What does a portfolio consist of?

A portfolio is an organised folder, compiled over time, comprising a systematic, collated collection of:

1. Evidence of practice-based learning – past and present materials
2. Supporting statements provided by the candidate’s supervisor/work colleagues/clients/other sources of authentication
3. A critical career review.

Full guidance on the preparation of portfolios is available from GLPQ.

What evidence is appropriate for a portfolio?

Evidence is material which gives an indication or testimony – in other words proof – of your professional abilities as a qualified social worker. Appropriate evidence may include:

1. Practice-generated materials
2. Reports, references, testimonials, materials generated by others in support of a candidate's claim
3. Essays, dissertations, reflective summaries, details of in-service training and learning
4. Learning achieved in the broader social or community context e.g. school governor or membership of management board of local charity etc.
5. Accredited or previously assessed learning (i.e. learning which has been verified with a certificate).

It is essential that you include sufficient evidence (i.e. enough evidence to satisfactorily support your claim.

How can I start to identify appropriate evidence?

The primary sources of evidence will be your own performance at work. Do not include evidence that does not focus on your claim. Both the processes and the outputs of work can be used as evidence and may include: reports, memos, minutes, records of activities, notes on action, records of projects, staff objectives, contracts, business plan, budgets, quotations, purchase specifications, advertisements, letters, job specifications, job descriptions, training plans, development plans, development logs, video, audio recordings.

The following concepts are useful in assessing the suitability of evidence:

Currency

If any material relates to learning that took place more than 5 years prior to the point at which the portfolio is being assessed, additional evidence will need to be included to demonstrate how your skills and knowledge have been kept up to date. All candidates should ask themselves:

• Does the material bear its date of origin?
• Is it relevant to the current situation?
• Is it the most recent evidence that I have of this competence?
• If it is, should I add supplementary evidence?

Authenticity

The assessors will need to be satisfied that the evidence really does represent your own achievements – it is important to remember that if you are including a team report in your portfolio, you must clarify your contribution to the work being undertaken by the team and your role in the outcome of the activity. Ask yourself:

• Is this material signed and endorsed by the most appropriate person?
• Is there any additional proof of my specific role in the activity required? (e.g. if it is a report relating to team activity

Sufficiency

The quality, quantity, range and level of the evidence. The evidence should show that you have fully demonstrated the competence being claimed. Ask yourself:

• Have I included all the essential materials?
• Is there enough evidence that I can meet each requirement?
• Is there information for another person to understand how the evidence links to the requirements?

Validity

Is the evidence you have chosen relevant to the learning being claimed – does it reflect your actual performance against specific requirements? Ask yourself:

• Does it give clear evidence of my professional skills in meeting a particular competence?
• Could a piece of evidence be valid for more than one competence?

Confidentiality

It is important to respect your clients' right to privacy – where appropriate, reports and references to individuals should be made anonymous (i.e. names changed etc). It is important that written permission is obtained from your employer (or other appropriate person) to use the evidence that you are presenting in a portfolio. Ask yourself:

• Would someone reading this material be able to identify service users?
• Are the references sufficiently anonymous?

What is a critical career review?

Your critical career review should not just be a description of your work – it should be a reflective commentary upon what you have learned through the experience and learning that you have included in the portfolio. The critical career review binds together and underpins all the evidence that you present in relation to the requirements of your chosen award. Normally a critical career review will be about 2500 words long.

A good critical career review will be reflective, analytical and evaluative. It will demonstrate how the outcomes of your learning and experience have affected your practice as a social worker. It will analyse your strengths and weaknesses and their effect upon your practice. You can use the critical career review to reflect upon the problems that you have encountered in your practice and how they have (or have not) been resolved. Your co mmentary should reflect the skills and values of social work practice (such as anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practice). The values of good social work practice should permeate everything that you write.

What are the academic level requirements?

Candidates undertaking a PQSW Award have to demonstrate an ability to work at the equivalent of academic level of the third year of an undergraduate degree (i.e. level 3). Candidates undertaking an Advanced Award are expected to demonstrate an ability to work at the equivalent level of a Masters degree (i.e. level M). All assessments made by the GLPQ-accredited Assessment Centres (whether accrediting a course or assessing an individual portfolio) in relation to these two awards include an assessment of the academic level being demonstrated.

Therefore a piece of work submitted for assessment at PQSW level must demonstrate the following level 3 academic skills:

• Analytical skills
• Creative thinking skills
• Independent judgement
• Reflective capacities.

If you are preparing a PQSW portfolio, ask yourself if your portfolio illustrates your abilities to:

• Critically analyse research, policy, other relevant literature
• Understand the relationship of these to my professional practice
• Communicate this understanding clearly and effectively
• Illustrate how I make independent judgements
• Demonstrate my ability to solve problems
• Illustrate my understanding of aspects of my learning and how that learning is translated into practice
• Be critically self-aware, particularly in relation to professional values and anti-discriminatory practice
• Analyse, be creative and reflective.

For advice on the Level M requirements and the preparation of Advanced Award portfolios, contact GLPQ Consortium.

Can I re-submit a portfolio for re-assessment if I do not pass first time?

Normally yes. If your portfolio is deferred, you will be given feedback explaining the reasons for the deferral. You will be invited to respond to the feedback and re-submit your portfolio for re-assessment.

How do I collect and report my professional credits?

You are awarded credits upon the successful completion of work submitted for assessment. You will need to submit proof of the assessment and the requirements achieved in order to ‘bank’ them with GLPQ.

Accredited course route

You should advise GLPQ when you have successfully completed the course. GLPQ will confirm your entitlement to professional credits with the course provider. If you have a completed a course of study that covers some but not all of the requirements, you should contact GLPQ immediately upon completion of your course. The requirements attached to the course will be recorded on your GLPQ candidate record.

Supported Learning

If you are acquiring some or all of your credits through a portfolio, you will need to submit your portfolio to a GLPQ-accredited Assessment Centre for assessment.

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