Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme
What is the ASYE programme?
The ASYE programme helps you transition to your first year of employment. It gives you time, support and space to grow your skills and confidence in a real social work setting.
You will consolidate the knowledge and skills you have gained in the first year of practice. You will also develop specialist skills. These will be based on your employment setting and people you work with.
In 2023, Skills for Care praised Surrey’s ASYE programme. They said it is “robust and well thought through”. They also said it supports newly qualified social workers (NQSW) children and families well
Support for newly qualified social workers (NQSW)
We want you to feel supported in your first year so you can 'find your feet' in this complex and challenging setting. You will have:
- a smaller workload
- more supervision
- learning and development tailored to your needs
We ensure you have a significant support network during the programme. An Advanced Social Worker from the Children’s Academy will support you. They are separate from your team manager and will help train, assess, and guide you through the year. They will work with you to build your ASYE portfolio. You will attend regular learning events run by the Children's Academy. Your team manager will oversee and support your day-to-day work.
How you will be assessed
Your progress will be based on your work. You will build a portfolio of evidence such as:
- direct observations of practice
- feedback from families and professionals
- critical written reflections
Skills for Care set the national assessment framework. It uses the post-qualifying standards for social work (Knowledge and Skills Statements for children and families). It also uses the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) for NQSW level.
You will have review meetings at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Your assessor will write reports and make a final recommendation. An internal panel will check your portfolio and decide if you pass. If you pass, you move from NQSW to qualified social worker pay grade and start Post Qualifying Year 2 (PQ2). See the PQ2 section for more information.
What we offer
We are passionate about supporting NQSWs. We are always improving the ASYE programme based on feedback. Due to this the offer may vary from year to year. Here’s some of what you can expect:
- ASYE Academy induction and team induction
- An Advanced Social Worker as your ASYE Assessor
- Monthly learning events focused on post-qualifying standards
- Two protected development days each month. You will attend a learning event one day. You will use the other day to study and work on your portfolio.
- Monthly 1:1 and group reflective supervision with your assessor. This will be in addition to supervision with your team manager.
- Advice from Surrey’s Quality Practice and Performance Service
- A staged workload that grows over time
- Access to learning platforms like Community Care Inform, Research in Practice and Care Knowledge.
- Training courses from Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership
- Access to wider learning and development opportunities
You will also use a secure SharePoint hub to store your ASYE portfolio. This makes it easy to work with your assessor and manager and gives you access to useful resources.
Feedback on our ASYE programme
Skills for Care gave positive feedback in 2023. They said:
- NQSWs are active participants and well supported from the start
- NQSWs value protected time, reflective space and access to learning tools
- The ASYE coordinator listens to feedback and improves the programme
- Equality, diversity and inclusion are improving and well considered
ASYE celebration event
Every year we celebrate the fantastic achievements and progress made by our NQSWs. It is important to us to show the NQSWs how much we value them as they enter their Post Qualifying Year 2. Read about our 2025 celebration event.