News

21 June 2011

New Families, Relationships and Societies Journal

The Policy Press has announced that it will be launching a new journal next year called Families, Relationships and Societies (FRS). It is a new social science journal designed to advance scholarship and debate in the growing field of families and relationships across the life course.  It will explore family life, relationships and generational issues from interdisciplinary, social science perspectives, whilst maintaining a solid grounding in sociological theory and methods and a strong policy and practice focus.

Submissions to the journal are now being accepted and for more information about this opportuntiy please visit the Policy Press website.

16 May 2011

Katherine Kendall Awards: call for nominations

Nominations are called for the prestigious Katherine A. Kendall Award for distinguished contribution to the development of social work education internationally. The nominee can be from any region of the world and may or may not be a member of IASSW. However, the biography of the nominee must match the required criteria. The award will be presented to the recipient during the Global Social Work Congress to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, July, 2012.

The intention of the award, which is made biennially, is to acknowledge significant contributions to the development of social work education at the international level.  Full details of the nomination criteria are available by downloading the call for nominations.

10 May 2011

The Munro Review of child protection final report published

The Munro Review of Child Protection Final Report, A child-centred system has been published today. Professor Munro’s analysis finds that local areas should have more freedom to design their own child protection services and that ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ to child protection is preventing local areas from focusing on the needs of the child.

The report signals a radical shift from previous reforms that, while well-intentioned, resulted in too much bureaucracy and a loss of focus on the needs of the child. Professor Munro says that the Government and local authorities should operate in an open culture, continually learn from what has happened in the past, trust professionals and give them the best possible training.  Professor Munro’s recommendations are aimed at creating long-term change to the system and should not be taken forward in isolation, as there is no one quick fix.  What is needed is a fundamental shift in the way the system works, to enable professionals to focus on the needs of children, young people and families and how to give them the best possible help.

The Government will work closely with a group of professionals from across the children’s sector to develop a full response to Professor Munro’s recommendations later this year.

09 May 2011

HEA Teaching Development Grants

The Higher Education Academy is offering bid-based development grant funding to stimulate evidence-based research and encourage innovations in learning and teaching that have the potential for sector-wide impact. Over the next year there will be a total of £1.5 million of funding available for individual grants, departmental grants and collaborative grants.

The first phase begins with an open call for individual grant scheme bids. There is a total of £315,000 available in this phase with a maximum of £7,000 per project, with £28,000 ring-fenced for new academic staff (anyone with less than five years experience in a full time permanent post). A further £28,000 is ring-fenced for HEA Fellows who have never had a teaching development grant before.

Bids are invited from anyone responsible for the student learning experience who is working in higher education institutions in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or England that subscribe to the Higher Education Academy. The themes for this call are Internationalisation and Employability.

The closing date for Phase 1 bids is 15 June 2011 and further information, including the bidding forms are available on the HEA website.

03 May 2011

Radio 4 programme highlights NQSW experiences

BBC Radio 4 is running a series of programme's where Journalist Simon Cox charts the course that newly qualified social workers tread when moving into their first roles.  The first episode follows two newly qualified workers as they begin their careers at one of the busiest children's services department in Britain.

The first episode in this series was broadcast yesterday and is available to listen to again on the BBC iPlayer.  Two further broadcasts are scheduled to air on Monday 9 May and Monday 16 May, and will feature experiences of four newly qualified social workers beginning their careers in adult services.

05 April 2011

QAA announces new review method for England and Northern Ireland

Following a period of consultation, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has announced a new method of institutional review in England and Northern Ireland.  The new method aims to put students at the heart of the process, with each review team having a student as a full member.  Review teams will further engage with students through meetings and in depth information gathering.  Further details of the new review process, which will replace the institutional audit are available from the QAA website. 

05 April 2011

Report on policy regarding student plagiarism published

The Academic Integrity Service has produced the publication 'Policy Works' to enable Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to review and develop policy for managing student plagiarism and related cases of unacceptable academic practice. The Service was set up to encourage the sharing of good practice and the recommendations in the publication can be used by those involved in developing policy and procedures at the institutional or department level. It will be of particular interest to academic integrity working groups, conduct officers, student services managers, or those working in academic registry or quality enhancement areas.  The full report can be downloaded from the Higher Education Academy website assessment pages.

01 April 2011

HEA call for Academic Associates

The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is building a community of Academic Associates to deliver and develop support for learning and teaching in higher education.

Expressions of interest are sought from academics with current experience, who are leaders in their field, can work as part of a team, and who share the HEA's ambition to improve learning and teaching and the student learning experience.

More information on the responsibilities of the Academic Associates and a person specification are available on the HEA website, along with further information.

31 March 2011

College of Social Work's response to Professional Capabilities Framework

The College of Social Work has produced a report which details its response to the consultation on the Social Work Reform Board’s proposed Professional Capabilities Framework.  The report is based on the views of over 200 of its prospective members was informed by questionnaire responses. 

The full report can be downloaded from the College of Social Work's website.

24 March 2011

Equality in higher education report published

The Higher Education Academy (HEA) and Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) have just published a commentary to provide higher education institutions with ideas and examples on how to support Black and minority ethnic (BME) students to achieve a better degree classification on graduation. The online publication 'Improving the degree attainment of Black and minority ethnic students' is the culmination of the HEA and ECU summit programme, which brought 15 higher education institutions together to plan, develop, and/or pilot initiatives to address the attainment gap in their institutions. The full report can be downloaded from the ECU website.