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Every school has its cliques, and most of us can remember the ones we came across. Some of us were in the cool crowd, others in the geeky group, and nobody wanted to be the one left out of them all.

Belonging to the right gang may have been an essential part of school life but, as adults, the groups to which we belong are often a key part of who we are. What we do for a living can be a crucial element of this, so it would be disconcerting to find our professional identity under threat.


This has been worrying social workers for some time. Government proposals to push social work closer to health and education have resulted in increasing anxiety over the profession's role and identity. Despite protection of title legislation, it is feared that the ingredients that make social work unique could be lost amid the blurring of professional boundaries.

But perhaps this is something social workers themselves need to tackle rather than passively hoping for the best.

Arthur Keefe, chair of training organisation Topss England, says: "Social workers have to try to ensure that their identity is not predicated on any organisational structure so that, as the organisations change, the social work identity is not jeopardised.

"Increasingly, social workers are working in other organisations, such as children's trusts, Sure Start and Connexions. The onus is on social workers themselves and their professional bodies to establish their identity independent of their organisation."

This is something that nurses managed to achieve as their role can always be identified even if they are working outside conventional health environments such as hospitals. This may be because the public is more informed about the role of nurses - an awareness that a large, efficient professional body could help to achieve for social workers. The sector already has the British Association of Social Workers but, even though the number of members is about 10,000, this still represents a small proportion of the total.

As a result, BASW struggles as an authoritative body. Keefe says: "If social workers want their professional identity protected they have to create a body which can do this. Either many more social workers must choose to join BASW or an alternative organisation needs to be created."

But social workers should not look to the General Social Care Council as protector. Keefe says: "The GSCC is neither owned nor controlled by social workers. It should not be seen as the professional body of social work. It is the regulator."

Besides, the future of the GSCC is far from certain. It is one of 42 public bodies the Department of Health is reviewing as it tries to save £500m by halving the number funded. However, the GSCC has denied that it is at risk.

Profession's champion.

Chief executive of the council Lynne Berry distinguishes between the profession and its workers. She says: "Our job is to champion social work and social care. But that's not the same as championing individual workers. I don't think we can replace the need for professional and other voices to speak for social workers themselves."

But the GSCC does have an important role to play in preserving the professional identity of social workers and to an extent has started to achieve this by introducing registration, codes of practice and the new degree. Berry is sure that social work is "alive and well", and suggests that rather than being at risk of losing its identity it may in fact be resurrecting it.

She says: "In order to be effective in multi-disciplinary work, people are becoming clearer about their own roles and areas of expertise. It appears that everyone is becoming more conscious about the need to say what they bring, and social workers are feeling more confident."


Yet the debate as to what it is that social workers do is still raging in some arenas, to the frustration of Ian Johnston, director of the British Association of Social Workers.

"I don't understand why key people seem unable to give a straightforward message about the value of social work," he says.

Although some in the sector may not be able to explain it, Johnston believes the public has a good understanding and is convinced that social workers have a key place in society. He says: "There is an essential task that social workers do for groups in society and the requirement for services shows no sign of abating. There is always going to be a clear role and the values, principles and training that social workers bring to bear on a situation are unique."

If social workers are unique, why do they not have their own dedicated trade union? Last month, at BASW's annual meeting, a proposal was debated for the Scottish committee of BASW to sever links with public sector union Unison and set up a new social work union. It didn't get anywhere, but the idea materialised out of frustration over pay and conditions.

Not everyone agrees that BASW should become a trade union, Johnston says. "We don't have the negotiating rights and are too small to do that effectively. Unison has the political clout that we don't have and you need that if you're going to effectively represent staff on pay and conditions."

He also sees trade unions and professional associations as having different functions. "Being in a professional association is about giving yourself professional strength and being with other people who believe in the same values and principles," he says.

However, some would argue that just because someone is a social worker, it doesn't necessarily mean they have much in common with other social workers. Trying to encompass the different interests within a single association or union would be tricky, and there is still a convincing argument that those who work in local government should remain part of a union that represents local government in its entirety. Yet at the same time there is concern that, within an organisation the size of Unison, social care is not given enough priority.

That is not the case though, according to Owen Davies, national officer for social services at Unison. More than 35,000 of its 1.3 million members are social workers, and consequently social care is always "at or near the top" of Unison's agenda, he says, adding that there are practical reasons for social workers to remain in Unison.

Partnership.

Davies says: "Most qualified social workers are employed in local authorities where Unison has negotiating rights. If social workers joined another union they would be condemning themselves to no voice in negotiations about their terms and conditions."

He says a partnership approach between a professional association and a trade union is the best way to make those who matter listen, which is important given the government's grandiose reform plans.

"The professional identity of social workers must be protected and preserved and that will be done by making sure the new forms of agencies that deliver social care give the workers the place they deserve. We are well placed to make sure that happens," he says.