Information for Counselling Centres
Counselling Newsletter - Autumn 2008
Guidance for Counselling External Assessments - April 2010
Centre Guidance for ABC Awards Counselling External Assessments April 2010
Counselling Qualifications Update
ABC’s Counselling qualifications have an accreditation end date of 31st December 2010.
We have been engaged with Skills for Health (the Sector Skills Council responsible for Counselling) for the past 12 months concerning the transition of counselling qualifications to the new Qualifications and Credit framework.
They have been conducting research looking at the Counselling landscape, its terms, its scope etc. and the potential for identifying learning pathways. These pathways might equate to a career development plan for individuals wishing to study toward full specialist areas of counselling with stepping off points to roles along that pathway. To help us in this endeavour the SSC engaged Consultants whose remit is to produce a report late December 2009.
At the same time the consultation has been taking place regarding the HPC proposals, which elicited an unprecedented response.
ABC along with all other Awarding Bodies offering qualifications in Counselling has become increasingly concerned about the short timescale that we are all facing regarding this migration to the QCF and that no constructive progress has been made on a shared unit development approach. From past experience, we know that the process of producing shared units is a lengthy one and we believe it would be very difficult to come up with agreed shared units in time for centres to be able to plan provision from next September. This presents a real danger of a lack of continuity of provision.
We have all expressed this concern to Skills for Health, and have pointed out that any amendments to provision would need to take into account the external environment relating to Counselling which at present holds a lot of unknowns. We have got agreement from them that each Awarding Body will migrate its own qualifications onto the QCF as soon as possible to ensure continuity of provision whilst we await the outcome of the regulation issue.
This means that ABC will soon begin work on this redevelopment with a view to gaining accreditation for our L2, L3 and L4 qualifications on the QCF by April 2010 at the latest.
We have agreed with Skills for Health that when external issues are clearer, we can then work with them and other Awarding Bodies to produce new qualifications to meet the new challenges which will face Counselling.
For up to date information, keep looking on our web site
Posted 2.12.09
