.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work
• partnership
• COVID-19
• education
• continuous professional development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The NI Social Care Register comprises 527 student social workers, 6,577 social workers and 40,751 social care workers at 01/07/2020

2. Social workers in the first 3-year period of registration following successful completion of the Assessed Year in Employment shall complete a minimum of two requirements of the Northern Ireland Consolidation Award within the period of registration; (Registration Rules, Northern Ireland Social Care Council, 2017)

3. World Health Organisation reported a novel coronavirus, 09/01/2020

4. 17^th March, St Patrick’s Day Public Holiday

5. Assessed Year in Employment Guidance for Registrants and their Employers, 2015, NISCC

6. Professional in Practice Virtual Award Ceremony 3 August 2020

7. Taken from the Internal Federation of Social Work global definition of social work, www.ifsw.org

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marian O’Rourke

Marian O'Rourke is Interim Director of Regulation and Standards with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council,  the regulator for social work and social care.  Her social work practice background was in the justice sector and she has over twenty years experience in social work education and training regulation and workforce development.

Catherine Maguire

Catherine Maguire is Interim Head of Workforce Development with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.  She has previously worked in the justice sector and in academia.  She is responsible for regulation of social work education and  training and supporting the development of the social care workforce.

Liz Tanner

Liz Tanner is a Social Work and Social Care Training consultant in Workforce Development and Training Team in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland.  Liz Tanner's areas of special interest include adult community mental health, disability, in particular, Sensory Disability, and previously worked as social worker and manager of Sensory Disability Services in SHSCT.

Judith Catherine Mullineux

Judith Mullineux has been employed at Ulster University since 2004 and is the Course Director of the ‘PgDip Professional Development in Social Work’. She completed her primary degree in psychology before qualifying in social work in 1990 and employed in the criminal justice sector.  Judith is a registered social worker and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).