Some people may recognise who I really am! I used to be very active within BASW but left when I believed that it was becoming less in touch with 'ordinary' members and that certain of the 'inner circle' were actively seeking to disenfranchise 'grassroots' members. I still, however, take a great interest in BASW and regret that it still only has something like a 10,000 membership.
I have been in social work for over 35 years and qualified in 1978 at Bristol University. I very much value the 'generic' training and practice that I have experienced and regret the more narrow and 'specialised' route that the profession has gone down with, in most local authorities, a complete division between adults and childrens services. It is not easy to take a truly holistic view when not trained and experienced in generic social work.
I have become increasingly worried at the direction of social work and feel that Universities etc. are not teaching students about the origins of the profession. It is not about local government predominantly! Also the move towards social workers becoming more Case Managers than Case Workers is also worrying. The casework and inter-personal skills originally so highly valued seem to be much reduced.
Senior management also seems to be receiving a very poor 'Press' of late with too many allegations of bullying and 'macho' management. I can not help but think that the Performance Indicators / Target-driven approach is particularly unhelpful and undermining very often of what ought to constitute effectice social care.
I have been an agency worker for the past 8 years mainly in a management capacity but relationships with too many more senior managers have become fraught and I have become really worried as to where some of their main priorities really lie - more controlling budgets, it seems, and defending the indefensible! I really worry about services to children and young people with disabilities.
So, that's a bit about me!