Introduction

The Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work was established (as the Council for Training in Social Work) under the Health Visiting and Social Work Act 1962. Its powers and duties were consolidated under the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudication Act 1983. The Council is a registered charity.

The Council has four principal functions:

• to promote and develop education, training and qualifications to meet the needs of the personal social services;

• to ensure quality in the provision of education, training and qualifications for social work and social care;

• to provide information, registration and certification services to students and candidates; and

• to provide post graduate bursaries for social work students resident in Great Britain.

CCETSW is a UK organisation with national offices in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and English regional offices in Bristol, Leeds, London and Rugby.

The Council consists of a Chairman of up to 25 (currently 16) other members directly appointed by the Secretary of State for Health. There are national committees for each of the four countries of the UK, with delegated responsibilities to oversee CCETSW's work in those countries. The Finance, General Purpose and Audit Committee oversees the preparation of annual resource submissions and budgets and the effective, efficient and economical use of resources.

Achievements in 1996/97

Progress continued on the expansion of vocational qualifications with a 270% increase in registrations over three years. The year started with a record 35,000 students and candidates registered for CCETSW awards. During the year, the first open learning Diploma in Social Work programme was approved and the first interactive guide to careers in social work was developed.

CCETSW negotiated changes to education and training arrangements following local government reorganisations. There were a total of 1,017 CCETSW approved programmes and schemes in 1996/97, an increase of 17% over the last year. There has been extensive development of guidance and training materials on a wide variety of topics.

CCETSW provided bursaries to post graduate students in England, Scotland and Wales undertaking the Diploma in Social Work. Over 1,100 bursaries were provided at a total cost of £18m. In addition, a further £10m was provided to CCETSW approved programmes for training support, including payments for the provision of practice placements.

CCETSW is aiming to achieve recognition as an Investor in People by March 1998.

Plans for 1997/98

CCETSW plans to:

• increase the number of S/NVQ registration and awards completed by 25%;

• increase the number of Post Qualifying and Advanced Awards in Social Work by 50%;

• work with employers, government and other key organisations to achieve 5,000 Diploma in Social Work graduates in the year;

• continue the maintenance of quality assurance and quality control of CCETSW approved programmes and schemes; and

• develop a new post qualifying award for complex child care work and a further award on mental health work.

Key Performance Targets
	1994/95		1995/96		1996/97		1997/98
Key Measure	Set	Achieved	Set	Achieved	Set	Achieved	Set
No. of Student and Candidate Registrations	14,000	12,983	14,500	14,962	15,700	17,274	16,200
No. of CCETSW Awards Issued	7,400	6,848	7,800	8,013	8,400	8,708	8,500
No. of Approved Education and Training Providers	807	733	864	867	1,032	917	1,100
No. of Quality Award Monitoring Exercises	476	396	563	507	819	836	796
Support Services as a % of CCETSW's total budget	8.4	8.0	7.5	8.8	8.3	9.3	8.7