Update has a new baby sister!

We hope you find our regular Update e-newsletters helpful - our thanks go to those of you who have given us useful feedback over the years. We’ve now decided to extend Update to include your students as well. With that in mind, from now on we’ll be sending you a specially edited version to share with your groups. We’ll send them direct to students, too, where we have the contact details. We’d be interested to hear your news and views on Update - or any interesting stories you might like us to share. Counselling-related jokes and funny stories will be particularly welcome! Please contact us on update@cpcab.co.uk.

Qualifications and regulation – what’s happening at the moment

Regulation
The uncertainties regarding counselling training and regulation continue, with the whole field is currently undergoing a time of change and uncertainty. What we can say categorically is that, as yet, no decision about qualifications and levels of training has been made.

The Health Professions Council’s PLG (Professional Liaison Group, of which our Head of Qualifications is a member) is now meeting regularly to make recommendations which will inform the legislative process. There will be further consultation with the wider community during 2009 and recommendations made in May 2009. The legislative process will then take a further 18 months to come into operation. Regulation, together with a grandparenting scheme, is likely to take effect in 2011.

Qualifications and Credit Framework
Skills for Health (our Sector Skills Council) will begin the work towards migrating qualifications onto the new qualifications framework from July 2009. Current information from LSC is that funding for NQF qualifications will end in July 2010. CPCAB expects to put new unitised qualifications onto the QCF, which replaces the NQF, from September 2010. These qualifications will have credits attached and will be mapped to both the HPC (Health Professions Council) standards of proficiency and the NOS (National Occupational Standards) requirements.

So, contrary to what you may be hearing, NO decisions have yet been made. We will, of course, continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available. See CPCAB’s website for our regular updates on regulation and other news.

Timeline:

PLG regular meetings	Now until May 2009
PLG meeting for wider community	31st March 2009 (Manchester)
PLG makes recommendations to HPC	May 2009
HPC possible further consultation with wider community	Second half of 2009
Skills for Health migration project begins	July 2009
NQF funding ends	July 2010
New unitised qualifications available on QCF	September 2010
Register planned to open	2011

CPCAB website - some improvements

At CPCAB head office we often get enquiries from prospective students looking for their nearest training centre for our qualifications. To make life easier we have added a new section, called (in a rather obvious way) “find your nearest centre”. The link leads to a complete list of our approved centres, county by county. We’ll keep it updated regularly as new centres join us and our old friends expand their range of qualifications. You can help us by registering your groups promptly so we can make sure you’re not missed from the list.

CPCAB and the Open University - Foundation Degree in Counselling

The launch of the new joint foundation degree has resulted in a huge increase in phone calls to head office from students interested in this exciting new qualification; one reason for making life easier for them by adding a list of our centres to our website (see ‘some improvements, above).

If you’ve missed our advance publicity about the foundation degree, a lightning sketch of it follows: 240 credit points in total, consisting of...

CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (90 points) PLUS

Either CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (60 points) OR
CPCAB Level 5 Certificate in Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic Skills and Theory (60 points) PLUS

90 credit points from OU modules, chosen from a wide range of options.

Whilst the level 4 Diploma must be taken before either level 5 option in the usual way, the Open University components can be taken before, after or during the CPCAB studies. A major marketing launch is now under way via the Open University and centres can expect many more enquiries about the CPCAB progression route in the months to come.

In particular we would welcome more applications from centres to run our level 5 qualifications, which are likely to see an enormous increase in uptake. There are likely to be many more enquiries about the level 4 Diploma too; please note that the Open University’s new Introduction to Counselling course (code D171) is an acceptable alternative for the level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies as entry on to TC-L4.

CPCAB standardisation training for 2009/10

Dates for next year’s standardisation training are now available. A reminder that all tutors teaching ICSK-L2 and above must be standardised during the academic year in which they are assessing. Tutor/ trainers teaching only ELSK-L2 & LSK-L2 do not need to attend. Certificates of attendance will be awarded to tutors attending a full CPCAB standardisation day and will be awarded 5 CPD points. Failure to meet standardisation requirements may result in your internal assessments being declared invalid.

More details, including booking forms, will be sent out to you soon.

Standardisation dates for 2009-2010

Location	Venue	Date
Sheffield	Novotel Sheffield Centre	Saturday 26th September 2009
London	School of Oriental and African Studies - Brunei Gallery - Russell Square campus	Friday 9th October 2009
London	School of Oriental and African Studies - Brunei Gallery - Russell Square campus	Saturday 10th October 2009
Birmingham	BVSC	Saturday 7th November 2009
Northern Ireland	Northern Regional College - Café Lamont	Friday 13th November 2009
Bristol	BAWA	Saturday 6th February 2010

Click on any of the venue names to find directions to the venue.
Please phone CPCAB on 01458 850350 on ext 2 or email Jackie Collier (jackie@cpcab.co.uk) to book your place.

Learning support questionnaire – win a free counselling DVD!

Knowing what you think about the level of help and support you receive from CPCAB is invaluable – it helps us to design and deliver an all-round better service for our tutors and students. That’s why we are giving you advance notice of our forthcoming learning support questionnaire which will feature in the next edition of this e-newsletter (there will be a similar version for students, via our new Student Update). We’d be very grateful if you could spare five minutes or so to tick the boxes and send it back to us. And, just to show our gratitude, all replies will enter a prize draw to win a free DVD, Listening and Counselling Skills - a How Not to Guide.