Former MP and social worker Hilton Dawson was unveiled as the new chief exec of the British Association of Social Workers today. I think he's got a fair bit on his plate.
First of all I'd say that I think they've made a good choice. He has been a social worker and his background as an MP should give him some decent political contacts.
But there is one issue which I think is of overwhelming importance for social workers and for BASW - social workers' poor public and media profile. Social workers are an easy and habitual target, as recent coverage in The Sun proves. And social workers themselves feel very strongly about this, as evidenced by countless discussions in CareSpace and the 50+ responses we received to our letter to the Sun about its Baby P coverage. Over 3,200 people have now signed our petition calling on the Sun to improve its social work coverage and the number is rising all the time.
I'm not saying that BASW is not doing this already but social workers need someone to fight their corner when they are attacked in the media, someone to challenge the popular misconceptions about their role and correct the mistakes the media often make when reporting social work issues. If Hilton Dawson can do that then a growing membership and growing confidence is bound to follow.
But there is one issue which I think is of overwhelming importance for social workers and for BASW - social workers' poor public and media profile. Social workers are an easy and habitual target, as recent coverage in The Sun proves. And social workers themselves feel very strongly about this, as evidenced by countless discussions in CareSpace and the 50+ responses we received to our letter to the Sun about its Baby P coverage. Over 3,200 people have now signed our petition calling on the Sun to improve its social work coverage and the number is rising all the time.
I'm not saying that BASW is not doing this already but social workers need someone to fight their corner when they are attacked in the media, someone to challenge the popular misconceptions about their role and correct the mistakes the media often make when reporting social work issues. If Hilton Dawson can do that then a growing membership and growing confidence is bound to follow.
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