Awarded for social work aid

Charlotte Chapman, Emily Smith and Rebeka Hillyard are all members of Central Bedfordshire’s Children in Care Council.

They were presented with certificates at a meeting of Central Beds’ Corporate Parenting Panel on Monday.

The AQA Delivering A Training Course To Social Workers qualification gives the Children in Care Council members formal recognition for the work they have been doing with newly qualified social workers in their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment.

The training programme was designed by the Children in Care Council members with the council’s Youth Support Services making sure that the award was accredited by awarding body AQA.

Charlotte said: “As a member of the CiCC, we want to make sure children and young people get the best service possible. We think that by training social workers and using our experiences we can help develop the way they engage with children and young people.”

The young people are involved right from the application stage when they take part in an assessment centre with people applying to be social workers. They score all of those taking part and that is taken into consideration along with formal interviews and written tests.

They also organise and deliver focus groups and evaluate the outcomes of the programme.

Anyone interested in a career in social work with Central Bedfordshire Council should visit www.loveyourjobagain.com