Common Core of Skills, Knowledge & Understanding and Values for the "Children's Workforce" in Scotland

ANNEX A

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMON CORE

What "common" and "core" means

The Common Core is a description of the skills, knowledge and understanding and values that are valid for every employee and volunteer working with any child, young person or family. They are common because they apply to everyone, even though the detailed application may vary for different workers and/or different ages/groups of children, young people or families. They are core because they are fundamental if workers are to help improve the lives of children, young people and families.

Strengths Based Approach and the Common Core

Our social policy frameworks (Early Years Framework, Equally Well and Achieving our Potential) promote an "assets" or strengths based approach to tackling poverty, inequality and ensuring that all of Scotland's children get the best start in life.

Key principles of the strengths based approach include:

• Working with people, rather than seeing them as passive recipients of services - "doing with", rather than "doing to"
• Helping people to identify and focus on the innate strengths within themselves and communities and enhancing and supporting them
• Supporting people to make changes for the better through enhancing skills for resilience, relationships, knowledge and self esteem
• Building networks and friendships so people can support each other, make sense of their environments and take control of their lives

Demonstrating the characteristics and values within the Common Core helps to ensure all workers are able bring a strengths based approach to their work.

Membership of Common Skills Working Group

The Common Skills Working Group met between October 2010 and March 2012 to agree the Common Core.

Public Consultation

Over the summer of 2011 the Scottish Government consulted on the first draft of the Common Core. That draft listed a set of skills such as "observation, judgement and decision making skills". Respondents did not suggest this was wrong but there was a clear message that the Common Core should focus on the step prior to the utilisation of these skills. Respondents made the point that these skills cannot be utilised effectively, and it will prove impossible to accurately identify a strength, if you have not built up a relationship with the child, young person or family in the first place. A summary of the consultation responses was published and can be found here:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/10/12094300/0

In summary the main points emerging from the consultation were:

• The Common Core should be more explicitly linked to children's rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
• It should be strengths based, to ensure it is applicable for all children, young people and families i.e. not only about dealing with "concerns"
• The key role of relationships should be the main focus within two contexts: relationships between workers and children, young people and families and relationships between different workers
• The Common Core should not be complicated and should be clear that it is designed for those working with children, young people and families
• The GIRFEC values and principles were overwhelmingly accepted through the consultation

Workshops

Two workshops were held in February 2012 with 90 workers from a range of different disciplines, including volunteers. The purpose was to bring the characteristics and values within the Common Core to life, making them meaningful for workers. The challenge was to bring good practice examples to the day and highlight the different elements of the Common Core that were demonstrated during these examples.

One of the key aims of the day was to show that the Common Core is demonstrated by a range of workers engaging with children, young people and families from a diverse range of backgrounds and circumstances. We received a number of examples over the two days and many of the views from the workshops have been included in the section describing the "Components of the Common Core".

Terminology

Whenever the terms "workforce" or "worker" are used in the context of the Common Core they refer to employees and volunteers.

Whenever the term "family" is used it refers to one or both parents but also carers.

Many verbs are used within the text of the Common Core such as "understand", "recognise", "be aware". This is not an attempt to specify the level of understanding that individual workers should have (this is a matter for employers and other related bodies). These terms have emerged from the public consultation and subsequent discussions. The choice of word is pitched at a level that meets the point being made through the consultation whilst keeping it reasonable for the full range of relevant workers. It remains the responsibility of employers and other related bodies to judge the right level of skills and knowledge for their workers.