I am aware that issues have been raised in relation to placement hours for students of Social Care programmes. While I have not met with QQI or CORU directly on this issue, my Department is keeping abreast of developments in this regard.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak, significant work has been undertaken by a stakeholder group chaired by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and including the representative bodies of education providers to address issues relating to the maintenance of the quality and standards of teaching and learning, assessment and qualifications. This group has focused on the implementation of alternative arrangements, where appropriate and necessary, to meet both these standards and, where applicable, the educational accreditation criteria established by Professional Recognition Bodies (PRBs).
In the case of Social Care, the awards standards established by QQI including placement requirements reflect the accreditation criteria that have been set out by CORU, Ireland's multi-profession Health and Social Care Regulator and consequently the relevant PRB for this profession. Engagement is ongoing between members of the stakeholders group, QQI and CORU in addition to direct engagement between CORU and individual education providers. These engagements are to ensure that necessary arrangements are put in place to maintain standards of education and training in this area so that students can progress e.g. from second year into third year or, where relevant, graduate with the relevant professional competencies that have been set out by CORU and which are reflected in QQI’s award standards.
Students should engage directly with their provider for further information on the arrangements being implemented for their particular year and course.
