Dear members,
As you’re aware, BACP, BPC and UKCP are working collaboratively on the SCoPEd (Scope of Practice and Education) project to produce an agreed evidence-based framework, which will represent the breadth of skills and experience of all our valued members. We’re continuing to show our commitment to working together to help address the confusion around the current landscape with a framework that will inform the minimum training requirements, competences and practice standards for therapists working with adults.
We’re pleased to let you know that we have today, Tuesday 14 July, published the next draft iteration of the SCoPEd framework on our websites. We’re aware that there’s been some delays in getting this draft iteration published but we’ve listened carefully to the feedback and concerns raised in response to the previous draft iteration and wanted to ensure we’d adequately incorporated these before we shared it with you.
A number of important changes have been made to this draft iteration which we hope make some areas clearer for our members. The first key change is that we’ve removed titles from the columns and renamed them Columns A, B and C. This has been done so the focus at this stage is on the evidence, which demonstrates that all our members work in respected and qualified roles. We anticipate that titles will be re-instated prior to the publication of the final version of the framework and each organisation will work individually and collectively on a plan to agree titles.
Secondly, this version of the framework maps not just entry points but existing gateways which reflect post-training qualifications and experience. We’ve noted that it’s incredibly important to recognise the further training and experience of our members and to make it as clear as possible how members can and could move between the columns should they wish to.
Thirdly, concerns were raised that the language used was not consistent throughout the framework and we’ve recognised this, so we’ve made changes to the language to ensure it’s consistent throughout with the help of additional members of the Expert Reference Group who were recruited in 2019. There were also concerns around the terminology used in the framework and we’ve updated this to become more inclusive where appropriate.
We’re keen to gather our members’ feedback on this draft iteration and so all members of BACP, BPC and UKCP will receive an initial questionnaire which will allow you to respond in confidence. Alongside, there’ll be an opportunity to express your interest in attending an online ‘bulletin board’ style focus group where you’ll be able to give more detailed feedback and engage in considered debate around the draft iteration, although there’ll be limitations on capacity. We anticipate that the initial questionnaire will be sent week commencing Monday 20 July and encourage members to keep an eye on their inbox.
We wanted to reiterate the value we put on your opinion as members and extend our thanks to those who’ve already fed back to us on the SCoPEd framework so far. It’s vital we continue to work with our members to ensure we develop an agreed framework that works to show clearly what our members do and in turn enables us to campaign for jobs and opportunities while also working to help make the profession more inclusive.
The draft iteration of the SCoPEd framework can be viewed online now.
With best wishes,
The SCoPEd Project Team
