There has been excellent progress in our registrants use of Caerus to revalidate in 2015. 69% had submitted their applications by the end of February compared to 10% in 2014. 79% used Caerus, 21% the hard copy Word form.
Play Therapy UK has learnt valuable lessons from the use of Caerus and our registrants’ feedback over the last 12 months. Caerus was originally developed to make the revalidation process more efficient. It has now become obvious that it is the basis of a good record management, reporting and learning tool, which will make it more useful for our registrants. This will be the main driver of future development. There will be only very minor changes for 2016, but we are planning major improvements for you in 2017/18. Please be patient.
The progress upon meeting the new levels of attainment is also most encouraging: 55% of registrants attained the full status; two thirds of the 44% attaining the minimum level met the requirements in three out of four of the sections. The minimum level is that required to meet the PSA standards applied to the accreditation of our register. Less than 1% are in danger of being removed from the Register through failing to meet the minimum standards. These Registrants are being giving a suitable period of time and support to meet the required standards.
The future in the regulation of health and social care is exciting. The accreditation of our Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists by the Professional Standards Authority is a milestone, an important one, but not the whole journey.
Play Therapy UK took part in a recent seminar run by the PSA reviewing the progress and future of Right Touch Regulation. This was attended by State Regulators, the HCPC and a few Accredited Registers. It was heartening to hear that the policies introduced by PTUK in 2014, position us at the forefront of developments across all health and social professions.
Right Touch Regulation (RTR) is a way of thinking – not a set of rules. It is ‘RIGHT’ not ‘LIGHT’ and can be heavy in its demands, at the right time, as we in PTUK know. Proportionality does not mean ‘light’ – but what is necessary to do the job, which may sometimes entail a lot of work, as again we recognise. An important factor is the quantification of the risks to improve the management of them. It is difficult to identify a problem unless we know what’s going on so we need to collect data. The RTR practitioner combines clinical, professional and communication skills.
The PSA standards will change so PTUK policies will change accordingly. The first one to change will be Standard 9 Education and Training. We have been closely involved in these consultations and in PTUK’s 2015 revalidation we trialled the proposed new requirements to help the PSA. Don’t worry! These changes are very unlikely to affect any of our registrants.
