In Scotland, social workers are regulated by the Scottish Social Services Council.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) are the regulator for the social service workforce in Scotland. The SSSC are responsible for registering people working in social services and make sure they adhere to the SSSC Codes of Practice.
The Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers establish the standards of practice and behaviour expected of social workers and their employers. The Codes provide standards of professional conduct and practice that social service workers must meet in their everyday work.
You can download the latest (revised 2016) SSSC Standards of Conduct and Practice for Social Workers here.
National Occupational Standards (NOS) describe the competencies required of social workers in whatever setting they may work. National Occupational Standards are valuable tools to be used as benchmarks for qualifications as well as for defining roles at work, staff recruitment, supervision and appraisal.
The Scottish Social Care Council has holds a wide range of standards relating to social work and related areas of professional practice.
The SSSC National Occupational Standards ‘Navigator’ which carries other related standards, can be found here.
The standards relating to social work education and newly Qualified Social Workers were revised in 2016 and a document outlining the changes can be found here.
Please note that there has been a subsequent revision in 2018, which incorporated into the Standards for Social Work Education, the Key Capabilities for Child Care and Protection – and expanded the latter to include all individuals (not just children).
In Scotland, the SSSC has requirements for Newly Qualified Social Workers on Post Registration Learning and Training which can be accessed here.
The UK’s social work regulatory bodies all have standards and/ or guidance that inform the process of re-registration for social work practitioners which, in turn, relates to various forms of professional development that continues throughout a social worker’s career.
In Scotland, social workers have requirements on Post Registration Learning and teaching which can be accessed here.
In Scotland, registrants must keep a record of their CPD as part of the re-registration process. Details can be accessed here.