Helen Donnellan

Role
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I have over 25 years experience of working in social care and since 1995, I have been actively involved in professional social work education and training, working in partnership with both statutory and third-sector employers, agencies and educational institutions across the south-west peninsula.  Until its close in 2005, I managed the Far South West Post Qualifying Consortium with responsibility for the development of programmes within the General Social Care Council’s post-qualifying (PQ) framework for social work.  As part of the development of that role from 2000 – 2007 I was programme co-ordinator / manager for the BSc (Hons) Professional Studies (Child Care – PQ Specialist Level) at University of Plymouth, holding responsibility for course development, induction delivery and partnership management.  I have been a member of the standing conference on child care programmes and contributed a mapping of requirements for ‘early start’ PQ programmes at Specialist level in child care, within the GSCC’s revised PQ framework in 2007.

My interest in the early career development of children and families social workers led to two projects in 2007/8, evaluating the induction of newly-qualified social workers in three local authorities in England and an evaluation of the experiences of a cohort of social workers undertaking the first post-qualifying consolidation module in work with children and families.   These studies culminated in the publication of a book, co-authored with Gordon Jack - The Survival Guide for Newly-qualified Child & Family Social Workers - Hitting the Ground Running, published in 2010 by Jessica Kingsley.

My recent publications include ‘Front Line Research Briefing for Child Care Social Workers: Child Development’ (October 2010), commissioned by Dartington Research in Practice,  which is the  first in a new series of research briefing papers aimed at front line child care practitioners, across the integrated workforce, including the voluntary sector, which combines a paper-based chart and on-line, web-based text.

I am currently leading on a county-wide service evaluation focussing on a new Health & Well-being Checks programme specifically designed in Devon to meet the needs of informal carers of all ages which is being funded by the Department of Health as part of its National Carers’ Strategy.  The final report was published in August 2011 and we are awaiting feedback from the national study.