“ Improving Diversity through

Supported Employment ”

Promoting quality in the supported employment sector across the UK –

our journey so far

Nerise Oldfield-Thompson & Kathy Melling

hosted by:

In association with:

What is quality in supported employment?

The British Association for Supported Employment

(BASE) believes that good quality in

supported employment is adhering to the

supported employment model

The Journey So Far

National Occupational Standards in the UK

• Provide the statements of skills and knowledge needed by the supported employment workforce

• Do not equate to qualifications, but can be used to inform and underpin qualifications

• Performance criteria, and knowledge and understanding statements

• Values statements and 8 sections which describe the supported employment model

Developing the Qualification

• Worked with LSIS UK Qualifications and Skills team • Brought an awarding body on board early in the

process• Level 3 qualification developed – Certificate in

Supported Employment• Approved by Ofqual and now on the Qualification

Credit Framework

The Qualification Units

• Core Values of Supported Employment• Engaging Job-seekers in Supported Employment• Working with Job-seekers to identify and plan for

supported employment• Engaging employers in supported employment• Job-matching and securing supported employment• In-work support and career development for

supported employment

Current situation with qualification

• BASE developed systems and training in order to deliver qualification

• Approved delivery centre with Gateway Qualifications

• Delivering to over 150 learners• 3 Internal Verifiers, 10 Assessors across the UK• Aiming to get Direct Claims status July 2015

BASE Policy on Quality Standards

• All providers of specialist employment support should be subject to inspection using a common set of standards founded on evidence-based practice.

• Quality inspections should be proportionate and fit for purpose. Best practice should be identified and widely disseminated.

• Providers should adopt quality assurance processes that are designed to enable benchmarking across the sector.

Evidence of Need for Quality Standards

There is no nationally accredited quality mark at present for supported employment service

providers. This is leading to many supported employment providers working towards other

quality standards which do not fit, as these are often required within commissioning arrangements.

What standards were reviewed

Benefits of the Quality Standards

• Fit with supported employment principles • Could be used for procurement and tendering

processes as a Quality Mark that is recognised.• Allows providers to examine their performance and

continually improve• The standards will help individuals, supporters,

employers and other agencies identify the quality of services they should expect and which provider services are able to deliver that quality

Content within the Standards

The framework devised has 56 service standards over 5 key areas:

• Leadership & Management (11); • Effective Use of Resources (10); • Staff Capability & Competence (6); • Engagement & Partnership (9)• Model Fidelity (20).

What Next for BASE?

• To pilot with stakeholders to ensure standards are fit for purpose

• Review lessons learnt and any adaptations required• Set up costing for providers to go for accreditation• Support organisations in meeting the standards and

continuously improving to strengthen their practice• Work with commissioners to influence policy and

recognise quality provision in supported employment• European tender for standards

Any Questions?????

For more information contact:www.base-uk.org