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Skills for Health DANOS Framework

Skills for Health are currently in the process of reformulating their website and you may be experiencing problems accessing the Skills for Health DANOS breakdowns within the Centre’s toolkit due to this. You will be redirected to the Skills for Health website where you will then need to click on the URL to view the full competency breakdown that you are searching for. Alternatively, click on the hyperlink below which will take you to the new location of the standards within the Skills for Health website.

Skills for Health DANOS Framework

Why not take a look at our e-bulletin

• Maximising learning and development opportunities within your organisation
• Developing managers
• Implementing the Centre's 'Workforce Development Toolkit'
• How to use National Occupational Standards to respond to tenders
• Having your say - feedback from the field

We hope you enjoy this second edition and welcome any feedback. Click here for our e-bulletin

The Key to Bidding Success

The Welsh Assembly Government are committed to aligning workforce development activities in the substance misuse field in Wales to National Occupational Standards (NOS). In response to this, Commissioners are increasingly looking for organisations to be able to demonstrate their use of NOS, in particular the Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS), when they are commissioning services.

Tender documents present an excellent opportunity to showcase how your organisation utilises NOS at strategic, operational and managerial levels and the Centre have created a downloadable guide, entitled “The Key to Bidding Success”, that offers practical advice on how you can evidence an integrated approach to using NOS in your organisation.

Workforce Development Toolkit now available

A Workforce Development Toolkit created by the Centre is now available on this website. The Toolkit has been created following extensive research and interviews held with workers across the substance misuse field in Wales and as such has been designed specifically for use within the field. The tools can be found on the 'Info & Tools' section of DATOracle and can be downloaded and customised to suit your needs. The toolkit contains:

Guidelines for Evidencing Competency

The Centre has produced ‘Guidelines for Evidencing Competency’ in National Occupational Standards. Available here (Annexes here), the guidelines provide workers in the substance misuse field with useful information on what constitutes good quality, appropriate, objective evidence to demonstrate competence in the appropriate NOS for workers individual roles.

Up to the job? – The debate continues ……

The DDN recently featured an article by Professor Neil McKeganey who argued that that vulnerable adults, i.e. substance misusers, should be treated by recognised professionals. A compelling read, the article can be found here.

There was a keen response to this article on the Wired In blog, centring on quality of workers in the substance misuse field. Click here to read on and have your say.

Do you want to be a better manager?

The role of a manager is hugely varied, but has one overriding objective: to add value to the organisation and help achieve its strategic goals. www.beabettermanager.co.uk helps to ensure that managers are able to continuously enhance the value that they add to the organisation. This website clearly provides managers with what constitutes effective performance in key management roles, namely:

• Leadership
• Strategy
• Processes and projects
• People
• Physical resources
• Financial resources
• Information and knowledge
• Self

National Database of Accredited Qualifications

Don’t know what qualification you need? Look no further -

The National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ) is a comprehensive database containing details of accredited qualifications currently available throughout the UK. To assist the users of the database in locating qualifications that are most relevant to them, searches can be carried out by qualification type or level i.e. NVQ, Diploma and awarding body. Users can also carry out searches for qualifications associated with particular occupations, fields or sectors.

To access the database please visit the National Database of Accredited Qualifications website

Managerial training is top productivity booster ………

According to a survey of 75 employers across the UK (Employment Review, 2008), training for managers is the most popular way to increase productivity in the workplace. In line with such research, a key area of activity for the Welsh Assembly Government Substance Misuse Branch is the development of skills for managers in the substance misuse field.

During November 2007, the Welsh Assembly Government commissioned a piece of research that collected information on all the qualifications that can be undertaken by managers in the substance misuse field. This resulted in the formation of a database which can be viewed and searched by following the link below. Search Database & Explanatory Notes

This initial work on management development was progressed in March 2008 via a series of workshops across Wales which were attended by managers of substance misuse services. These workshops explored the role of a manager in a substance misuse service and the commonality in tasks undertaken by managers in different services. A second series of workshops, that will provide information and training on specific management issues to attendees, will be run in Autumn 2008.

Training Courses

Are you having any difficulty finding a training course to meet your needs? If so, please contact us and we will approach training providers to see if they can meet your needs.

Skills for Justice e-briefing

An informative and interesting monthly e-bulletin focussing on workforce development issues, the e-bulletin highlights information on National Occupational Standards and new training, qualifications available to the criminal justice sector. For the latest e-bulletin please click here.

DANOS Rationalisation

2007 Update

Skills for Health have recently reviewed the Drugs and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS) framework as part of a review of all of its National Occupational Standards (NOS).  The main purpose behind this review has been to reflect changes in NOS over the past few years.  Skills for Health, like all Sector Skills Councils, tries to ensure that all of its products are as up to date and relevant to the sector it supports and therefore reviews of NOS and Qualifications are an important part of this role.

Historically the DANOS suite was made up of NOS imported from several suites including – Health and Social Care, Management and Leadership, however these suites were given DANOS code labels (e.g. AA2).  The DANOS suite also included standards developed specifically for the Substance Misuse workforce. 

As a result of this exercise you will still be able to access the majority of the original National Occupational Standards (NOS) that have historically made up the DANOS suite, but you will notice some changes, these include:-

1) Some NOS remain unchanged in both content and code labeling (the prefix to a standard e.g. AA1).
2) Some of the NOS have had their code label changed because the original is now being used e.g. from AA2 to HSC233 (Health & Social Care).
3) Some of the NOS that were imported to the DANOS framework have been updated by the originating sector. The updated competences have therefore been included and given their original code label e.g. AD2 to ENTO L10.
4) Some of the original DANOS have been made more generic, to fit with Skills for Health’s procedures, and have consequently been given a GEN or CHS code label e.g. AC2 to GEN36 and AH5 to CHS12.
5) Finally some of the NOS have been split into several NOS due to changes in the original standard e.g. AH8 to Pharm 07, 08, 09, 10, 11.
A summary of the changes that have been made to the DANOS suite can be found in the attached document which can be accessed here .

It is important to note that there is no immediate need for organisations or individuals to undertake an extraordinary review of items such as – training courses, job profiles, appraisal/PDP documentation etc in light of these recent changes.  However it would be recommended that the changes to these National Occupational Standards are reflected in any such material at a time which is most convenient for yourselves.

New Fda Foundation Degree in Substance Misuse

Bangor University are proud to launch a new foundation degree in substance misuse. This programme will be of value to anyone currently working in the Substance Misuse field who may have practical experience but for whom the theoretical framework would allow them to enhance their knowledge and up-skill their practice. This programme would also be suitable for those who have an interest in developing their career in this area or simply wanting to undertake some of the individual modules that are of particular interest.

This programme is mapped to the underpinning knowledge of the relevant Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS) and National Health Service (NHS), Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) and also includes Skills for Justice, Skills for Care and Development (Care Council for Wales), in order that individuals be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to present and interpret evidence in the knowledge of the Sector's Occupational Standards.

For more details information on this degree please click here: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ll/ptquals/fdamisuse.php.en

Award/Certificate in Working with Substance Misuse

Skills for Health and Skills for Justice in partnership with Edexcel and City & Guilds have created a range of new qualifications for the substance misuse workforce.

Formed through expansive consultation with substance misuse professionals and assessors, the qualifications are entitled ‘Award in Working with Substance Misuse’, and ‘Certificate in Working with Substance Misuse’. The qualifications can be undertaken at Level 3 or at Level 4.
The National Occupational Standards were a key reference point for the development of the units within the qualifications, which sit on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). For more information on this award, please click here

Substance Misuse Centre Guide

Substance Misuse Employer Guide

Substance Misuse Learner Guide

New Award for Substance Misuse Counsellors

Alcohol Concern and FDAP are proud to launch an award for counsellors new to the substance misuse field and to recognise the training and counselling they have undertaken.

The Introductory Certificate for Drug & Alcohol Counsellors is a professional certification from FDAP and Alcohol Concern, aimed at counsellors in training and volunteer counsellors working in alcohol and drugs services. The certificate recognises that new counsellors have been sufficiently trained and supervised to national standards.

For more details information on this award, please click here: http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/servlets/doc/1177

To download the appropriate forms please go to:
http://www.fdap.org.uk/certification/intro_cert.html

For further information, please contact Don Shenker, Director of Policy and Services at Alcohol Concern - dshenker@alcoholconcern.org.uk