National Standards of Community Development Work
The National Occupational Standards in Community
Development Work summary
Click here for a printer friendly PDF version of NOS in
Community Development Work
The revised occupational standards are now available. If you
are planning or revising a training course, running a workshop or giving a
presentation on community development work, seeking to employ a community
development worker, developing a mentoring scheme or involved in any aspect
of community development work, the standards can help.
Introduction
The key purpose of community development work is
collectively to bring about social change and justice, by working with
communities* to:
-
Identify
their needs, opportunities, rights and responsibilities
-
Plan, organise and take action
-
Evaluate
the effectiveness and impact of the action all in ways which challenge
oppression and tackle inequalities.
* communities refer to those that can be defined geographically and/or
those defined by interest.
The revised Community Development Work National Occupational
Standards place, at their core, the values and principles of community
development.
Since the first standards were produced in 1997 community
development, community involvement, working in partnership, participation
etc., have become central elements in many government policy initiatives.
However, the words are often not reflected or even understood in practice.
The revised standards contain the skills and knowledge that
community development workers and activists need to do the work. They
provide the basis from which we can promote effective and appropriate
community development work practice across the UK. We need to use these
standards with confidence to argue for community development values and
processes to be integral to the work.
This is a summary document, the full occupational standards
are available: see back page for details.
These outline the basic values and principles
for good community development work practice. The values that underpin
the standards are:
Social Justice working towards a fairer
society which respects civil and human rights and challenges oppression.
Self-determination
individuals and groups have the right to
identify shared issues and concerns as the starting point for collective
action.
Working and learning together
valuing and using the skills, knowledge,
experience and diversity within communities to collectively bring about
desired changes.
Sustainable communities empowering
communities to develop their independence and autonomy whilst making and
maintaining links to the wider society.
Participation everyone has the right to
fully participate in the decision-making processes that affect their
lives.
Reflective practice effective community
development is informed and enhanced through reflection on action.
The revised standards have been written
following extensive consultation across the UK.
The current standards:
-
Are strong on the values, principles and
processes of community development
-
Celebrate the diversity and creativity of
how different communities organise
-
Reflect the excellent community
development practice of many unpaid and paid practitioners
-
Are more user-friendly and accessible in
language and layout
-
Reflect different levels of responsibility
-
Contain core units which define what all
community development workers will need to do, and optional units
which only some will need to do depending on levels of
responsibility, specialist roles etc.
-
How can you use the standards?
-
The standards can be used to define and
argue for what is good community development
-
practice and learning. You can use
standards to inform:
-
Development of partnerships and
participation initiatives
-
Training and learning programmes
-
Action plans
-
Terms of reference
-
Job descriptions
-
Explaining what Community Development is
-
Community development work practice in
different settings e.g. health, regeneration, rural areas and at
different levels e.g. grass roots work, managing a CD project,
evaluating practice.
The list will grow as the new standards become
more widely used.
The revised standards will also replace the
former community work occupational standards as the basis for Scottish
and National Vocational Qualifications (S/NVQs) at levels two, three and
four. There are core and optional units.
Key roles
The key roles are the main areas of what constitutes
community development work. They reflect how people are practising this work
today. The key roles are listed below with a brief explanation.
Key Role A:
Develop working relationships with communities
and organisations
1. Make relationships within communities
2. Build relationships within and with
communities and organisations
3. Develop strategic relationships with
communities, organisations and within partnerships.
Key Role B:
Encourage people to work with and learn from
each other
1. Contribute to the development of community
groups/networks
2. Facilitate the development of community
groups/networks
3. Facilitate ways of working collaboratively
4. Promote and support learning from practice
and experience
5. Create opportunities for learning from
practice and experience
6. Support individuals, community groups and
communities to deal with conflict
7. Take action with individuals, community
groups and communities to deal with conflict.
Key Role C:
Work with people in communities to plan for
change and take collective action
1. Work within communities to select options
and make plans for collective action
2. Contribute to collective action within a
community
3. Support communities to plan and take
collective action
4. Ensure community participation in planning
and taking collective action
5. Contribute to the review of needs,
opportunities, rights and responsibilities within a community
6. Work with communities to identify needs,
opportunities, rights and responsibilities.
Key Role D:
Work with people in communities to develop and
use frameworks for evaluation
1. Support communities to monitor and review
action for change
2. Facilitate the development of evaluation
frameworks.
Key Role E:
Develop community organisations
1. Encourage the best use of resources
2. Review and develop funding and resources
3. Develop and evaluate a funding/resourcing
strategy
4. Develop people’s skills and roles within
community groups/networks
5. Facilitate the development of people and
learning in communities
6. Develop and review community- based
organisational structures
7. Develop and maintain organisational
frameworks for community-based initiatives.
Units imported from National Occupational
Standards for Management
8. Contribute to planning and preparation
9. Co-ordinate the running of projects
10. Contribute to project closure.
Key Role F:
Reflect on and develop own practice and role
1. Identify and reflect on own practice,
knowledge and values
2. Review own practice, knowledge and values
3. Evaluate and develop own practice
4. Identify and take action to meet own
learning and development needs
5. Review and meet own learning and
development needs
The standards were revised following an
extensive consultation process led by the Community Work Forum (CWF).
The CWF involves employers, trade unions, training providers and
practitioners from across the UK and represents community development
work within Paulo (see below). It is also instrumental in the
development and implementation of Scottish/National Vocational
Qualifications in Community Development Work.
Paulo is the current National Training
Organisation (NTO) for community development work, youth work, and
community based adult learning. Paulo has ultimate responsibility for
the Community Development Work National Occupational Standards. Paulo is
currently in the process of reforming with other NTOs into a sector
skills council following recent legislation.
This is a summary document. The full standards
are available and will be published by Paulo. The standards will also be
published by the awarding bodies for community development work S/NVQs
at levels two, three and four.
As an interim measure, the full standards are
available on CD Rom @ £5.00 from the Federation.
Also see the Federation’s website:
www.communitydevelopmentlearning.org.uk
The Federation is organising workshops on how
to use the occupational standards in developing training courses. If you
are interested in using the standards and would like to be involved in
the Federation’s work, see contact below.
Federation of Community Work Training Groups
4th Floor, Furnival House, 48 Furnival Gate,
Sheffield S1 4QP.
Tel: 0114 273 9391. Email:
info@fcwtg.co.uk
The Community Work Forum can be contacted c/o
the Federation.
Paulo Angela Ash, Information Officer, Paulo,
18 High Street,
Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6PN. Tel: 01476
584660.
Email:
angela.ash@paulo.org.uk
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