Children and Young People NOS
What are National Occupational Standards?
To do any job competently requires a worker to complete a range of tasks and activities to a certain standard.
To do these particular tasks competently requires the worker to have a certain level of knowledge and understanding relating to the task.
To be competent is to have the practical ability and the knowledge to do a particular task or activity.
National Occupational Standards (or each NOS unit) outline the knowledge, understanding and skill required to do an identified task.
National Occupational Standards have been developed by the Sector Skills Councils in conjunction with policy leads, practitioners and regulators. There are specific suites of NOS that relate to different areas of work. The following NOS suites relate to working with Children and Young people and Drug and Alcohol services.
Using National Occupational Standards…
National Occupational Standards can be helpful in several ways.
They can be used to develop role profiles required for each person`s job. A role profile is a list of the competences required to a particular job.
Role profiles can be used to assess individuals competence within their work. Through assessing individuals competence then any gaps in skills or knowledge can be addressed.
NOS can then be incorporated into qualifications that show what individuals can do rather than what they know.
Role profiling
A role profile is a list of the competences that relate to the job that you do. To complete a role profile you think about the things that you so regualrly in your job and then choose the competences that realte to these tasks.
There are four core competences that should be included in all practitioner role profiles.
In the Useful Documents section below you will find documents to help you create your own role profile.
Assessing competence
For each NOS unit that you choose in your role profile there will be a description of what you need to be able to do to demonstrate your competence in that area. In addition to this the Unit will list the things that you will need to know and understand.
For example….in order to…
Support individuals who are substance users
You will need to be able to ….
Explain the risks to individuals from the substances taken and the methods used in a manner and at a level and pace appropriate to them
You will need to know….
The different forms of substance which individuals might use, how they are used (e.g. drinking, injecting, sniffing, smoking) and their likely effects.
The assessment process should look at one NOS unit at a time. It should be a helpful porcess that enables you to assess your competence and identify areas for personal development. Your professional development plan could have a range of elements to it based on your assessment, such as the need to attend a training course or shadow a colleague etc.
Demonstrating competence and qualifications
There are a range of qualifications that you could achieve that demonstrate your competence as a worker within the Children and Young People`s substance misuse field.
These include:-
Useful documents
DANOS 2012.pdf [218.80KB]
DANOS in a nutshell.pdf [203.04KB]
DANOS rationalisation - revised Oct 2007.doc [84.00KB]
How to develop role Profiles, J Ds and Person Specs .doc [61.50KB]
Role_Profile_Template.doc [41.00KB]
Using competencies for fair recruitment.pdf [642.37KB]
Useful Links
Childrens Workforce Development Council
Childrens Workforce Network
Skills for Care
Skills for health
National Occupational Standards database
