Social Work Policy Panel newsletter September 2025
Next meeting
Next SWPP Anti-Racism and Social Work: 7th October 2025 12-1pm. Book your free place here
Notes from September’s meeting:
Introduction
This month the Policy Panel heard from the Scottish Government team developing the social work Career Resource (previously known as the Advance Practice Framework: APF).
Introduction
Iain Ramsay, Professional Social Work Advisor, Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser, introduce the career resource, indicating that it had evolved from the advance practice framework as a direct consequence of the feedback given by social workers over the previous twelve months.
The change in title is purposeful. Rather than solely supporting advance practice, the resource intends to support social workers throughout their career, from newly qualified to experienced and specialist social workers. This shift in focus will also be driven by social workers who will have opportunities over the coming year to influence how the resource will look and the types of support that it will provide.
Since the APF was first explored there have been significant changes in the social work landscape, chief among them the creation of the National Social Work Agency. The agency is in the process of being developed in that is termed a ‘shadow year’. That is, the key partnerships and positions that will deliver for social workers are being developed in advance of its’ launch.
Key Points from the presentation
The Career Resource will focus on supporting ‘fulfilling’ social work careers, driven by social workers, to meet the developing post-qualifying standards being developed by the SSSC.
The resource will support continuous learning and development, and workplaces that support career planning across social work.
The resource will draw on real life experiences of social workers across Scotland, to support multi-agency and multidisciplinary working while maintaining the distinctive social work mission, and developing expertise as careers develop into social work specialisms.
A writing group is currently engaged in drafting the initial resource based on existing consultation responses and data. The first version will be available later this year, in advance of the Scottish Parliamentary election.
The resource will be part of a suite of supports for social workers to practice with confidence and clarity.
The team are looking for views from social workers on their best experiences of learning and development and recommendations for future resources and support.
Discussion
There was a wide-ranging discussion at the end of the presentation. The key points are presented below:
The resource will be delivered before the end of this Parliament and will represent ‘version 1’. It is the teams’ intention to continuously review the offer in response to social worker experiences of support and of the resource.
It is important to retain practice wisdom as much as to provide career resources for new social workers.
The career resource will not have a direct link to pay at this early stage in its development.
How to Get Involved
The team encouraged the panel members to keep in touch. There are opportunities to comment and contribute through September and October. The team also asked that members contribute their experience of learning in practice using the QR.
About the Social Work Policy Panel
All students, newly qualified and experienced social workers are welcome to come along to our events.
The panel is jointly run by the Scottish Association of Social Work, the Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser, and Social Work Scotland. It was created to bring frontline workers and policy makers in Government together to address the issues affecting social work today. It is an opportunity to influence those policy makers and the future of social work with your experience and knowledge.
As a social worker, we know you’re busy and facing lots of competing pressures. That’s why we want to make the panel as influential and meaningful as possible.
Get in touch with us through the panel mailbox: SWPP@basw.co.uk
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What is the Social Work Professional Support Service (SWPSS)?
- A FREE and independent peer coaching service by and for social workers
- Facilitated by experienced and trained social work coaches who volunteer their time
- Provides you with a safe and empathetic space to think through any professional and/or personal challenges you may be facing
- Offers a confidential peer to peer listening space
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Social workers have used the service to talk through their career planning and development needs, the impact of the work role on their personal life/health, placements, to gain confidence, to process the experience of being bullied/racially targeted or to manage change/turbulences in the organisations they work for.