Child and family assessed and supported year in employment development Action learning facilitation programme Information pack Index Background 2 About this programme 2 Programme duration and start date 3 What is action learning? 4 What is an action learning set? 4 Programme tutors and facilitators 5 About the Centre For Action Learning 5 About the ILM and the ILM Development Award 5 Delivery of the ILM Development Award in Action Learning Facilitation 6 Student membership of the Institute of Leadership and Management 6 Student membership 6 1
Background This programme is part of the activity agreed with the Department for Education (DfE) to support the quality assurance and continuous improvement of the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) programmes. A key aspect of the ASYE is the focus on critically reflective practice and as such any local programme activity that supports newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) develop in this crucial aspect of their professional role can be regarded as a significant quality indicator. Skills for Care has promoted action learning as a means of developing critically reflective practice since we began supporting employers with the development of their NQSWs - firstly through the NQSW framework and then the ASYE. A number of years ago, we developed a sustainable resource for employers through training action learning facilitators with our partners at the Centre for Action Learning Facilitation (CALF). Many employers now use action learning in the following ways: as part of their support package for NQSWs to enhance supervision and reflective practice discussions to provide additional learning opportunities to provide development for supervisors and managers. Research evidence for this value of this approach was commissioned by Skills for Care in 2014. The published report Improving social work practice through critically reflective action learning and found that: 1. Critically reflective practice of action learning can lead to improved decisionmaking, increased confidence and a willingness to act in difficult and wicked social work situations. Social workers equipped with knowledge of critical concepts and with the habits of critical reflection are more able, and perhaps more likely, to address the complex issues. 2. That critically reflective action learning helps social workers to refresh the ideas and ideals that brought them into the work and strengthens them in their work to meet client needs under complex and stressful conditions. We are therefore committed to continuing our support social work organisations to embed action learning methodologies within NQSW and ASYE programmes in order to support the development of critically reflective practice and analysis (PCF 6) About this programme The challenges social workers face are often complex and carry high levels of uncertainty. This is also true for the challenges ASYE leads experience when developing the quality of ASYE programmes. It is in situations like these where there are no simple or single right answer that the best solution is often found with the support of our peers. Through their support and challenge in an action learning set, we can collaborate, experiment and take deliberate risks to not only do things better but also to explore new ways to doing even better things together. 2
This programme has therefore been designed to fulfil the following aims: Build capacity for using action learning to develop ASYE practice through critical reflection, analysis and learning through action. Develop ASYE lead Communities of Practice action learning sets to share best practice and explore new and better ways of delivering ASYE programmes both locally and nationally. Who is this programme for? ASYE child and family leads or ASYE child and family supervisors (one from each organisation subject to demand). What will this programme include? A regional 3-day training course in how to facilitate action learning sets in your ASYE programmes (ILM Development Award in Action Learning Facilitation) Participation in a minimum of 4 x 6-weekly virtual action learning sets with your peer group. Each virtual set will last for 2 hours. What will you need to commit to? attending all 3 days of training participating in all post-training virtual action learning sets (minimum of 4) introducing an action learning component into your ASYE programme building action learning into your quality improvement plans. provide feedback to the NQSW Community of Practice about the impact of the action learning programme on NQSWs and ASYEs including short case studies. Programme duration and start dates The whole programme will take place over a period of 6 months. Training will be held in groups of 12. While this is a free programme, it is subject to the offer of a venue from an employer in your area. We will be able to finalise dates and venues once we have secured these offers. If you are able to offer a venue, please complete the form and email it to childandfamilyasye@skillsforcare.org.uk Training 3 days of taught input will be held over a period of 4 weeks with days 1 and 2 held consecutively, and day 3 taking place approximately one month later so as to enable you sufficient time to practice in your workplace some of the methodologies taught on day 2 of the programme, before returning for the final day of training. Virtual action learning sets The 4 virtual action learning sets will take place every month to 6 weeks after the completion of the 3 days of training. The final dates and timings of these will be agreed in partnership between yourself and the other members in your community of practice action learning set. Please note, that it is our hope that you will continue to meet as a community of practice action learning set beyond the duration of the programme. 3
What is action learning? Reg Revans is the cofounder of action learning and his crucial insight was that the really difficult problems and challenges (those without obvious right answers) can never be resolved by experts (who deal in right answers) and can only be resolved by those who face these challenges and experience the problem at first-hand. Action learning is an approach to individual and organisational learning. Working in small groups known as 'sets', people tackle important organisational or social challenges and learn from their attempts to improve things. - (Pedler and Abbott 2013 C-ALF learning) Action learning brings people together to exchange, support and challenge each other in action and in learning so that each person: joins and takes part as a volunteer (you can't be sent or send anyone else - although you might work at persuading and encouraging them) takes on an organisational problem, challenge or opportunity on which they will commit themselves to act upon is helped to succeed by a small group or action learning set of a few trusted friends and colleagues takes action and learns from the experience and actions they take. What is an action learning set? The action learning set is a very distinctive aspect of action learning. A set is a group of usually 6 people who a committed to meeting regularly over time to help each other to act and to learn. As well as talking about their own work-based problem or challenges, members are committed at each meeting to helping the others through a process of listening, supporting, asking questions and challenging. Giving advice as such tends not to be seen as particularly helpful. Based on new resulting insights into their problems, each set member then makes a commitment to take action before the next set meeting. 4
The facilitator s role is to support the action learning process and to create and maintain the conditions for participants to share their problems and issues, and to support and challenge each other. Their ultimate goal should be to enable the group to eventually become self-facilitating. Programme tutors and facilitators Lead facilitators for this programme will be the Centre For Action Learning who are specialists in the delivery of action learning, leadership and organisational development programmes in the health and social care and not for profit sectors. About the Centre For Action Learning CFAL work under the banner of Better Together - a form that reflects our individual expertise and the belief that organisations and individuals work better together often creating new ways of organising. We have a strong track record in working with leaders and executive leaders in the public, not for profit and private sectors and our delivery team is drawn have extensive career backgrounds in similar sectors and roles. We provide a wide range of sustainable programmes drawing together our collective expertise and experience of leadership, coaching, research, evaluation and facilitation using action learning methodologies. We aim to share insights from our programmes to support wider professional, community and organisational learning and innovation and through publication of papers and books as well as appearing as guest speakers at national and international conferences. Our approach is to work with organisations as partners in open and transparent relationships leaving them with a sustainable legacy. To date we have worked with over 150 clients across the world from the private, public and not for profit sectors and have also engaged with a much wider group of 182 organisations who have often been involved in multi-organisational CPD and leadership programmes that we have provided. So far, we have trained over 1700 people on ILM Development programmes or fully accredited ILM action learning, leadership and coaching courses. About the ILM and the ILM Development Award in Action Learning Facilitation Every year, over 100,000 managers and leaders improve their skills through ILM qualifications. The ILM are specialists in leadership and management development the UK s leading leadership, coaching and management qualifications provider widest and most flexible qualification portfolio supporting all levels of managers from team leaders through to CEOs with qualifications from Level 2 to Level 7 part of the City & Guilds group - we offer unrivalled experience in the sector and our Royal Charter brings the highest level of prestige all ILM qualifications are awarded by The City and Guilds of London Institute. 5
Delivery of the ILM Development Award in Action Learning Facilitation The 3-days of taught input of this programme will enable you to achieve an ILM Development Award in Action Learning Facilitation and will meet the following learning outcomes: apply appropriate knowledge and techniques to enhance your action learning facilitation skills with individuals, teams and large groups develop your capacity to manage your own learning and development as an action learning facilitator. The learning outcomes will be delivered through two key devices; a series of developmental workshops and which will explore broad themes and provide knowledge base for participants and the opportunity to practice techniques of facilitation. The ILM Development Award is not an accredited qualification but participants will instead receive a certificate of completion following attendance of all 3 days of training and submission of required evidence of participation and learning. This evidence includes personal reflective logs and a written recorded observation of your action learning practice during days 2 or 3 of the programme. Student membership of the Institute of Leadership and Management Learners who register for the programme will get ILM Student Membership for the duration of their training or 12 months. Benefits of Student Membership include access to: 1,000s of articles from titles including Management Today, Harvard Business Review and Forbes ILM research reports that tackle the hot topics, stimulate debate and reveal the latest leadership trends Edge online, ILM s weekly e-newsletter featuring the latest management news from their award-winning magazine ILM online community and exclusive LinkedIn Group, ideal for networking and sharing best practice ILM online Learning Zone that features video seminars, learning modules and essential subject overviews ILM professional CV builder, interview advice and job board discounts on ILM events. ILM student membership Participants on an ILM qualification programme are eligible for one year studying membership with The Institute of Leadership and Management. This is free and is highly recommended for all participants as members receive a number of benefits including access to on line resources such as journals and receive an e version of the ILM magazine EDGE. Other benefits can be found on the Institute of Leadership and Management s website www.institutelm.com. Once registered on the programme participants can activate their membership which will lasts for twelve months from the date of registration. Participants will receive an email reminder to activate membership with two weeks of registration. 6