Family court body raises concerns over Cafcass training scheme

Derren Hayes
Thursday, May 27, 2021

An association representing children’s practitioners in the family courts has raised concerns about the creation of a newly qualified social worker (NQSW) training programme by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass).

Family court advisers support children the subject of public and private law cases. Image: AdobeStock
Family court advisers support children the subject of public and private law cases. Image: AdobeStock

Earlier this month, Cafcass launched a three-year training programme for NQSWs to incorporate an assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE), a six-month work placement in a local authority and further academic training.

This programme is overseen by the Cafcass Social Work Academy and enables NQSW to develop practice skills in a safe environment, according to Cafcass.

However, Nagalro, the association for children’s guardians, family court advisers and independent social workers, said Cafcass’s roles are “unsuitable” for newly qualified and inexperienced staff because of the “extremely complex” nature of cases.

In a statement it said: “The decisions made by courts shape children's lives forever, including whether children’s relationships with their parents should be severed. They are fundamental ones about who brings a child up, who has a relationship with a child and what sort of relationship that will be.

“Cafcass practitioners need to provide expert-level assessments and bring professional judgment and expertise to bear on very complex situations so that the best possible decisions are made for vulnerable children.

“Part of the assessment process in public law work, as an expert for the court, entails an overview of the decisions and actions of any individual local authority. It is hard to see how this can be achieved without an in-depth and experiential understanding of working in a local authority.”

The concerns are echoed by Ray Jones, emeritus professor of social work at Kingston University.

“For NQSWs to move straight into employment with Cafcass is questionable as the best route to building a strong career-spanning foundation in social work,” he said.

“It misses that crucial experience of being a case holding practitioner working, in particular, with children and families and other local agencies at the frontline of statutory children’s social services.”

Cafcass said that programme participants will be “robustly supported” through its Social Work Academy, which has mentors and practice educators providing review, supervision and guidance.  

In a statement it said: “Although this is the first year of the academy, Cafcass is building on a small but successful NQSW programme which has been in place for a number of years. We have supported 13 NQSWs into roles as family court advisers in the last three years, following successful completion of their three-year programme."

There are 45 posts available through the NQSW scheme over the next three years, and Cafcass said it has received 222 applications for the 10 available places in 2021.

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