Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many bids her Department received for the contract to develop the assessment for Approved Child and Family Practitioner status.

The tender process to award the contract for the development of the assessment for the Approved Child and Family Practitioner (ACFP) status is ongoing. The Department for Education, therefore, is unable to answer any questions regarding bidders or contract awards. Once a contract has been awarded, details will be published on https://www.gov.uk.

The Department fully recognises the importance of high quality social workers. We are exploring a new accredited status of ACFP in recognition of the need to have absolute public confidence in social workers who are working with our most vulnerable children: children in need (Children Act 1989); children in need of protection; and children in public care.

The assessment for the ACFP status will test the skills and competencies set out in the statement on knowledge and skills for child and family social work. The statement, drafted by the Chief Social Worker with the input of over 900 social workers, covers the range of skills required of those who are lead professionals for named children and working with them under the local authority’s statutory framework (commonly referred to as “case responsibility”). The assessment will enable social workers to achieve the status of ACFP. The knowledge and skills statement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/knowledge-and-skills-for-child-and-family-social-work