Northamptonshire Children's Trust Social Work Academy receives ‘Excellent Standard’ peer review

It said: “This QA review identified many strengths in relation to the ASYE programme, which is in place at NCT, and reviewers feel that the overall offer is of an excellent standard and something that other organisations could learn from.”

The Social Work Academy at Northamptonshire Children’s Trust recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary and over the years has strived to learn, improve and develop the offer for newly qualified social workers (NQSW’S) embarking on their ASYE.

“We know that social work is a very rewarding career, but likewise challenging and intense which is why it is important that any NQSW’s embarking on their social work career need support, guidance and protected time to enable them to develop their skills and we have worked really hard to ensure that our ASYE programme does that.” says Maxine Clark, Service Manager for the Social Work Academy and Learning and Development.

Maxine has been managing the SWA since it began and in the last 10 years has seen 331 NQSW’s being supported by the academy, many who have gone on to be senior social workers, advanced practitioners and team managers at NCT.

She says: “From September 2022 to September 2024, 72 NQSW’s enrolled on the ASYE programme at NCT. I’m pleased to say that 45 have successfully completed, with just 1 failing to complete, 5 having to withdraw, and the rest of the cohort are still doing their ASYE. On top of this a further 18 NQSW’s embarked on their ASYE at the end of last year.

“I feel proud to be part of their journey to see them grow and develop into the best social workers they can be. It is fantastic to see so many of them progress their careers at NCT. I love it, that even after they’ve completed their ASYE, so many of them regularly stay in touch with us in the academy and we are always here to support them.”

It was reassuring that, on their visit, the Skills for Care team noted that there was a golden thread throughout the feedback gathered that NQSWs felt very supported by their assessors and managers and in turn, managers felt supported by the ASYE Assessors. ASYE Assessors are committed to providing good quality support and when occasionally issues do arise with workload protection, there is evidence that the assessors are advocating for workload protection and senior management have oversight.

“NCT is a very forward-thinking organisation, that is really committed to growing and developing social work talent.” says Lara Timms, Assistant Director Quality and Practice (Principal Social Worker).

She added: “I am relatively new to NCT but can already see the amazing work that is happening here. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this peer review and feel incredibly pleased for the team to receive such positive feedback. There is always room for improvement though and it was great that Skills for Care saw that we already have plans in place to make our program even better. There are exciting times ahead for NQSW’s joining NCT.”

Our workforce is our most valuable asset which is why we put a lot of focus on our learning and development offer and learning and sharing from best practice. It was great that this was recognised in the peer review, with them noting: “There are good learning and development opportunities available for NQSWs as part of the programme and the wider organisation.”

The ASYE programme at NCT is embedded into the wider organisation and enthusiasm was observed during the review visit to continue building on the programme.

Colin Foster, Chief Executive, said: “We strive to make NCT an inclusive, supportive organisation where social workers can thrive and it was great to have this recognised in the peer review, with Skills for Care noting that NCT has a good framework and expectations in place to support an inclusive culture.”

He added “NCT are on an improvement journey, and it is great to have these improvements being recognised in reviews such as this. This is the next generation of social workers that we are supporting and empowering, so it is important to get it right. This outcome of this review is testament to the sheer hard work and dedication of the social work academy and learning and development team.”

Maxine added: “I am immensely proud of the SWA and learning and development teams. Our ASYE programme is a real team effort, and it is fantastic to get this recognition.”

We currently have an advert open for social work graduates to apply to be part of our next ASYE cohort. You can find out more and apply here: https://careers.nctrust.co.uk/jobs/job/Newly-Qualified-Social-Workers-ASYE-Social-Work-Academy/5549