The Social Work Blog

Poll: Are you working over the Diamond Jubilee?

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Published 24 May 2012 11:05 AM by The Social Work Blog

What you should know about the CPD switchover

When the register of social workers in England transfers to the Health Professions Council (HPC) on 1 August, changes will be made to how your continuing professional development (CPD) is monitored and assessed. Here is a quick summary of what I learned...

Published 23 May 2012 11:57 AM by The Social Work Blog

College of Social Work and BASW look set to merge

A quick (or should I say vague?) update on the situation with the College of Social Work and British Association of Social Workers (BASW). Those following me on Twitter during Community Care Live this week may have noticed this tweet: "Anne Mercer...

Published 18 May 2012 5:26 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Involving service users in social work regulation

The General Social Care Council has published its report Involving people who use services and their carers in the work of the GSCC 2010-12 . Earlier this week, the report's author, David Rowland, told Community Care why service users must be allowed...

Published 18 May 2012 4:58 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Funding the assessed year for new social workers

It sounds suspiciously like the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE), which is due to come into effect for newly qualified social workers in England this September, will not receive any government funding . To be clear, I'm basing this...

Published 18 May 2012 3:28 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Overwhelmed by constant changes in social care?

Alan Fisher is director of care at Supported Fostering Services, a charity and independent fostering provider, and a British Association for Adoption and Fostering trustee. Here, he tells Community Care how it feels to be a manager dealing with the endless...

Published 11 May 2012 4:44 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Interview: Social work award winner Kelly Hicks

Entries are now open for the 2012 Social Worker of the Year Awards . Here, Kelly Hicks, winner of last year's award for adult services, tells Community Care why she favours independent social work practices and how fishing helps her to unwind after...

Published 8 May 2012 12:49 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce, social worker of the year

How to handle difficult conversations: top tips

Like most people, I struggle with having difficult conversations - especially that hot feeling you get when you know you have to bring up something that is likely to upset the other person. Perhaps, as a social worker, you get used to it over time. But...

Published 8 May 2012 11:29 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Ex-social worker elected as mayor of Liverpool

Joe Anderson has had quite a career: he's been a pub owner, social worker, leader of Liverpool Council - and today he became the first directly-elected mayor of Liverpool. The Labourite won by a pretty comfortable margin, according to media reports...

Published 4 May 2012 4:51 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

How to improve social work practice placements

This morning the General Social Care Council released a report on employers' views of social work practice placements . Reassuringly, it seems most employers recognise the importance of supporting social work students through their studies (although...

Published 2 May 2012 4:48 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

What to expect from the social care register transfer

The Health Professions Council (HPC) has created a page for social workers on its website , giving a timeline of events up to and beyond the transfer of the social care register in England. The HPC will write to social workers with more information about...

Published 1 May 2012 6:02 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Do you know how many social workers there are?

Source: The future social worker workforce: an analysis of risks and opportunities , Centre for Workforce Intelligence, March 2012 Illustration by Monkey Business Images/Rex Features Read More...

Published 27 Apr 2012 3:41 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Is it ever acceptable to date a former service user?

Last week, we asked visitors to communitycare.co.uk whether it was ever acceptable for a social worker to date a former service user. The poll, which was open to members of the public, received 393 responses. Around two-thirds (63%) said it was never...

Published 27 Apr 2012 1:08 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Supervision and CPD: catch up on the latest

Community Care Live 2012 is fast approaching (19 days to go) and to help you get the best out of it, we are collecting together some background information for each of the main sessions. (If you haven't already registered to attend the free two-day...

Published 26 Apr 2012 3:10 PM by The Social Work Blog

Violence against social care workers: a rant

Our annual special report on violence against social care staff is out now and, this year more than ever, I'm appalled by the stories. A social worker thrown down the stairs while pregnant, leading to the loss of her baby? One stabbed with a garden...

Published 25 Apr 2012 5:19 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce, violence, abuse, attacks

Letter to Munro: Social workers still suffer in private

Eileen Munro, your report on social services was the first breath of fresh air our profession had felt for some time, writes a local authority children's social worker based in England . You could see clearly that we are drowning in paperwork and...

Published 24 Apr 2012 11:01 AM by The Social Work Blog

BBC Panorama looks into Maria Worroll abuse case

Keep an eye out for Panorama's undercover report tonight on the Maria Worroll abuse case, which we reported on last week . Apparently Fiona Phillips looks into the CQC's and the care home provider's role in preventing such attacks on elderly...

Published 23 Apr 2012 6:08 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce, older people

Why I struggled with my first job in adult services

After finding it difficult to secure my first frontline social work position - due to my 'lack of experience' - I was chuffed to be offered a job as a care manager in a complex care team* within adult services, writes social worker Zoë Betts Read...

Published 20 Apr 2012 5:41 PM by The Social Work Blog

Video: what it's like to be a children's social worker

My colleague Simeon stumbled upon this and other videos by Neath Port Talbot's social workers on YouTube . Worth a watch if you've got a couple of minutes; it gives a good sense of what it's like working in local authority children's services...

Published 19 Apr 2012 3:08 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: child protection, children and young people, children in care

Thinking of joining a social work academy?

Fifteen new recruits joined Hertfordshire Council's academy for newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) this week. The academy's in its fourth year now and seems to be going well (if anyone has any evidence to support this/to the contrary, let...

Published 19 Apr 2012 11:42 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Testing the waters on regional pay for social workers

As I said in my first blog post upon returning to Community Care , I'm still not sure where I stand on the question of introducing regional pay to the public sector. However, it is interesting to find out that, of the 114 social workers who responded...

Published 18 Apr 2012 2:55 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce, pay

Say hello to the new 9 to 5 manager

Social work has always relied on staff being prepared to do over and above what they are contracted to do, writes former local authority director Blair McPherson . But I have noticed an interesting new phenomena emerging in the public sector: managers...

Published 18 Apr 2012 11:05 AM by The Social Work Blog

Reforming frontline social work: N. Ireland v England

Northern Ireland's social work strategy makes some sound recommendations, recognising that improvements to services will only come about if the workforce is properly supported. So let's compare it to the Social Work Task Force's proposals...

Published 17 Apr 2012 10:45 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Does anyone actually GET local govt pensions?

Another day, another confusing message about the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This time, the Taxpayers' Alliance (a supposedly non-partisan pressure group) claimed councils across the UK had a combined pensions deficit of £54bn in 2010...

Published 13 Apr 2012 4:52 PM by The Social Work Blog

Careers advice for aspiring children's social workers

Back in November I wrote this piece on the Children's Social Work Matters campaign , a joint recruitment initiative between the 15 local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber. According to the campaign organisers, over 200 CVs have been submitted since...

Published 12 Apr 2012 11:44 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: child protection, children and young people, workforce, children in care, children's social work

Half of women kept awake due to work stress

This has been sitting on my desk all day, much to the amusement of my colleagues. However, look beyond the attention-grabbing headline and hopefully you'll see why I ripped it out of the Metro this morning. Sadly it wasn't because I planned to...

Published 10 Apr 2012 4:01 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: mental health

Have you paid to join the College of Social Work?

The College of Social Work revealed before the Easter holiday that it aims to sign up a third of all social workers in England as fee-paying members by March 2015 . We asked readers whether they had already signed up or if they intended to in the future...

Published 10 Apr 2012 1:47 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: college of social work

Vulnerable trainee social workers, regional pay

So I'm back at Community Care after a three-month stint writing about aviation (don't ask) and it's time to catch up on what has been happening in my absence. Here are a few things that have caught my attention so far: Reports emerged late...

Published 3 Apr 2012 6:13 PM by The Social Work Blog

What Palestinian social work taught me

To mark this year's World Social Work Day (20 March) Community Care asked consultant, trainer and BASW member Guy Shennan to tell us about his recent trip to see how social work operates in Palestine. Last autumn I went to Palestine with fellow BASW...

Published 19 Mar 2012 12:00 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: child protection, international, BASW, israel, childrens rights, childrens services, Palestine social work

Stress management for social workers: resources

by Mark Drinkwater, mental health social worker and Community Care practice adviser Video resources Coping with stress Stress Coping with redundancy Mental health: a selection of videos by NHS Choices Doing good feels good - Action for Happiness The importance...

Published 28 Feb 2012 1:08 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: mental health, stress. social work

12 stress management tips for mental health social workers

by Mark Drinkwater, a mental health social worker and Community Care practice adviser 1. Identify the cause of your stress The first step is to identify the cause of your stress . Take a few deep breaths and try to think about what is making you feel...

Published 27 Feb 2012 5:25 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: mental health, social work, stress

Outside interests and evidence-based practice: Building resilience in mental health social work

by Victoria Hart, an approved mental health professional and social worker One of the most important skills a social worker learns in practice is resilience. It is not a matter that can easily be taught. Everyone has different ways of learning and extending...

Published 22 Feb 2012 5:01 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: mental health, social work, stress, resilience

Is happiness the key to stress management for social workers?

by Mark Drinkwater, a mental health social worker and Community Care practice adviser Recently I've been compiling some materials on stress management and have come across some useful resources emanating from happiness research. This growing area...

Published 22 Feb 2012 4:59 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: mental health, workforce, social work, happiness, stress

Are we asking too much of The College of Social Work?

Yesterday's launch of The College of Social Work was high on enthusiasm and morale-boosting comments - for the profession and the college - and low on doubts and scepticism (as I blogged earlier, there was just one mention of BASW ). That's perhaps...

Published 1 Feb 2012 10:43 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: The College of Social Work

BASW elephant in the room at College of Social Work launch

Yesterday was the official launch event for The College of Social Work, held in the rather grand surroundings of the Institute of Directors offices on Pall Mall ( here's the room if you're interested), where pinstripes and low taxes, not cardigans...

Published 1 Feb 2012 10:25 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: the British Association of Social Workers, The College of Social Work, the Institute of Directors

Are you thinking of joining the College of Social Work?

The College of Social Work was launched last week and there are probably lots of social workers out there pondering whether to join it. If you are one of those social workers and need a bit of help, Mithran Samuel has written an analysis of some of the...

Published 12 Jan 2012 4:33 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: social workers, workforce, BASW, social work, unions, Unison, college of social work

Helpline won't be enough to protect social care whistle-blowers

As the government launches a national social care whistle-blowing helpline, Roger Kline argues that it needs to do much more to ensure social care staff can safely raise concerns about problems at work. The repeated scandals in health and social care...

Published 6 Jan 2012 3:07 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: andrew lansley, Roger Kline, whistle-blowing

Unions: No decision made on local gov pensions

Unions have denied rumours that a decision has already been made over the amount social workers and other council staff will have to pay into their pensions in the future. Rather, Unison, GMB, Unite and the Local Government Association have reached a...

Published 19 Dec 2011 11:35 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

Family Mosaic's care staff back formal strike ballot

The dispute between care staff and senior management at Family Mosaic looks set to continue after Unison's members at the housing association voted in favour of a formal ballot for strike action. Unison said the "drastic proposals" to cut...

Published 19 Dec 2011 10:32 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: workforce

E-newsletter Christmas schedule: last email on 16 December

For all those of you who receive our daily or weekly e-newsletters , here is our Christmas schedule: The last email of 2011 will go out on Friday, 16 December. The first email of 2012 will go out on Wednesday, 4 January. So, don't panic if you don't...

Published 13 Dec 2011 11:49 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: social work, training, emails

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