07 November 2014
Dear colleague
This is the first of our new look newsletters. We hope it will help you to keep up-to-date with our work. Please feel free to contact us if you have any comments.
As you may know, we are in the process of strengthening registration to increase public protection. Our ultimate aim is statutory regulation of communication and language professionals.
As part of the process, we want to know what you think about changes we're proposing to make to our Code of Conduct and complaints process. Two surveys are open until the end of December and in the new year we'll be talking to stakeholders in more detail. After we know what they think we'll decide what to do next.
I am also pleased to tell you we have recruited a new Registrar. They will take up their post in December and I'll be able to tell you more about them in the new year.
And we are in the process of appointing new registrant Board members. I look forward to announcing the outcome soon.
If you have questions about anything in this newsletter, please don't hesitate to contact us. You can also follow us on Twitter and like our new Facebook page.
Kind regards
The NRCPD Registration Team
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We are updating our Code of Conduct and complaints process and want to know what you think about the changes.
Following feedback from stakeholders, we have extended the deadline for responses to 5pm on Friday 2 January. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Dan Sumners via dan.sumners@signature.org.uk.
A core element of our work is promoting registration, which we do in a number of ways. In particular, we ask the government and public services to only use registered communication and language professionals.
You can read more about our recent work to promote registration.
We are regularly contacted by concerned individuals about agencies that use communication and language professionals who are not registered with us.
They are concerned because registration protects the public. It reduces the chance of something going wrong by setting standards of training and conduct that must be met.
We have produced a letter asking agencies to use only NRCPD registered communication and language professionals. You can download the letter now.
NRCPD has been told Access to Work advisers are asking to see the qualifications of communication and language professionals in addition to proof of registration.
We have explained to Access to Work there is no need to check the qualifications of NRCPD registered professionals. Their fitness to practise is guaranteed by their registration.
We have produced a template letter to send to Access to Work advisers who ask to see your qualifications or the qualifications of a communication and language professional you are supplying.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The BSL Coalition, led by Signature, is exploring the viability of National Occupational Standards for communication support workers who work with children under the age of 16 with hearing loss, sight loss or multi sensory impairment.
Stakeholder views were collected via a survey in August and September. A report is now being produced.
If you have any queries regarding the BSL Coalition or this study, please contact Gillian Marshall-Dyson.
We are in the process of deciding if the Signature level 3 lipspeaking qualification is a suitable route to registration. We hope to approve it by the end of the year.
NotetakingSignature has created a level 3 course for notetakers with a level 2 qualification so they can register with us. Signature hopes to offer this course throughout the country from January 2015.
Sign language interpretingWe have for the first time approved an undergraduate route to registration for sign language interpreters. Students who achieve a first class BA (Hons) in Interpreting (BSL/English) from the University of Wolverhampton will be eligible to register as a sign language interpreter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In our Summer update we announced registration fees will be the same in 2014-15 as in 2013-14. If a communication and language professional wants to register in more than one category we charge only one fee if both applications are submitted at the same time.
In our Summer update we said we will pilot a policy based on reflective practice in 2016. Members of the Board have begun the process of developing a CPD session. Participants will reflect on the reflective model and make some recommendations.
Until then, the CPD requirement will be frozen at 24 hours for all registrants. At least 12 of those hours have to be structured activity and the rest can be unstructured, such as meetings, reflective work and reading relevant material.
We also understand registrants need better guidance on what CPD can help them meet the requirements. We'll be working with the professional associations to provide that.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We think it's important you know about what we do as part of our normal business. We publish information about our policies, the decisions we make and correspondence we have.
In the past couple of months we have had correspondence with the National Union of British Sign Language Interpreters.
You can read the agendas and minutes of recent meetings of our Board and Practitioners' Forum.
