SRA Work Based Learning Pilot: the WBL Outcomes
Dowload the Outcomes in one document (taken from the SRA Handbook).
These are the Outcomes as used on the Pilot. The SRA had planned to redraft these during the summer of 2011 as the next practical step along the road to implementation and had briefed a 'Task & Finish Group' to do this. However, this work has now been shelved pending the results of the LETR.
Some Outcomes to watch out for...
- Outcome 1.3.3 "exercise effectively [...] interviewing & advising" - interviewing and advising. Some firms may need to adapt in order to provide direct experience. More work with Pro Bono clinics?
- Outcome 2 Communication - written communication is easy, but what about oral communication? Here, it's probably a case of being cute and alive to the type of evidence available e.g. a supervisor saying "yes, he sat next to me for 6 months and he communicates very well" (e.g. in the appraisal), or, if it ever happened, a client email saying e.g. "Thanks for your call yesterday, it really helped me get my head around this".
- Outcome 2.3 "demonstrate sensitivity to clients' and other recipients' diversity and to any vulnerability or disadvantage, and make appropriate adaptations to the style and content of communications" - This probably requires (a) a rather artificial manipulation in order to ensure that the trainee is involved in a matter where these issues arise and/or (b) obtaining feedback from the client about the extent of the trainee's sensitivity as perceived by them. Who else could judge? A partner or other senior lawyer? This looks like one of the flakiest of the 37 Outcomes and some kind of revision (or complete removal) is likely at the end of the current WBL pilots.
- Outcome 3 Client Relations - this outcome is about demonstrating competence in various aspects of client relationship building and management. As such, it implies at least some direct client contact (as opposed to helping a supervisor with their client contact) and for firms which heavily restrict front-line client contact this may be problematic. For example Outcome 3.4 says that candidates should be able to "take appropriate steps to inform clients of key issues..." which implies direct client contact whereas Outcome 3.2 requires a candidate to demonstrate that they can "identify clients' needs, objectives and priorities with clarity, and take accurate instructions which reflect those needs, objectives and priorities" - clearly, this would be less problematic as it could on the face of it be demonstrated via 'back office' or 'background' work by a trainee.
- Outcome 6 Working with others & 6.4 in particular "treating colleagues with respect and professionalism". This cries out for feedback from those colleagues. So WBL links naturally with 360 degree feedback and an obvious vehicle for obtaining this feedback would be via PDR reviews/Appraisals.
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Outcome 8 Professional Conduct. It would be highly unlikely (and improper) to expect trainees to do anything other than issue spot on conduct issues before passing the issue up the chain of command. This is probably enough to meet the requirements at 8.1 and 8.2. Logically, training would plug any gaps.
Do the Outcomes miss any core skills?
By and large, no. The Outcomes themselves have been well received in principle, representing a breadth of relevant skills you would hope and expect an NQ to be competent in. However, at 37 separate outcomes, there are too many of them! This appears to have been agreed by all concerned in the Pilot and a consolidation of the outcomes, perhaps by as much as 50%, seems certain.
It is interesting to note that two skills that had previously taken centre stage in the SRA's Skills Standards no longer feature, at least explicitly, in the WBL Outcomes:
- Attention to detail (no longer an 'Outcome' in itself, though it will remain an implicit criterion within the assessment of performance against other WBL Outcomes)
- Negotiation (which used to be a key heading with numerous sub-headings, but has now gone completely)
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