Consultation ends: 17/10/08

The Care Council for Wales is consulting on a Strategy for Children and Young people's Workforce in Wales and a Common Core of Skills and Knowledge.

The Welsh Assembly Government in 2005 charged the Care Council for Wales with taking forward the development of a Children and Young People Workforce Development Network for Wales.  The Network’s tasks were: to bring forward a Children and Young People Workforce Development Strategy; to develop a Common Core of Skills and Knowledge; and to develop a Qualification Framework for the workforce.

The Children and Young People’s Workforce Strategy aims to:

• Strengthen the children and young people’s workforce
• Ensure that all workers have appropriate skills and qualifications
• Increase the recruitment into the children's workforce and improve the retention of high quality employees.
• Make sure that the unique qualities and contributions of individual professions are recognised and planned for.
• Ensure that workers have a common core of skills and knowledge relevant to working with children and young people.
• Ensure that the workforce delivers joined up services and improves communication across sectors.

The Common Core serves as a tool for all those working with children and young people and it sets out the required information, skills and understanding to practise in six areas of practice:

• Effective Communication And Engagement
• Child And Young Person Development
• Safeguarding And Promoting The Welfare Of The Child
• Supporting Transitions
• Multi-Agency And Partnership Working
• Sharing Information.

Consultation documents are available to download from the Care Council for Wales website.

Further information on the consultation is available from Sioned Wyn Williams, Care Council for Wales.

If you wish to submit your comments through Children in Wales, please respond to lynne.hill@childreninwales.org.uk by the 10^th of October 2008.