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AYE

AYE



AYE - Assessed Year in Employment


Please use the My AYE section to tell us about your AYE Start Date or to request that your AYE is signed off by an appropriate Signatory.

The Assessed Year in Employment (AYE)


For further guidance please see below document, note: this will automatically start to download when clicked.

2015_AYE_FAQs_Revised_November2015.docx



What is it?

The reform of social work education in 2004 involved the introduction of the Degree in Social Work heralding a new era for social work training. The package of reforms also included the intention to have all new social work graduates undertake an assessed year in employment (AYE) linked to registration with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC).

The policy on the AYE for new social work graduate entrants to employment was first introduced in April 2006 (circular: HSS (SSI) AYE 1/2005)

The AYE policy aims to benefit:-


The Public by ensuring that social work graduates are safe to practise and are competent, responsible practitioners.
Employers by ensuring they are satisfied with the competence levels of newly qualified social workers in terms of fitness to practise.
The Registrant by ensuring social work graduates receive appropriate induction, professional supervision and support to enable them to demonstrate sustained, effective competence in the workplace linked to continuing registration requirements.
 

This circular was replaced by Circular HSS (OSS) AYE 3/2010 which specifies the arrangements which should be in place to support implementation of the policy. Government policy therefore required all newly qualified social workers (from 1 April 2006) to complete the AYE in compliance with the NISCC Registration Rules.

The AYE is designed to provide the foundation for career progression and professional development and comprises two core elements:

(A)   Support to newly qualified social workers in their first year of practice following qualification.

(B)   A framework for formative and summative assessment of newly qualified social workers against the National Occupational Standards for Social Work.

 
The Assessed Year in Employment therefore helps you identify and plan how to meet your professional development needs. It also enables you to develop your professional competences by applying them to practice contexts with ongoing reflection and evaluation.

The six Key Roles are the benchmark by which competence is measured during your training on the Degree in Social Work. Your professional competence in each of the six areas is further developed during the AYE with practice opportunities to extend your knowledge, skills and values, evidencing a range of professional activity.


 
How is it Organised?

When you complete your training successfully, your student registration with NISCC ceases. As a new social work graduate you can then apply for registration on the part of the register reserved for social workers. Your completed Student Personal Development Plan must accompany this application. Once you obtain employment in a social work agency that will provide you with the opportunities to meet the required standards ie. the Key Roles, your Assessed Year in Employment (AYE) can begin. 

At this point you are registered with NISCC on the social work part of the register but with a condition of successful completion of the AYE. This means therefore that you are not a fully registered social worker until the AYE is successfully completed. This condition is effective for a minimum of one calendar year but may be extended under certain circumstances.  Click here for further guidance (AYE Guidance - Apr 14).

 
During your AYE period:


  • You will have a planned, formal induction programme linked to your learning needs and the knowledge and skills required for the job.
  • You will have a planned, structured Personal Development Plan which is organised around three appraisal points.You will have regular professional supervision with a registered social worker. This will be fortnightly for the first 6 months and monthly thereafter. A key component of this supervision will be discussion of your professional development.
  • You may also be assigned a peer supporter to guide you and facilitate your professional development.  Peer supporters can use this experience to enhance their own post-qualifying development.
  • Your AYE progress will be recorded online in your Career Development Record. This is an online summary record of your progress from the end of your degree course to AYE and beyond. (link here to CDR).
  • You will have protected time to complete 10 development days which should relate directly to your Personal Development Plan.
  • Formative assessment of your progress will be reviewed regularly within the supervision process and at each of the three appraisal points.
  • Summative assessment of your AYE will consist of practice evidence which demonstrates competence in each of the 6 Key Roles. Your line manager will validate each piece of evidence completed and the validation form will be uploaded as part of your Career Development Record. You will be required to produce evidence on a monthly basis. In the final stages of your AYE you will be required to complete a short reflection on your professional development.

Before you begin your AYE it is your responsibility to complete the following tasks:-

Checklist:

  • Ensure that you have completed your Student Personal Development Plan in discussion with your course tutor.
  • Apply to the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) for registration with condition on the social work part of the register. Your Student Personal Development Plan should accompany your application for registration.
  • Read the NISCC Guidance on AYE.
  • Meet with your line manager and peer supporter, if applicable, and provide them with a copy of your Student Personal Development Plan. Based on the learning needs identified at this point, discuss what you might like included in your induction programme.


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