Qualifications in Independent Advocacy
You can book online today to secure one of many courses on your journey in becoming a qualified advocate.
To find out more about these modules and how to achieve a recognised qualification, please click the Modules tab below.
or please contact us on
01424 718075
or email
info@advocacytraining.org.uk
Overview of the Certificate and Diploma in Independent Advocacy
Qualifications in independent advocacy are designed to:
- Provide relevant and practice based training to the advocacy workforce
- Ensure that people who use advocacy services receive high quality advocacy
- Improve consistency within advocacy across England and Wales
- Help raise the standards within advocacy
- Provide advocates with evidence that they are good at what they do and have achieved a recognised standard
- Provide commissioners with a tool to measure the quality of advocacy practice
The need to develop an advocacy qualification was felt by both the advocacy sector and government who wanted to develop national training as part of a drive to improve standards and consistency. More and more advocacy services wanted to access accredited training as a way to improve and demonstrate the skills of its workforce.
In 2007, the Department of Health and Welsh Assembly Government, through the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) funded a position to work with the sector in establishing the need for a qualification and what it might look like. The consultation found that:
- Advocates want a qualification which is accessible to a broad group of learners, many of whom have diverse learning needs and require different forms of support
- Advocates want a qualification which is delivered at Level 3 but which is also accessible at entry level
- Advocates understand that the qualification will be mandatory for people undertaking the statutory roles of Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy and Independent Mental Health Advocacy, however they do not want the qualification to become a mandatory requirement for other types of advocacy, particularly peer, citizen and self advocacy
- Commissioners want to commission a range of advocacy, including qualified advocates
- Service users want trained advocates and wish to access qualified advocates
- All stakeholder groups want the course to be available locally
This has led to the creation of qualifications in advocacy which are offered at level 3 and 4 and concentrate on developing real life practice based skills.
