News

15 March 2011

Achieving a work-life balance in social care Q & A

A survey conducted by Community Care, based on responses from 450 social care practitioners, found that nearly three-quarters fear burnout due to making difficult decisions under stress, while a third believe their supervision at work is inadequate. And there are concerns that the risk of stress among social care workers will rise as councils prioritise spending in other areas, increasing the workload on existing staff.

To mark World Social Work Day, a debate on the ways in which social workers can create an effective and healthy work-life balance is being held on the Guardian website between 12 noon and 3pm on the 15th March.  A panel will be online between these hours to look at solutions to stress and contributions from the community are also being encouraged. 

10 March 2011

OFFA publishes new access agreement guidance

The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) has published new guidance setting out its requirements of English universities that wish to pursue an avenue of charging beyond the basic fee of £6,000 per year for full-time entrants from 2012-2013 onwards.  Using this guidance universities will have to create an access agreement which explains how the institution will introduce measures to improve student access and retention.  In order for charging beyond the £6,000 basic level, the agreement must be approved by OFFA on an annual basis.  The full press release and guidance are available on the OFFA website.

10 March 2011

Global Agenda for Social Work consulation

Social workers have been asked by the three big international social work and social development organisations (IFSW, IASSW and ICSW) to use World Social Work Day to debate the draft Global Agenda for Social Work. This is a major initiative to develop a common international agenda for social workers for the next decade which is currently out for consultation. The full agenda is available on the Global Social Agenda website and also details the ways in which you can input into the development of the framework.

25 February 2011

SWAP innovation in learning and teaching awards announced

SWAP is delighted to invite nominations for seven awards for innovation in learning and teaching. Each award will comprise £1500 plus a complimentary place at JSWEC 2011. The awards will be presented at a SWAP wine reception at the close of the conference on Thursday 14th July 2011. Awards will go to individuals or teams who demonstrate innovation in their support of learning in one of the following areas:

• Innovation in the use of technology in learning and teaching

• Innovation in assessment in learning and teaching

• Innovation in practice learning opportunities

• Innovation in involving service user and carer educators in learning and teaching

• Innovation in social work or social policy educational research

• Innovation in engaging students in their own learning

• Innovation in curriculum development

Full details of the awards are available on the SWAP awards page.

16 February 2011

New HEA Wales intiatives

The Higher Education Academy Wales has announced two new initiatives. The Learning and Teaching Enhancmenet Fund and is now accepting proposals for projects commencing no later than the 31 May 2011 and that are due to be completed no later than 31 July 2011.  The Travel Fund has been launched to encourage the exchange and dissemination of good practice throughout the UK and is specifically aimed at enabling staff and students at Welsh HEIs to engage with colleagues from across the UK. Applications for funding of up to £200 are now being invited.

14 February 2011

Research and evidence base for student engagement

The Higher Education Academy has recently published research on student engagement by Paul Trowler and Vicki Trowler. This research describes, analyses and condenses the international literature around student engagement. It provides information about a range of issues including: differing conceptions of engagement, the benefits of engagement, the range of possible motivations for attempting to improve engagement, and practical ways of making those improvements.
 
There are four documents available for download: an evidence summary, a literature review, a framework for action and a set of case studies. These documents can be accessed on the HEA website.

10 February 2011

HE experiences of gaining alternative formats survey

Working in partnership, JISC TechDis are seeking to gather the experiences of those within the community with regard to responsiveness from publishers for requests to texts in alternative formats.  They have created an online survey that should take no more than five minutes to complete and are asking for feedback from academics. librarians and disability officers, as well as anyone else with experience of working with publishers on accessible texts.

09 February 2011

Social Policy Association spending review report published

The Social Policy Association has today published a report into the impacts of the Coalition Government's spending review across key areas of the welfare state.  As well as brief, in-depth analyses of the implications for specific policies and programmes, the report also: considers the implications for the fundamental principles underpinning the welfare state - fairness, social justice and the reduction of social, economic and spatial inequalities.  
It further examines the specific impacts on Scotland and Northern Ireland in the context of devolution and proposes alternative measures for addressing the fiscal deficit and a new debate that emphasises social as much as economic policy goals.

The report can be downloaded from the Social Policy Association website.

01 February 2011

Second report of Munro Review published

The Munro Review of Child Protection: Interim Report, The Child’s Journey, the second report of the independent child protection review, has been published today. This phase of the review examines how the focus can be turned to examine the child’s journey from needing to receiving the right help.

The report observes that in recent history, the child protection system has focused on imposing and meeting managerial targets and regulations, and in doing so has forgotten that the needs of children should be at its core. The report discusses early recommendations and considerations for reform.  The full report can de viewed on the Munro Review website.

18 January 2011

Social work education in England 2009-10 report published

Today the GSCC published ‘A Report on Social Work Education in England 2009-10’.The report summarises the findings of an analysis of the GSCC’s data collected in its role as the regulator of social work education.  Notably it shows that there has been a decline in the number of practice placements provided by local authorities to social work students. The GSCC press release highlights this and the need for Partnerships between HEIs and employers to improve practice learning for social work students as identified in the Reform Board’s ‘One Year On’ report.

The press release and the summary report can be found on the GSCC website.

12 January 2011

National Teaching Fellowship nominations now being invited

 The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) Individual Awards 2011 call for nominations is now open.  Up to 55 individual awards of £10,000 will be made in 2011 in recognition of individual excellence. The award is intended to support the National Teaching Fellow's professional development in teaching and learning pedagogy.  The nomination documents are available from the NTFS webpage and the deadline for submission of nominations is 23rd March 2011.

11 January 2011

Change Academy proposals now being invited

It is clear that higher education is facing a challenging future, with the prospect of reduced public funding, an increased focus on enhancing the student learning experience and an even greater emphasis on organisational effectiveness. Change Academy is your opportunity to approach these challenges in an imaginative and creative way.

Organised in partnership between the Higher Education Academy and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, Change Academy is a year-long process that includes specific development opportunities for nominated team leaders, an ongoing support network and a four-day residential. It provides a creative environment in which the whole team can focus on planning and developing strategies for lasting change. The deadline for proposals for the 2011 Change Academy is 3 March 2011 and further information including guidance and videos featuring 2010 participants is available on the Change Academy website.

14 December 2010

Social Work Reform Board progress report published

The Social Work Reform Board has today published a progress report 'Building a Safe and Confident Future: One Year On'.  It gives an overview of the Social Work Reform Board's activity over the past year in developing and implementing the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force. These detailed proposals are the companion to that report and comprise a series of papers which provide greater detail on the five key areas of reform.

The full progress report and the detailed proposals, with information on how you can get involved are available on the Social Work Reform Board website.

02 December 2010

NICE and SCIE recommendations on 'looked after children and young people'

Working in conjunction with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the Social Care Institute for Excellence’s (SCIE), has produced a series of recommendations on looked after people and young children.  A quick reference guide of the recommendations has been produced and can downloaded from the SCIE website, where further information on the recommendations is also available.

02 December 2010

HEFCE consultation on changes to information published by institutions

Schools, colleges, universities, student unions and a wide range of other bodies are being asked to comment on the information that higher education (HE) providers publish to help prospective students choose the course and institution that are best for them.

They are invited to respond to a consultation being conducted by HEFCE, Universities UK and GuildHE. The consultation mainly concerns a proposed Key Information Set (KIS) which all publicly funded HE providers in England and Northern Ireland would be required to publish for each course on their web-sites.

The consultation, 'Public information about higher education: Consultation on changes to information published by institutions' (HEFCE 2010/31), is published online.

29 November 2010

UK Professional Standards Framework for Higher Education: Consultation

The Higher Education Academy has launched a consultation on the review of the UK Professional Standards Framework for Higher Education (UKPSF) and we would like to gather as many responses as possible. The consultation document and the online response form are available on the Academy website.
For information, brief outline details of the consultation are also available. These include some initial guidance on making a response. Please note that the Consultation process is due to end on Monday 17 January 2011.

26 November 2010

Transfer of GSCC functions to the HPC

Last week the General Social Care Council published the first of their e-bulletins. This issue included news for HEIs about regulatory transfer to the Health Professionas Council. The bulletin can be viewed online. In addition you can register to receive the e-bulletins direct to your inbox, at http://www.gscc.org.uk/page/6/Get+involved.html

24 November 2010

New publication - Supporting academic integrity: approaches and resources for higher education

The Academy JISC Academic Integrity Service has produced the publication Supporting academic integrity: approaches and resources for higher education, which will be of particular interest to lecturers, educational developers, student services managers or academic conduct officers who would like a better feel for the current issues relating to student plagiarism and associated concerns. The guide is designed to provide ‘a bird’s-eye view’: to pull together key institutional approaches and resources that have been developed since 2000. It provides a valuable up-to-date selection of these, encouraging the sharing of best practice in the area of academic integrity. The publication is available on the following website.

22 November 2010

Scottish Funding Council statement on the draft budget announcement

Following the draft budget announcement, the Scottish Funding Council has said it will do all it can to provide the sectors with stability and certainty over the allocation of funding to colleges and universities for the academic year beginning in August 2011.

22 November 2010

Welsh Assembly/HEFCW draft budget 2010

This Draft Budget for 2011-12 reflects the HEFCW commitment to deliver responsible and sustainable spending plans, despite the most challenging settlement since devolution.

In preparing the Draft Budget, they have taken a distinctive Welsh approach to reflect Welsh needs, Welsh circumstances and Welsh priorities. Our spending plans reflect our commitment to protecting frontline services, maintaining universal benefits, supporting the economic recovery, protecting the vulnerable and promoting equality of opportunity and outcomes for the people of Wales.

The Draft Budget for 2011-12 includes; The Draft Budget Report, * The Draft Budget Proposals and The Draft Budget Main Expenditure Group Allocations. The total Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2011-12 is nearly £15 billion.

19 November 2010

GSCC launches new website

The General Social Care Council (GSCC) has today launched its new website with a clear focus on engagement with social workers.

The new website incorporates a range of interactive tools to enable the social work regulator to engage effectively with the profession and others in the sector, as part of its work to drive up standards. These include online forums that allow registered users to ask questions, discuss upcoming issues, share comments and provide peer support around regulation related issues.

The full press release can be found on the GSCC's latest news webpage.

15 November 2010

Social Policy Association Conference - call for papers

Proposals are invited for papers on any aspect of social policy. Proposals reflecting high quality research or which explore questions of social policy in practice or the teaching of social policy, are particularly encouraged. In addition to standard papers, there is also a call for proposals for symposia, with three or four abstracts linked to a particular theme. Symposia will potentially allow participants to engage more deeply with their special interests.

For papers, abstracts of up to a maximum of 400 words should be submitted as a Word or rich text format email attachment to SPA2011@lincoln.ac.uk. Proposals for symposia should consist of a 200 word outline of the aims of the symposium together with contributors’ abstracts. Proposals will be reviewed by a Programme Committee prior to acceptance. The closing date for the submission of abstracts and proposals is Friday 25 February 2011.

15 November 2010

Subject Centre funding to be discontinued

During 2010 the Higher Education Academy, that funds SWAP as one of its 24 subject centres, has been working towards a new organisational structure. The Board of the Higher Education Academy met on 10th November 2010 and decided on a unitary model for the organisation's future structure and focus. This means that the HE Academy's future work will concentrate staff and resources in York to work on activity that supports institutions and their staff in improving teaching in higher education. Unfortunately, this means that the Higher Education Academy Subject Centres will be closing over the course of the next academic year. However, the Board has agreed a range of services which will be built around three aspects of the student learning experience: teacher excellence, developing academic practice and institutional strategy. The HE Academy will continue to grant fund HEIs for the Subject Centres for the remainder of the current academic year and there will be some, reduced, funding for 2011-2012 to support the transition to the new structure. It is not yet clear how the above new services will be provided. For now it is operations at SWAP as usual until the end of July 2011 and we will be working to try and ensure continuity of key activities beyond that, for example: the Joint Social Work Education Conference and our work with the Social Work Reform Board. More information about the transition will be posted to the website as it becomes available.

27 October 2010

HEA Wales 2011 seminar series - Call for expressions of interest

The Higher Education Academy is inviting Higher Education Institutions, and Further Education Colleges delivering Higher Education in Wales, to be part of a national seminar series.  Funding has been provided to enable them to offer a grant of £500 to institutions to host and deliver a seminar during the series, and produce a briefing paper for the sector.

The seminar series invites the sector to promote research and evidence that has informed institutional policy and/or practice.

To take part in this series, please complete an expression of interest form and email it to seminarseries@heacademy.ac.uk by Tuesday 30 November 2010.

21 October 2010

C-SAP project funding available

C-SAP funds are available to all staff in UK universities and colleges delivering HE programmes in Sociology, Anthropology, Politics, International Relations and Criminology and in cognate interdisciplinary areas. C-SAP project funding is intended to promote scholarship, evaluation and dissemination of innovations in learning and teaching. The funding available in 2010 is £36,000 for UK wide bids, and £7,000 each for the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland specific bids. UK projects can apply for up to £6,000. C-SAP reserves the right to offer smaller grants where appropriate. Applications from consortia or departments that seek to build on existing successful innovation or that seek to engage directly with students are encouraged.

Please see the C-SAP project funding pages for more details. Deadline for receipt of applications is Friday 26 November 2010.

14 October 2010

National Student Survey (NSS) blog launched

 A new blog has been set up featuring a Higher Education Academy (HEA) comparative analysis of the 2010 National Student Satisfaction Survey results for Social Policy, Social Work and a 'SWAP combined' category in relation to four other social science disciplines (Economics, Politics, Sociology and Anthropology) www.nss10.wordpress.com.

05 October 2010

New learning disabilities observatory project launched

A new collaborative project between the North East Public Health Observatory, the Centre for Disability Research at Lancaster University (CeDR) and the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) has been launched. The 'Improving Health and Lives: Learning Disabilities Observatory' is a three-year project funded by the Department of Health. This work should help to identify quality improvements that will ensure the best possible outcomes for the health and lives of people with learning disabilities. More information can be found on the projects website.

20 September 2010

Call for papers: religion and belief in professional practice

This international conference aims to stimulate discussion among academics, practitioners, policy makers, carers, service providers and users and contribute to the evidence base relating to religion and belief.

Papers and workshop presentations are invited from a wide range of disciplines and fields that include academics, practitioners, policy makers, service providers, members of faith groups and other individuals. All should fall within at least one of the following themes: current research interests, service innovations, practices and interventions.  The final submission date for abstracts in 31 Januray 2011 and further information can be found on the event website.

20 September 2010

Fathers Matter: a new resources pack for social work educators

The Family Rights Group (FRG) has released a new resources pack, created primarily as a result of work undertaken with social work educators during the course of completing the Fathers Matter 2 project.  The publication draws out some of the key messages from the Fathers Matter research projects and explores the issues faced by fathers whose children are involved with social care services.

Download the resource pack (PDF, 416KB)

17 September 2010

Meaningful engagement for disabled students in higher education

The HEA has launched a new developmental programme for higher education institutions (HEIs) in September 2010. The programme aims to help HEIs to enhance the engagement of disabled students in the design and delivery of learning and teaching. It is open to ten HEIs in England and Wales.

This programme will run from November 2010 until September 2011 and will involve a series of three facilitated events designed to help HEIs plan and evaluate changes in both policy and practice. The deadline for expressions of interest is 27th October 2010 and further information can be found on the Higher Education Academy website.

14 September 2010

National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology

This new award is supported by the British Society of Criminology, SAGE, and four HEA Subject Centres (C-SAP, Psychology, SWAP and UKCLE) and is intended to highlight and celebrate the best practice in teaching criminology across UK HEIs. The award will be presented to the nominated individual or team that has contributed the most to the positive learning experience of students in Criminology in the current academic year.

It is an open competition and individuals and teams are invited to nominate themselves for the award. Eligibility for the award is not restricted to BSC members.Award winners will be announced and presented at the BSC annual conference with the first award made in 2011.

Entries should be submitted by 1st March 2011 to Dr Helen Jones by email at h.jones@mmu.ac.uk

For further information download the submission guidelines (PDF, 338KB).

31 August 2010

National Teaching Fellowship Scheme - 2011 individual awards information released

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) is applicable to those working in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland. This is the first year in which Wales has joined the scheme.

Up to 55 awards of £10,000 are made to recognise individual excellence. The award is intended for Fellows' professional development in teaching and learning or aspects of pedagogy. Nominations are invited from eligible institutions in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Key dates for the 2011 scheme are:

05 Jan 2011 - Call for Nominations, application form released
23 Mar 2011 - Nominations Close – Deadline for electronic copies nominations
30 Mar 2011 - Deadline for hard copies nominations
21 Apr 2011 - Deadline for submitting profiles and photographs
07 Jul  2011 - All nominees will be informed of the outcome via email, followed by letters
27 Jul  2011 - 2011 winners to be published

The nomination documents will be available to download from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/professional/ntfs/individual where you will find further details of the scheme, the nomination requirements, and the full application pack.  If you have any questions regarding the individual strand, please contact ntfsindividual@heacademy.ac.uk.

31 August 2010

Higher Education Academy Scotland Travel Fund 2010-2011

The Higher Education Academy Scotland are now inviting applications for travel bursaries up to a maximum value of £200.  The funds are to enable colleagues to attend conferences, network meetings and special interest groups organised ( or jointly organised) by the Higher Education Academy and its Subject Centre Network.  Applications from staff and students in Scotland's 20 HEIs are invited throughout the academic year, although it should be noted that funding is not available for events in Scotland or for those that are being held outside the UK.

If you would like further information or to download an application form please visit the Academy Scotland Travel Fund page on the Higher Education Academy's website.

25 August 2010

Review of external examining arrangements in the UK

Universities UK and GuildHE, in collaboration with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and other organisations are conducting a review of external examining arrangements in the UK. Recommendations will be made in December 2010.  A discussion paper has been issued to assist in the development of the recommendations and to share initial thoughts. The deadline for responses is Friday 1 October and further information is available on the Universities UK website.

19 August 2010

Involving young people in care in social work education

A National Voice, an organisation run by young people in care, for young people in care has a new resource available for social care professionals, care staff, foster carers and social work educators.  As part of the Leading Improvements for Looked After Children (LILAC) project they offer young person led training sessions.  These focus on participation and making sure looked-after children are involved in decisions relating to both their individual care and the policies and practices of the services that look after them.

Further details of the training available can be found by visiting the LILAC project website.

27 July 2010

Midlands universities in joint study into minority ethnic students’ achievements

 A new £190,000 study commissioned by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) will see two Midlands Universities working together to carry out research into the attainment levels of black and minority ethnic (BME) students.

Dr Gurnam Singh from Coventry University and Professor Glynis Cousin University of Wolverhampton, who successfully bid for the funding through the HEA’s National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS), will begin the joint study in August.

The project aims to address the recommendations of a recent report produced by the HEA and the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU).

More information is available on the University of Wolverhampton's website.

10 June 2010

Prince's Trust supports student social workers

By offering emotional support to disadvantaged youngsters who enrol on the Prince's Trust's Team programme, it is also enabling student social workers an opportunity to gain valuable experience.  The student social worker programme, funded by the Prince's Trust and the Zurich Community Trust (the charitable wing of financial organisation Zurich) aims to offer emotional support to 5,000 youngsters aged 16-25 over the next three years, and challenge their negative perceptions about social workers.  The full article is available on the Guardian website.

21 May 2010

New SCIE e-learning resources available

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has made a range of new e-learning resources available.  The new resources, which are on personalisation and fair access to care, can be found in the e-learning resources section of SCIE's website.

21 April 2010

Jo Campling Memorial Prizes 2010

The editorial board of Ethics & Social Welfare are pleased to announce the return of the Jo Campling Memorial Prize for essays written by students on the theme of ‘ethics and social welfare’.

This year there will be two prizes awarded, one for an essay written by an undergraduate (bachelors) student and one for an essay written by a postgraduate (masters/doctoral) student. The author of each winning essay will receive a £150 cash prize, plus one year’s free personal print subscription to the journal.

The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2010 and further information can be found on the journal's website. 

21 April 2010

JISC Grant Funding 05/10: Call for projects

JISC is inviting applications for funding as part of its 'Flexible service delivery programme'.  The funding available under this call is £1.4 million and JISC will seek to fund the most appropriate balance of projects to meet the overall objectives of the programme.

Four specific areas of innovation have been identified for proposals and full details of each can be found at the following page.

The deadline for receipt of proposals in response to this call is 12:00 noon UK time on Wednesday 19 May 2010.

15 April 2010

Improving performance through wellbeing and engagement newsletter

The HEFCE and SFC funded project 'Wellbeing' has published its first newsletter. Each issue will include news, views and updates on wellbeing and engagement topics as well as upcoming events, resources and more.

07 April 2010

College of Social Work e-bulletin

The College of Social Work has published its first e-bulletin. You can sign up for these regular email updates on the College of Social Work website.

01 April 2010

Government publishes National Care Service White Paper

The Government has published a White Paper to launch its proposed National Care Service.  The service aims to create a care and support service for all adults in England, which will be free at the point of use.   Areas highlighted in the White Paper that may be of particular interest are:

• The GSCC is to be renamed the General Social Work Council and will focus on the registration of social workers, not the wider social care workforce
• There will be a separate licensing scheme for the rest of the social care workforce – this will be managed by the Health Professions Council
• The HPC is to be renamed the Care Professions Council.

The full White Paper and other information can be found on the big care debate website.

10 March 2010

Future of Social Work in Adult Social Services in England

The Department of Health (DH), together with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Skills for Care, British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the Social Care Association (SCA) has produced a joint statement on social work in adult services to clarify the contribution of social work and assist Directors of Adult Services (DASSs) in planning their workforce.

The statement acknowledges that social work is an international profession.

In order to produce it, a consultation was undertaken with social workers, the Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee, the General Social Care Council and the Social Care Institute for Excellence.

Building on the work of the Social Work Taskforce, the collaborative effort aimed to develop a clear articulation of the tasks that social workers should perform in adults’ services and the skills and knowledge they need.

The full news release and statement can be viewed on the Department of Health's website. 

10 March 2010

GSCC report on raising standards released

The evidence in this report indicates that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) providing courses in social work are delivering to current national standards.  The full report and executive summary can be downloaded from the GSCC website.

08 March 2010

Launch of the College of Social Work website

The College of Social Work Development Group has launched a website to provide information on the work that it is doing. A major consultation exercise will begin in May 2010 in order to develop the purpose of the College. Establishing a college was one of the recommendations from the Social Work Task Force which reported in December 2009. The website, which will be updated on a regular basis will provide updates on progress and enable you to contribute to the consultation. The address of the website is www.collegeofsocialwork.org.

04 March 2010

Funding opportunity - Northern Ireland

The Subject Centre for Sociology Anthropology and Politics (C-SAP) has funds available to staff in universities and colleges in Northern Ireland delivering HE programmes in Sociology, Anthropology and Politics and in cognate interdisciplinary areas. C-SAP project funding is intended to foster a pro-active approach to change in learning and teaching.

There is a growing sense of expectation that the higher education sector should respond to the challenges posed by the need to develop sustainable ways of living in the 21st century. The social sciences are vital in understanding the human dimensions of both problems and solutions and we recognise the importance of increasing 'sustainability literacy' among students and the growing demand for sustainability skills among employers.

To that end, C-SAP is seeking to fund a project up to a maximum of £7,000. The successful project will address one of the following themes:

• Development of curricula and pedagogy to equip students with the skills and knowledge to live and work in a sustainable way.
• Embedding sustainable development goals into learning and teaching and curricula.
• Development of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) principles within and between subject communities’.
• Coordination and dissemination of policy, research and practice relating to ESD.

For further information and how to apply please see the C-SAP website:

Closing date for receipt of expressions of interest is midday on 12th March 2010. All applications must be completed on the appropriate application form.

23 February 2010

General Social Care Council appoints new directors

The General Social Care Council (GSCC) has announced the appointment of three new senior managers. Michael Andrews will take up the position of Director of Regulatory Operations, Sherry Malik will take up the position of Director of Strategy and Social Work Education and Stephen Williams will take up the position of Director of Corporate Resources.

The wealth of experience of these three new appointments will strengthen the GSCC at a crucial time and will be valuable as we move forward with the challenging agenda set out by the Social Work Task Force.

The full news release is available on the GSCC Website.

03 February 2010

Jisc Techdis announces fourth round of the HEAT Scheme

JISC Techdis has announced a fourth round of the HEAT Scheme (Wales only): Using technology to develop or uncover good inclusive practice.  Funding of up to £1,200 will be available per bid and whilst applications are welcome from all areas, priority will be given to the four following areas: Lifelong Learning, Work-Related Learning, Employer Engagement and Business & Community Engagement.

The closing date for bids to be submitted is Noon on Monday 22 February 2010.  Further information and bid forms can be found by visiting the HEAT4Wales website.

28 January 2010

Deadline for practice educator bursaries announced

Practice Educator bursaries are now available for voluntary/not for profit organisations with a minimum of three employees undertaking a practice educator programme or PQ modules.

The deadline for applications to be received has been announced as 1 March 2010. For more information and to apply please visit the Skills for Care website.

28 January 2010

Higher Education Student Volunteering Awards (HESVA) - Nominations now open

We are delighted to announce that HESVA 2010 is now open for entries.  The Awards celebrate the diversity of the student learning experience and recognise the outstanding contributions to community volunteering made by students in higher education across the UK.  As part of the Academy's UK-wide remit, HESVA is open to all UK higher education institutions. It is also open to further education institutions with 100 or more full-time equivalent students in England and Northern Ireland. Scottish or Welsh FE Colleges may submit a joint nomination with a sponsoring higher education institution. 

For more information, please visit: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/hesva 

27 January 2010

Launch of Nuffield Trust Report into Four UK Healthcare Systems

Political devolution means there are now four National Health Services in the United Kingdom. The health services of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all funded by the UK taxpayer, but have developed different systems of governance and different methods of providing healthcare.

Funding and Performance of Healthcare Systems in the Four Countries of the UK Before and After Devolution examines the impact of this by studying key performance indicators for the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at three time points – 1996/7, 2002/3 and 2006/7.  The report also undertakes a completely new comparison of NHS performance in the English regions and the devolved countries.

26 January 2010

Open University's Widening Participation Conference - Call for Posters

The Open University’s Centre for Widening Participation is pleased to announce a Call for Posters for its biennial Widening Participation Conference.

‘Widening Participation in the 21st Century: A Decade of Learning’, to be held on 24 and 25 June 2010 in Milton Keynes, will focus on three main themes: Evidence Gaps, Learning Design, and Knowing the Learner and submissions of posters are requested addressing these themes.

If you would like to discuss potential submissions or would like further information about the conference, please get in contact with John Rose-Adams by email to CWP-Conference@open.ac.uk.

25 January 2010

Planned Environment Therapy Trust - HLF award

The Planned Environment Therapy Trust has won support for its proposal ‘Therapeutic Living with Other Peoples Children: an oral history of residential therapeutic childcare c. 1930 – c. 1980’.  The forgotten histories of childcare will now be told thanks to the award of £197,700 from the heritage lottery fund (HLF).

The Planned Environment Therapy Trust will give former children, staff and families the chance to record their memories as well as getting involved in archive conservation, creating a website and DVD and performing theatrical pieces drawn from the material collected.

The full press release can be found at the Planned Environment Therapy Trust website.

15 December 2009

NUS launches PGR Employment Survey

The NUS is delighted the launch its first major piece of research for the new Postgraduate Campaign in collaboration with UCU: a Postgraduate Employment Survey aimed at postgraduate and recently postdoctoral researchers who have undertaken employment in a HE institution at any time since September 2008.

The survey should take no more than 15-20 minutes to complete. All researchers who complete the survey will be given the opportunity to be entered into a prize draw to win £50 of Amazon vouchers. You can access the survey via the link below.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BRYX8QQ 

10 December 2009

New resources: service user and carer involvement

The Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) has published three new resources about service user and carer involvement in social work education.

• Report 28: Developing user involvement in social work education (produced with Shaping Our Lives National User Network)
• Report 29: Carers as partners in social work education (produced with the University of Sussex, Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Crossroads Caring for Carers and Carers UK).
• At a glance summary 19: Building user and carer involvement in social work education (a summary of the two reports listed above)

All of these publications can be downloaded or ordered from SCIE.

09 December 2009

Wellbeing in HEIs

Staff wellbeing, a HEFCE-funded project focussed on improving performance in HEIs through wellbeing and engagement, has launched a new website. The project is a partnership between the Universities of Bristol and Leeds, in partnership with the Universities of Birmingham, Chester, Newcastle and Queen Mary, London, and Grimsby Institute for Further and Higher Education,

03 December 2009

Ian Light Award

Applications are invited for this annual award that aims to support and nurture user and carer involvement development workers employed in UK higher education. The award is open to anyone involved in supporting the development of infrastructure for user and carer involvement in higher education institutions.  Priority will be given to applications from workers for whom this is the sole focus or main purpose of their role. In particular the award aims to support collaborative projects developed in partnership between two development workers and is for work in pairs. An annual amount of £1,500 is available.  Applications for up to £500 are invited. The deadline for applications is 25 January 2010.

For more information visit the mhhe website.

01 December 2009

Call for papers: Social Policy Association Conference

The 2010 SPA annual conference will be held at the University of Lincoln with the overarching theme being ‘Social Policy in Times of Change’. Proposals are invited for papers on any aspect of social policy, particularly those reflecting high quality research, or which explore questions of social policy in practice or the teaching of social policy. The closing date for proposals is 12 February 2010. For more information visit the conference website.

12 November 2009

Survey results: postgraduate student experience

The results of the Higher Education Academy’s 2009 postgraduate taught experience survey (PTES) and postgraduate research experience survey (PRES) are now available.   The two surveys offer the most extensive portrait of postgraduate student experience available, putting the Academy at the forefront of research in this area in the UK.

Among students of taught programmes, the PTES results show that 84% of students on average agreed that their overall experience had met or exceeded their expectations. Students on research programmes are equally positive. The PRES 2009 results show that 84% of students said that their experience met or exceeded their expectations; this is a 1.5% increase on last year’s figure of 82.5%.

For more about the results of the survey visit the Higher Education Academy website. 

The next national administration of PTES will take place between February and May 2010, with PRES to run in Spring 2011. If you would like to participate in PTES, starting in February 2010, please register your interest before 30 November 2009 by emailing surveys@heacademy.ac.uk.

11 November 2009

Practice learning: call for contributions

Do you have an innovative practice or strategy you would like to share? The spring edition of SWAP’s newsletter ‘infocus’ will look at innovative ideas and resources to support students in getting the most out of their practice learning opportunities. If you have a piece of work you would like SWAP to showcase email swapeditor@soton.ac.uk

06 November 2009

Substance misuse: new resources for teaching

A collection of resources for those interested in teaching substance misuse have been published by SWAP. The resources include information on integrating the topic into the curriculum, teaching the basics, involving alcohol and other drug specialists, a case study and a list of useful online sources.  The resources are all available to download from the SWAP website.

05 November 2009

Government framework for higher education

A new framework for higher education has been published this by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The proposals includes building more links between HE and FE and providing students with clear and comparable information on what students can expect from their course/university. The document also comments on the need to promote excellence in teaching and praised the Higher Education Academy for the support it provides for subject communities in considering how courses prepare students effectively for employment.

For more information download the framework document.

04 November 2009

Social Work & Social Sciences Review - call for papers

Special Issue: Critical Debates in Leadership and Management

Guest Editors: Trish Hafford-Letchfield & John Lawler

This Special Issue aims to publish a collection of high quality papers that offer new critical approaches to thinking about the current nature of leadership and management in social work and its position of power and influence within care environments. Papers submitted should address these themes as follows:

• Research papers based on empirical studies.
• Discussion/debate papers on contemporary challenges for managers in the field at different levels.
• Practice papers sharing innovative and radical approaches to developing services in which management makes a positive contribution.
• Shorter papers (i.e. approx 1,000 words) representing voices from user managers or front line practice managers perhaps writing for their first publication.

Closing date for submission of all papers: 15 January 2010

For further information download the pdf here. 

For enquiries, please contact: Trish Hafford-Letchfield on p.hafford-letchfield@mdx.ac.uk orJohn Lawler: j.lawler@bradford.ac.uk

04 November 2009

Resources for social work students

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) have launched a student campaign sending resource packs to over 12,000 social care students in UK HE. The packs provide information on SCIE’s range of print, web-based and e-learning resources. For more details of the campaign and to request resources visit the student section of the SCIE website.

04 November 2009

Call for nominations: NTFS individual awards

The NTFS Individual Awards 2010 Call for Nominations is now open.
The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) is applicable to those working in England and Northern Ireland. It is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DEL NI) and administered by the Academy on their behalf.

Under the individual scheme up to 50 awards of £10,000 are made to recognise individual excellence. The award is intended for National Teaching Fellows' professional development in teaching and learning or aspects of pedagogy.

Guidelines and application forms can be found on the Higher Education Academy website.

The deadline for receipt of electronic nominations is Wednesday 3 February 2010 (12:00 noon).

03 November 2009

Practice Education Developments - bursary, practice educator framework and demonstration sites project

Skills for Care, the Children's Workforce Development Council and the General Social Care Council have announced that the Social Work Development Partnership (SWDP) has agreed a number of measures to support the development of practice education for social work.

The SWDP have developed a proposed framework for the development of practice educators, a project to encourage demonstration sites to test out the new framework and revised bursary criteria that support practice educators.

People are invited to comment on the framework through a short web based survey available on the Skills for Care website.

The objective of the SWDP is to increase the quality and availability of statutory practice placements including through the continuing professional development of practice educators and supervisors of social work students.

So this year the focus of the bursary funding available to support that work is the development of practice educators who are independent social workers, employed by small voluntary organisations or are people who use services who are supporting social work education. An application form is now available on the websites of the partner organisations.

In order to apply for a bursary, candidates must be practice educators working towards either the GSCC approved Post Qualifying Specialist Award in Social Work, the Post Qualifying Higher Specialist Award in Social Work, or the Advanced Award in Social Work or be undertaking a practice educator programme or pathway in line with the proposed national framework for practice educators.

The SWDP wishes to alert practitioners, voluntary sector employers, people who use services and carers who support social work education and universities offering PQ modules and practice educator programmes or pathways to the availability of funds. Up to £750 per candidate per year is available to cover tuition fees. This year's funds will be available to individuals who apply up to 19^th March 2010, or until the fund is exhausted.

Applications forms and eligibility criteria are available by clicking the link below

Practice educator bursaries

03 November 2009

SCIE has launched two new initiatives

This month SCIE has launched two initiatives:

• the 2009 student campaign which will send a leaflet and a CD of SCIE materials to all social students registered this Autumn. For further information, see the student campaign page on the SCIE website at http://www.scie.org.uk/student/index.asp?dm_i=4O5,29PW,T16BB,7B7G,1
• Social Care TV, which provides and on-line resource that will have numerous uses for teaching and learning. Go to http://www.scie.org.uk/socialcaretv/default.asp

03 November 2009

Call for Papers for the biennial Widening Participation Conference.

The Open University’s Centre for Widening Participation is pleased to announce a Call for Papers for its biennial Widening Participation Conference.

‘Widening Participation in the 21st Century: A Decade of Learning’, to be held on 24 and 25 June 2010, will focus on three main themes: Evidence Gaps, Learning Design, and Knowing the Learner and submissions of papers and posters are requested that address these themes.

We are keen to look for new research outside the more traditional core Widening Participation groups and the Subject Centres represent to us a rich source of widening participation research and knowledge, with many of the Centres even having specific research themes focussed on widening participation.

The deadline for submissions is 30 November 2009.

If you would like to discuss potential submissions or would like further information
about the conference, please get on contact with John Rose-Adams by email to
CWP-Conference@open.ac.uk

www.open.ac.uk/openings 

01 November 2009

Student report urges learner-focused education

The second annual National Student Forum Report calls for students to be seen as equal partners in their education from start to finish, working flexibly, together with tutors, to find the way of learning that suits them best. Amongst its recommendations, the group particularly looked at the flexibility of universities in the courses they offer and how students can combine qualifications gained in one institution with those gained in another. To read the full report visit the National Student Forum website.

19 October 2009

New UUK quality and standards microsite.

Universities UK have created a new microsite providing information on how quality and standards are assured at UK universities.

The new site can be used to find out about:

• UUK's commitment to ensuring quality and standards 
• how the quality assurance system works and the role of all the bodies involved
• what improvements are planned 
• the latest on events, publications, media releases and related links on quality and standards 

19 October 2009

Consultation on the Practice Educator Framework

The Social Work Development Partnership between the Children’s Workforce Development Council, General Social Care Council and Skills for Care have developed a national framework for developing practice educators of social work students. The framework sets out the learning outcomes that practice educators should meet in order to demonstrate they are competent. It also gives expectations in relation to how they should be assessed and the qualifications and experience required. It has been designed to improve the quality of the people responsible for assessing and supervising student social workers on placement. 

The proposed practice educator framework is available for review and comment at: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=45WO_2bupN3vR913lDQWEdlQ_3d_3d

Consultation closes 03 November 2009.

19 October 2009

Review of external examining arrangements

A new report from the HEFCE sub-committee for Teaching, Quality, and the Student Experience on Quality Assurance comments on UUK's intention to launch a review of external examining arrangements.

The Executive summary and full reports, which include a number of significant proposals are available online.

Also available is the UUK response.

07 October 2009

Call for submission of abstracts (Deadline 16 November 2009)

Living and Learning, Learning and Teaching: Mental Health in Higher Education

30-31 March 2010, George Fox Building, Lancaster University www.mhhe.heacademy.ac.uk/livingandlearning

• What do learners learn from what we teach? How else do they learn about mental wellbeing and ill health? Through lived experience?
• Does the notion of a 'threshold concept' have relevance in mental health? What are the areas and concepts that we neglect to teach?
• How, as educators in a higher education context, do we prepare learners for practice in the context of a changing workforce?
• What relevance does learning and teaching about mental health have for disciplines outside health and social care (e.g. education, the arts, performing arts and humanities)?

Keynote speakers (provisional titles):

• Glynis Cousin (Professor, Director of Institute for Learning Enhancement and of Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, University of Wolverhampton and National Teaching Fellow): An introduction to 'Threshold Concepts'
• Ann Davis (Director, Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Mental Health and Professor of Social Work, University of Birmingham): Learning and teaching about mental health in higher education - looking to the future.
• Gail Hornstein (Professor of Psychology at Mount Holyoke College. Massachusetts (USA) and author of Agnes' Jacket: A psychologist's search for the meaning of madness - implications for learning and teaching about mental health.

The event will be of interest to, and gain from the contribution of, lecturers and tutors, practitioners, service user and carer educators, practice mentors, students and others with an interest in learning and teaching about mental health - across the disciplines in higher education.

Bookings will open on Monday 2 November.

01 October 2009

Discipline-focused Learning Technology Enhancement Academy 2010

Are you interested in enhancing the use of technology within your department?  

Do you have the beginnings of an idea, but need some time to think it through, discuss with colleagues and work out the implications?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to these questions, then this new project may offer you just such an opportunity.  The Discipline-focused Learning Technology Enhancement Academy 2010 provides a programme of workshops and the ongoing support of an expert ‘critical friend’ over a twelve month period to help you plan and implement a learning and teaching enhancement project within your department.  The programme works best if you are at an early stage of thinking about possibilities, as you will be supported through an initial workshop to develop you ideas.

If you are interested, please read the detailed information here and complete the proposal form.  Please return your completed submission by 4pm on Monday 16^th November to Helen Bulpitt: h.bulpitt@soton.ac.uk 

Please note SWAP is only able to support one application to the programme.  All submissions will be reviewed and the successful proposal put forward to join the Academy-wide programme to commence in January 2010.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity in more detail please contact Helen directly h.bulpitt@soton.ac.uk 

10 September 2009

Increased participation and high levels of satisfaction among students

Four-fifths of students responding to this year's National Student Survey (NSS) expressed satisfaction with the course they did.  There were 223,363 respondents to the survey which is an increase of over 3,000 on the year before and equates to a response rate of 62% (UK).  The survey shows that the overall satisfaction rate for students studying HE in England remains high: 81% said that they are satisfied with their course.

For more information on the fifth annual NSS visit the HEFCE website.

10 September 2009

New academic staff survey

The Higher Education Academy is conducting a survey of newly academic staff (across all disciplines) to inform the development of the academy's EvidenceNet - a service to promote and explore the use of practice- and research-based evidence in teaching and learning in Higher Education.
 

If you are newly appointed, you can complete the survey online. Or if you have a colleague new to your department please direct them to the link below.

https://www.questback.com/thehighereducationacademy/evidencenetphase2nas/

Further information on EvidenceNet.

09 September 2009

Consultation: The roles and tasks of social workers

Following the publication of the interim report of the Social Work Task Force, Skills for Care with the Department of Health and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) is seeking to develop a clear statement of the roles and tasks that social workers should perform.  They would like to hear the views of Social work profession, workforce managers and employers, and those with an interest in work undertaken by social workers.

A consultation document, online questionnaire (and word version) can be accessed from the Skills for care website. Responses must be received by noon on Friday 9 October 2009 to be included in subsequent analysis.

09 September 2009

Call for papers: Assessment & Learning in Practice Settings

Assessment and Learning in Practice Settings (ALPS) has issued a call for papers for an international conference it is hosting on 16 - 17 March 2010. The conference ‘Work-based Learning and Assessment for the Next Decade’ will take place at Weetwood Hall in Leeds.
Speakers will review current and up-and-coming learning technologies, and presentations and workshops will highlight the main factors affecting the employability of graduating students. Abstracts are invited for oral presentations, workshops, poster presentations and roundtable discussion sessions within the Conference themes. The call closes on 2nd November 2009. For more information please visit the ALPS website.

08 September 2009

SWAP operational plan 2009/2010

The SWAP operational plan 2009/2010 is available online. Download the plan (PDF,43KB) and find out more about SWAP's planned activities for the next academic year. Or visit the get involved section for information on how you can take part.

07 September 2009

Mental well-being resource

The mental health in higher education project (mhhe) have written a new resource about the mental well-being of staff and students in higher education. The resource forms part of a series on inclusive practice published by the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network.