The Social Pedagogy Professional Association was launched in February 2017 at the British Academy. Since then 65 people have become Founding Members. SPPA aims to be the professional home of social pedagogy in the UK. It has three main purposes:
• It offers recognition of learning programmes undertaken. It gives official sector endorsement of social pedagogy qualifications that meet specific criteria. It has a Charter outlining the values and principles of social pedagogy in the UK. SPPA also offers recognition of belonging to an established entity.
• It offers the field of social pedagogy some sustainability in the longer term. Rather than just being a project which runs out, we are building a basis for self-renewal.
• SPPA is a home for a specific UK social pedagogy, where we can collectively try out ideas, network, learn and develop with reference to but not reliant on social pedagogy in other countries.
SPPA is developing in collaboration with the social pedagogic community it seeks to serve.
You said:
• The SPPA Charter summarised the values and principles of social pedagogy in the UK
• Continuous professional development through conferences, webinars and focused learning days would be beneficial for networking and learning more about social pedagogy
• Hot topics for CPD were moral dilemmas, risk competence, what is social pedagogy and why social pedagogy, and social pedagogy across the age range
• The SPPA logo looks good and works well for you
• Photographs of social pedagogy in action contributed to the SPPA website and the International Journal of Social Pedagogy front cover
What’s happening at SPPA:
• The Crossfields Level 3 Diploma in Social Pedagogy is accredited and delivery has begun. 30+ people have signed up.
• A Level 5 Diploma will come on stream in early 2018.
• SPPA is now a registered company limited by guarantee and an application for charitable status will be submitted soon.
• Nominations for four new trustees (including a treasurer) will be open soon.
• Quality assurance processes for social pedagogy learning programmes seeking SPPA endorsement are being piloted.
• Organisational and other membership types and fees are being developed and consulted on.
• Interest is growing beyond the children’s sector – social pedagogy and older people.
• Webinars that we have hosted, called What is Social Pedagogy? and Risk Competence are now available on the SPPA website.
• A focused learning day on moral dilemmas with Soren Kayser and Nicola Boyce is taking place in Edinburgh on 5 July.
• Developing a Scotland SPPA with initial discussion facilitated by Claire Cameron on 5 July.
• A focused learning day on creativity and the arts with Jenny Young and Helen Chambers in Northern Ireland in September.
• Developing a Northern Ireland SPPA with initial discussion facilitated by Claire Cameron
• Election of trustees and creative entertainment for members at our AGM on 5 October.
• Our Inaugural Conference on 6 October in Central London. Chaired by long term friend of social pedagogy Clare Chamberlain, keynote speakers are Peter Moss and Nicola Boyce. Full programme below and registrations are open to members and non-members of SPPA.
SPPA is currently funded by a grant from three organisations (KPMG Foundation, Comic Relief, Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation) keen to see social pedagogy take root in the UK. Funding will expire in 2019, so, by then, SPPA needs to have enough members to sustain and extend its activity. Without members there will be no SPPA. SPPA is the membership! We are a small team at UCL supported by an interim board of trustees, and guidance from Thempra, Jacaranda and a steering group. We rely on much goodwill from those committed to seeing social pedagogy established and we want to make sure we respond to your needs. SPPA is active all year round.
What else should we be doing? Please get in touch via sppa@ucl.ac.uk with suggestions for activities and events you would appreciate being available as well as those to which you could contribute. We will do our best to support you and with an ever growing network we have the possibility to connect people ideas and resources across sectors, countries and fields of work. We look forward to hearing from you. Join SPPA
In addition there will be workshops on foster care, social work, older people, Scandinavian social pedagogy, the relational universe, doing social pedagogy qualifications, Special Interest Groups and, not least a poster competition with a prize from UCL Press and the International Journal of Social Pedagogy.