by Bob Holman
I must be one of the few remaining people who saw the world table tennis champion, Hungarian Victor Barna, play in 1944. I was inspired and, after the war, went to my dad's working man's club to learn the game. By my teens I was in a boys team which won the East London League.
Besides empowering service users, the switch to personal budgets is a chance for social workers to use their core skills
by Nigel Leaney
Who do social care professionals work for, the service user or the employer? It is a dilemma that can prompt a clash of values
by Allan Norman
Isn’t it great being an agency worker? Better pay than more senior staff, and when the assignment gets hairy you can up and move on to the next one!
by Simon Stevens
It is fashionable to talk about personalisation and independent living, but how far are people really prepared to go?
by Allan Norman
According to John Hemming “What’s unique about this case is not the unlawful removal of a child, but that some lawyers have sufficient backbone to make the right application to the court to have the child returned to its mother.”
by Andrew Holman
Question:
What’s more cruel than having your child removed at birth?
Answer:
Living in Nottingham and having it done twice in as many days.
by David Robinson
Voluntary organisations need moral certainty but flexibility in involving as many people as possible in achieving their ends
by Jennifer Harvey
The use of direct debits by utility companies and the lack of proper channels of communication is adding to personal debt
by Simon Heng
A famous experiment into prison psychology uncovered an unpalatable truth: staff at all institutions inevitably oppress
by Hugh Thornbery
A set of family-centred initiatives in north west England is cutting antisocial behaviour. The government would do well to take heed
by Simon Stevens
Neither service users nor social workers are aware of the funding available to train personal assistants to the level of paid carers
by Nigel Leaney
Good managers realise they don't employ robots, so they should also realise that human beings are prone to bouts of absence
by Ray Jones
Social work is underpinned by its values – but what do they mean in 2008, asks former BASW chair Ray Jones.
by Peter Beresford
Service users have a lot to say about the kind of conferences and events that generally tend to take place in social work and social care. These are often priced out of their reach. They frequently take inadequate account of access issues, creating real barriers for people. They often have people on the platform as keynote speakers who have less direct knowledge about the subject than service user and practitioner participants who are expected to listen to them!
by Andrew Holman
I hadn’t really held out much hope with a recent request for an artist with a learning disability who would be interested in exhibiting at a disabled artist’s erotic art exhibition.
