Welcome back

It seems hard to believe that September is here and it is once again time to welcome back our friends at the start of another academic year. A warm welcome also goes to the many new centres who will be working with us for the first time. We hope you have all enjoyed the summer break and are feeling healthy and relaxed ready for the months ahead.

There will undoubtedly be more challenges to face in the worlds of education and counselling. As always, we aim to offer support and guidance in any way we can. We wish you all a busy and successful year.

CPCAB qualifications all extended on QCF

As you may know already, all CPCAB qualifications have now been granted a full extension by Ofqual and are accredited until December 2013 (units until December 2015). After the uncertainties of recent months this is good news indeed.

Funding of qualifications in general continues to be a concern, however, and we would like to assure you that CPCAB is making every possible effort to access the support that is needed for counselling training. View CPCAB's letter to the Skills Funding Agency arguing for better funding for counselling.

Adult Funding (Section 97)

As you are all aware funding for the Adult Learner Responsive funding stream is very limited.

Discussions continue with the Skills Funding Agency and Skills for Health regarding provision of funding for counselling qualifications across the board.

There are a range of issues which influence the availability of funding including government skills targets, the candidate’s eligibility for that funding and credit level agreements.

The immediate challenge is the requirement for all awarding organisations to agree to a common credit threshold for shared units at levels 2 and 3.

Negotiations are continuing and whilst there is still uncertainty about the outcome of those discussions, the Skills Funding Agency has agreed to place the following qualifications on their list of qualifications confirmed for public funding for a specified period only.

• L2 Award in Introduction to Counselling Skills (ICSK-L2) Ofqual Accred No. 500/7762/4
• L2 Certificate in Counselling Skills (CSK-L2) Ofqual Accred No. 500/7938/4 and
• L3 Certificate in Counselling Studies (CST-L3) Ofqual Accred No. 500/8009/X

These qualifications have been classified as ‘Target Bearing’ which means that courses beginning before 31st December 2010 will be fully funded.

The Skills Funding Agency will not guarantee funding for these qualifications with a start date after 31st December 2010.

Funding for learners 14-19 (Section 96)

In addition CPCAB can confirm that the following qualifications have been approved by JACQA and are eligible for funding for learners aged between 14-19.

• L2 Award in Effective Listening Skills (ELSK-L2) Ofqual Accred No. 500/7794/6
• L2 Award in Listening Support Skills (LSK-L2) Ofqual Accred No. 500/7793/4
• L2 Award in Introduction to Counselling Skills (ICSK-L2) and
• L2 Certificate in Counselling Skills (CSK-L2)

Higher level qualifications

There is no change to the funding arrangements for the higher level qualifications although some centres may be able to access funding if they have associate partnerships with a University.

Most centres are continuing to provide the higher level qualifications via the self funding route.

We will continue to keep you updated as new information becomes available.

The regulation of counselling - the Health Professions Council

The next meeting of the Professional Liaison Group (PLG) of the HPC is scheduled for 30th September. Fiona Ballantine Dykes will continue to attend these meetings which means that CPCAB us uniquely placed to share the latest news with you at the first opportunity. Our ‘regulation’ feature on the first page of the CPCAB website will take you directly to the most recent update.

Errata

We’re very sorry to have to say that a gremlin has crept in and rearranged some of the information on our centre recognition forms and qualification documents. The problem lies with the entry requirements for the Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling, which finish with:

• Capable to begin working with clients within an agency setting.
• Are intending (and actively seeking) to begin work with clients during year 1 of the programme.

These two bullet points should, of course, come under the entry requirements for candidates for the Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4). Our apologies for this.

Candidate Guides: on CD or on-line?

For the 2011-2012 teaching year onwards CPCAB is considering whether or not to stop issuing our Candidate Guides (CGs) on CDs and instead to make these guides available on-line only. This would be done via the issuing (to each candidate) of an individual username/password website log-in, from where the candidates could view, download and/or print a copy of the CG concerned.

To help us decide whether or not to proceed with this change, we would very much appreciate feedback from candidates. As such we have designed a short questionnaire that can be downloaded here.

Photos from our latest EA video shoot

We recently completed filming of a role-played video titled "Brave Girl" that that will be used as part of a forthcoming external assessment for our Level 3 Certificate In Counselling Studies. The picture above shows two actors playing the part of a counsellor and client in a counselling room. Click on the thumbnails below to see further images from the video shoot.

Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)

You may be interested to know that three of CPCAB’s higher-level qualifications have recently been credit rated on to the Scottish Qualifications & Credit Framework;

• the Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling - 120 SCQF Credit points at SCQF Level 7
• the Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling - 46 SCQF Credit points at SCQF Level 8
• the Level 5 Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Skills and Theory - 39 SCQF Credit points at SCQF Level 8

We hope this will encourage centres in Scotland to offer the qualifications which are linked to the Open University’s Foundation Degree in Counselling. Unfortunately the SQCF website is currently experiencing technical difficulties so the qualifications have not been included yet; we have been assured that this will be resolved soon.

To find out more see "Focus on Scotland" below.

CPCAB tutor blog: writers wanted

We’re looking for a CPCAB level 2 (counselling skills) tutor who is able to commit to regularly writing a teaching diary (blog) entry for the CPCAB website. We’re also seeking the same regarding a CPCAB Level 4 (Diploma) tutor. If you or someone you know might be interested in writing for either of these blogs then email steve@cpcab.co.uk.

External assessment

To repeat our message in April’s Update, dates for next year’s external assessment are now available - see the CPCAB website for details.

Standardisation dates

A reminder that ALL new tutors are required to attend standardisation training during the 2010/11 academic year, as well as any tutors who didn’t attend last year. This does not apply to tutors delivering ICSK-L2 or any other courses of less than 30 GLH who only need to attend standardization once. Centres must ensure that at least one experienced tutor attends each year and cascades the information to others in the team. There is no charge for standardisation training and lunch is provided; to be sure of getting a place at your most convenient venue book early.

Important note for tutors delivering higher-level (levels 5 and 6) qualifications
The Birmingham session on Friday 17th September was specifically designed for tutors delivering higher level qualifications (or in the process of working towards higher-level qualifications). If you did not book into the Birmingham session there will be a ‘mop-up’ session in London on Friday 15th October; however this will be a half-day session only and numbers are expected to be very low. We introduced this designated higher-level programme in response to feedback from tutors in previous years.

Focus on Scotland

CPCAB’s research informed counselling qualifications now on the SCQF

We are delighted to announce that the higher level qualifications have also been credit rated on to the Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF).

In response to demand for these qualifications from applicants and colleges in Scotland CPCAB have had the following qualifications credit rated on the SCQF:

• Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4)
• Level 5 Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic Skills and Theory and (CBT-L5)
• Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (PC-L5)

The SCQF provides the opportunity to clarify the credit level position of the CPCAB qualifications in Scotland. This was essential because the credit levels on the qualification frameworks for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are organised differently. The SCQF credit framework allows learners and employers in Scotland to clearly identify exactly where the qualifications are positioned in relation to other qualifications in Scotland and in relation to the entry requirements for employment. CPCAB is confident that by adopting the SCQF credit rating, our centres in Scotland can be sure that their learners will complete qualifications that are easily transferable within the education system. The qualifications will also be recognisable by employers and learners themselves in Scotland in the way that they are in the UK. For further information visit: www.scqf.org.uk/SCQF_CourseSearch.aspx

The Foundation Degree in Counselling offered by the Open University in partnership with CPCAB is available in Scotland where it will be called The Higher National Diploma in Counselling. To find out more about this qualification visit www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01G14.

In Scotland as in the other countries of the UK, the counselling profession is demanding that practice is clearly evidence based. CPCAB has responded to this justifiable expectation by providing qualifications that are informed by contemporary research. This design element is incorporated in the ‘Seven Processes Framework’ which is itself a research based model for effective training of competent practitioners. To find out more about the research that informs the structure and content of the qualifications, visit our website www.cpcab.co.uk.

CPCAB continues to provide a model of counselling training across the UK which ensures that practitioners completing our qualifications understand the value of working within an evidence based framework. We therefore look forward to working closely with more training centres in Scotland and to supporting learners in Scotland to access CPCAB qualifications and the Open University’s Higher National Diploma in Counselling.

MIND - a service user survey

Tutors and candidates alike may be interested to read ‘The Protection We Deserve’, findings from a service user survey on the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists. Whilst understandably focussing on those with less positive experiences, the findings perhaps surprisingly show that 75% of those clients asked were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their therapy! The report is available on the website of MIND, the leading mental health charity for England and Wales.

Tutor qualification feedback

Dear Tutor, whilst we don’t want to burden you with extra paperwork at this busy time of the year, we would be very grateful if you could find a few moments to fill in the evaluation questionnaire here. It is fairly short and shouldn’t take very long to complete. We have also produced a questionnaire for your candidates to complete in relation to the 2009-10 teaching year (levels 4, 5 and 6 courses only) and your assistance in getting their forms back to us would also be much appreciated. The questionnaire can be downloaded from the CPCAB website here.

Your feedback is of vital importance to us and helps us with our programme of continuous improvement. With thanks in anticipation, CPCAB.