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Scottish Social Services Council

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) is responsible for registering people who work in social services and regulating their education and training.
Set up as part of a drive to raise standards in social services, their role is to increase the protection of people who use social services, to raise standards of practice and to increase public confidence in the sector.

Information about the SSSC can be found here or by accessing their website.

SSSC Consultation on Descriptions of Housing Support and Care at Home workers

The SSSC is carrying out a consultation on the descriptions of functions of supervisors and workers in both Care at Home and Housing Support services. Registration of supervisors and workers in both types of service commences in 2014 and 2017 respectively. The descriptions of manager in both types of services were finalised last year in advance of the register opening for that group of staff.

The proposal is that supervisors in both housing support and care at home services be described as follows: 'A supervisor is employed in providing and supervising the provision of direct care and support to a person...' (within a care at home or a housing support service). The proposed description for workers in both housing support and care at home services is that: ' A worker is employed in providing direct care and support to a person ...' (within a care at home or housing support service).

The consultation also lays out qualification requirements relating to care at home supervisors and workers (please note a separate consultation is being conducted about qualifications for housing support staff).

The SSSC has set up a focus group to help promote and comment on the proposals. At the second meeting of the group there was some discussion about the lack of a ‘practitioner' role sitting between supervisor and worker. Whilst the consultation document does not include a ‘practitioner role' it may be something which you have a view on. If so please contact the HSEU before the next meeting of the focus group on 9th August.

The SSSC is conducting a webinar session on 27th July at 2pm - 3pm. This will consist of an online interactive session with the SSSC and will be an opportunity to find out more about the consultation as well as to make comments or pose questions. For details about the webinar session and how to join it go to http://www.sssc.uk.com/sssc/news/do-you-work-in-a-care-at-home-or-housing-support-service-join-our-webinar.html

Written responses to the consultation should be with the SSSC by 26th August 2011.

Find out more information about the consultation. http://www.sssc.uk.com/sssc/projects-and-consultations/

The SSSC is currently consulting on qualifications for social service workers.

The HSEU has put together a response to the consultation. Read the response here. If you wish to add to HSEU's response please contact yvette.burgess@ccpscotland.org by 16th June 2011.

Alternatively, visit the SSSC's website and respond directly by 24th June 2011.

Change to the date of the opening of the housing support register

Adam Ingram, Minister for Children and Early Years announced that managers of care at home services will now be included in the registration process. In a letter to providers he said this decision has been made in recognition of the increasing trend for care at home services to be jointly registered to provide housing support services.

Given that housing support staff are already within the scope of registration, that there are a number of combined housing support and care at home services, and that staff are often interchangeable, there are necessary implications for the commencement of registration for housing support staff.

To ensure concurrent registration of managers in both services, registration of housing support staff will not commence until December 2010, not Autumn 2009 as previously stated. Following this decision the SSSC will consult with the sector on qualifications and fee levels.

Sector Skills Agreement

The Scottish Social Services Council, as part of the Sector Skills Council, Skills for Care and Development (SfCD), commissioned research during autumn and winter 2006 with employers and service users into current skill gaps and future skills needs in the social services sector's workforce. The SSSC has also been gathering data on current education and training provision for the social services sector in Scotland.

If you would like more information on the SSA please visit the SSSC website where you can also access the findings from the research.

Registration of the housing support workforce

Currently positions in housing support are unregulated. However, in the future all staff working within housing support will have to register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and to be accepted onto the register will have to hold appropriate qualifications.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) announced the qualification framework that housing support staff will be subject to in order to register and maintain registration with the SSSC in 2005.The housing support register will open towards the end of 2010. It is anticipated that managers and supervisors will be registered first with support workers being invited to register at a later date.

Information about registration and the sorts of qualifications which are considered appropriate for qualification is available on the SSSC website.

Consultation on Qualification Requirements for Registration of Managers of Care at Home and Housing Support Services

The SSSC is conducting a consultation exercise which could affect housing support services. Whilst the consultation focuses on care at home managers it does also raise questions about the definition of housing support managers and includes proposals to update the qualification requirements for managers of housing support services.

The consultation document is available to download from the SSSC website. The deadline for responses is the 18th of January 2010.

The Voluntary Sector Social Services Workforce Unit has prepared a briefing to assist those considering the questions addressed in the consultation document:

The Housing Support Enabling Unit has submitted a response to the consultation.

The Sector Skills Assessment

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) is carrying out its annual study of the workforce's skills needs. This questionnaire is for

a) people who use social services and

b) carers.

This questionnaire should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. All questions are optional, please answer what you can. The results will provide SSSC with valuable information about the strengths / areas of development for the services that you receive or work with. SSSC will use your feedback and views to inform the work they do in 2011/12.

The questionnaire is available from the link here: http://svy.mk/sUPgjl

There is no closing date for responses: SSSC will remove the link to the questionnaire when they are ready to analyse the results - likely to be in late January 2012.

If you have any questions about this work please contact Neil Macleod, Education and Workforce Development Adviser: Neil.Macleod@sssc.uk.com Please also contact Neil if you would like hard copies of the questionnaire or require the questionnaire in an alternative format.

Housing Support Enabling Unit