Funding update

CPCAB is continuing to seek clarification about funding as we enter the new financial year. As we all know money, is short and cuts are affecting everyone. However, we all should bear in mind the following:

• Even where a qualification is listed as fundable this is based on individual entitlement. And many of those currently in receipt of benefits will not be entitled to fee remission from 2011/12.
• Centres need to check that the qualifications they choose meet the needs of the learners in terms of:
  (1) the competence achieved;
  (2) in enabling learners to progress to the next stage of training.
  
  For example, not all qualifications entitled ‘counselling skills’ actually deliver competence in counselling skills.
• Fully-funded courses, i.e. those courses where the fees charged cover the full cost of the course and which are entirely covered by the student, are an attractive option. Many centres are successfully running fully-funded courses for adults and are finding that their overall retention and pass rates have improved because all learners have made a personal investment in their training.
• There are strong indications that learners will be able to access personal loans for vocational training from 2013. The details of this scheme have not yet been published.

What does this means for CPCAB qualifications?
This means that although CPCAB qualifications may not be on a funding list they are still the qualifications of choice because:

• We offer a coherent progression route from Level 2 to Level 6 based on a single practitioner model.
• Our qualifications are up-to-date, research-informed and support evidence-based practice.
• Our CSK-L2 qualification delivers practical competence in counselling skills at Level 2.
• Our CST-L3 prepares learners for the diploma level training by including preparation for agency work and supervision skills as well as theory at Level 3.
• We are the only specialist awarding body in this field and offer specialist support from counsellors and psychotherapists.
• Our website attracts thousands of visitors interested in counselling training so we can help you recruit students via our national marketing campaigns and counselling focus. To find out more please call Clare Bewley on 01458 850350.
• Our qualifications are an essential component of the Open University’s Foundation Degree in Counselling.
• We are committed and well-placed, via our links with wider sector bodies, to ensure that CPCAB qualifications meet any future registration requirements.
• We care passionately about counselling and are spear-heading a vision for counselling which challenges the medicalisation of human distress.

Regulation update

In February the government published a command paper entitled ‘Enabling Excellence’ to support the earlier publication of the Health and Social Care Bill in January. This paper clearly states that the government would prefer regulation to be based on ‘assured voluntary registers rather than statutory regulation except where there is a “compelling case” based on risk to the public. Existing voluntary registers can be accredited by the overall regulator, the CHRE (to be renamed the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care - PSA) or new voluntary registers can be created and held by other regulators – such as the HPC. Consequently there are a number of possible options for the regulation of counselling and psychotherapy:

1. Statutory regulation – if there is a convincing case based on public risk. HPC itself has not yet published its final recommendations for counselling and psychotherapy; however counselling and psychotherapy were not singled out for statutory regulation in the bill.

2. A new single voluntary register - this might be created and held by HPC. This would look much like a statutory register but the HPC would have fewer powers. Employers might require practitioners to register as a condition of employment but it would not be a statutory requirement for all practitioners, nor would the titles be protected. HPC itself has not finalised its own position on the creation of voluntary registers and has instructed its own executive to look again at these issues.

3. The accreditation of existing voluntary registers by PSA. These registers would have to meet certain criteria but entry to the register and sanctions would be managed by the holder of the register, i.e. the professional bodies.

The outcome is, therefore, still far from certain. The HPC itself (to be renamed the Health and Care Professions Council or HCPC) will be discussing these issues again at its next council meeting on 12th May 2011.

The professional bodies have generally welcomed the possibility of assured voluntary registers rather than statutory regulation. However, there are issues about how the public will make sense of a landscape where there are several different but parallel registers.

CPCAB is continuing to track developments and to maintain the good relationships we developed when working on the PLG. We are being given opportunities to engage in the ongoing debate and we hope that the collaborative work done by the PLG will be put to good use in any future solution. For further information visit the professional body websites or click on the following link - http://www.hpc-uk.org/mediaandevents/statements/commandpaperrepsonse/.

Unique Learner Numbers (ULNs)

Some centres will be familiar with obtaining and using Unique Learner Numbers (ULNs) for their students.  The ULN system and the associated web-based Personal Learning Record is still an optional rather than a mandatory requirement for awarding bodies.  CPCAB has taken the necessary steps to be able to engage with this system if and when it becomes mandatory and we could obtain ULNs on behalf of learners if requested.  However, there are still a number of data protection and data management concerns which are being ironed out at a higher level.

In the meantime there is an optional field in our on-line registration system which can be used to record the candidate’s ULN if they have one.  Centres are welcome to supply us with these numbers and they will be stored in our data base. We will keep you informed of future developments.

Counselling hours - should they include working with children?

CPCAB is often asked whether trainees can undertake placements working with children when studying the level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4) and if so what percentage of the required 100 hours can be with children. The following updated guidance will be incorporated into the TC-L4 tutor support document entitled Guidance to Workplace Experience for September 2011.

The answer is not simple because a number of factors need to be taken into consideration. The key issues to consider are:

• The safety and protection of children is paramount and specialist training, knowledge and skills are needed to work with children;
• The client work undertaken for TC-L4 must include sufficient client hours to demonstrate competence with adults and enable the trainee to meet the learning outcomes and assessment criteria;
• Centres (usually course tutors) hold responsibility for managing placements so the final decision of where trainees undertake placements rests with the centre;
• Some individual candidates may have specific skills and knowledge acquired outside the course that enable individual trainees to work ethically and safely with children;
• Trainees should not carry sole responsibility for client assessment in the agency and should have access to referral routes if they encounter clients or issues that are beyond their individual competence;
• The term ‘child’ encompasses a wide age range; competence to work with 16+ is different from the competence required to work with children of primary school age;
• Agencies may have their own requirements for trainees working in their placement.

Courses are not all the same
The CPCAB level 4 diploma is assessed to a national standard via a common set of learning outcomes and associated assessment criteria but each individual centre has its own unique training programme. If the centre training programme (1) includes specific skills and knowledge for working with children and (2) the tutors are themselves suitably qualified and experienced in this area, they may support learners to take up placements working with children.

If the course itself does not include specialised training for working with children but the agency offers and supports trainees to work with children via their own induction and training programmes, candidates may undertake a proportion of their hours with children provided the course tutors are happy to support this.

In all cases trainees should be supported by appropriate clinical supervision. This is often provided by the agency itself.

Centres and Group Training supervision
Centres/tutors are required to run group training sessions as part of the course in addition to the candidate’s external/placement supervision. If centres/tutors do not feel confident supervising trainees working with children they are acting ethically in making it clear to trainees that they may not take up placements working with children. In addition, some tutors are happy to work with clients who are 14+ or 16+ or 18+ but not younger children. As tutors have responsibility for trainees this is ultimately a centre decision not a CPCAB decision. All information regarding the centre’s policy on placements should be clearly published and made available to trainees during the selection process and in the course handbook.

Working with adults
All trainees must undertake sufficient client hours to demonstrate their ability to work with adults. In practice this means that only a proportion of client hours can be with children. Tutors can exercise discretion as to the exact proportion in relation to their own trainees but CPCAB recommends that at least 70% of the total client hours should be with adults. The only exception is where the centre has applied for and been approved to run a diploma with a descriptor that contextualises the qualification. Where this is the case a descriptor (eg “working with children and young people”) is added to the qualification certificate and the client work would reflect this specialism.

If in any doubt please contact CPCAB for further information and guidance.

Fiona Ballantine Dykes
Head of Qualifications CPCAB

TC-L4 transition arrangements for the changeover from NQF to QCF

1. Diploma candidates taking a year out
From September 2011 candidates will not be able to register for the (old) NQF qualification. Any candidates taking a TCL4 Diploma from this date onwards, whether Year 1 or Year 2, will have to be registered on the (new) QCF qualification.

There are likely to be some candidates who, for various reasons, may have had a year off at the end of Year 1, and will be caught between the previous and current qualifications when continuing on to a Year 2 course.

Prospective applicants who fall into this category will need to be interviewed by a Diploma tutor who must carry out the RPL process in order to determine the suitability of candidates to join a Year 2 group.

Successful candidates will then need to register for the new qualification with the rest of the group they are joining, map their previously assessed portfolio work to the criteria under the new qualification (500/8088/X), and take the external assessment under the new qualification at the same time as the rest of their new group.

Client hours, supervision hours and personal therapy can be carried forward to Year 2 providing that they have been documented in the required way.

2. Diploma candidates wishing to re-sit the external assessment
There will be some candidates who have studied on the former NQF qualification, been deemed non-proficient at external assessment and need to re-sit during the academic year beginning September 2011.

There is no substantial change to the external assessment. There are only minimal cosmetic changes to the format of the 7 assessable areas for the recording, and the Review Paper will look exactly the same. Therefore candidates can be entered for the external assessment on what is essentially the ‘new’ QCF qualification even if they had previously been registered on the older NQF qualification. However, their resulting Diploma will still be an NQF qualification and not a QCF qualification.

Standardisation training

It’s time to think about standardisation training again - venues and dates are listed below.

Location	Venue	Date
London	School of Oriental and African Studies - Brunei Gallery - Russell Square campus	Friday 30th September 2011 Qualification levels 2-6
London	School of Oriental and African Studies - Brunei Gallery - Russell Square campus	Saturday 1st October 2011 Qualification levels 2-4 New tutors
Birmingham	BVSC	Saturday 15th October 2011 Qualification levels 2-4 New tutors
Bristol	BAWA	Saturday 19th November 2011 Qualification levels 2-4 New tutors
Northern Ireland	Northern Regional College - Café Lamont	Friday 25th November 2011 Qualification levels 2-6 New tutors

Click on any of the venue names above to visit their website.

Please note:
Centres must ensure that at least one experienced tutor and all new tutors attend a standardisation training session during the 2011/12 academic year. This is to ensure that they are assessing to a common standard.

CPCAB would like to draw your attention to the following:

• There is only one training day for tutors delivering qualifications at levels 5 and 6. (Friday 30/09/11 in London). This is so that all tutors teaching the higher levels are present on the same day to provide a richer and more meaningful experience. Please note we will also be covering levels 2-4 on this day.
• Tutors delivering only ICSK-L2 do not have to attend standardisation UNLESS they are delivering the course for the FIRST time and have not been standardised.  CPCAB will verify the tutor assessments of candidate portfolios during the routine EV visits. (Please note tutors only delivering ELSK, LSK & USM do not need to attend a standardisation training day).
• Tutors not attending this academic year must receive ‘cascade’ training from the attending tutor(s).
• There is no charge for standardisation training and lunch is provided; to be sure of getting a place at your most convenient venue it's advisable to book early.

A charge of £50 will be made to a centre for the non-attendance of a tutor who has booked a place and has not cancelled a week before the training or who has failed to attend on the day.

Qualification Development and Accreditation Service for tailor made courses

CPCAB’s Qualification Development and Accreditation Service supports the development and accreditation of unique provider specific qualifications designed by individual training providers. This process provides the candidates with certification by a nationally recognised awarding organisation which is evidence of their competence.

Unique tailor made courses can range in length from a short intensive to a programme of weekly or monthly classes. CPCAB offers the skills of professional educationists who are highly skilled in developing qualifications. We review your proposals, guide the development process and support you through the delivery and certification of candidates. We also support the marketing of your provision via our website.

The benefit of this process is that you are able to respond to your organisational and market needs in a sensitive, unique and flexible way.
 
What we will do to support you in the process

• We will review your initial proposal
• We will host a scoping meeting to discuss your initial requirements propose a formal needs analysis of your requirements
• We will guide you through the process of developing your learning and assessment criteria
• We will accredit your course and provide a certificate with the logos of your organisation and that of CPCAB
• We will appoint an independent verifier who will visit your course and provide the necessary support for your delivery, assessment and certification processes
• We will follow up post-course evaluation and feedback with an annual ‘Certificate of Continued Accreditation’

To find out more
Please contact Maureen Moore, Director of Qualifications Development on 01458 850350 or email her at mmoore@cpcab.co.uk.