What does a social worker do all day? What are the pressures and challenges you face? How much of your time is taken up by paperwork, driving or negotiating the last custard cream from a colleague holding it to ransom?
Community Care and Unison are partnering up to answer these questions (minus the custard cream one) and capture 24 hours in the life of the workforce through our Social Work Watch survey.
On 21 September, we’ll be asking how you spent your day. How many hours did you work? What was your caseload? What kind of work did you do? How did it make a difference to the lives of the people you support? What was the impact on your own wellbeing?
The goal is to highlight the work of a profession that is too often hidden from view, show the pressures you face and also shine a light on the excellent work social workers do.
When we ran the project two years ago more than 1,000 social workers took part. To sign-up this time email socialwork@unison.co.uk to get an on the day reminder.
Those who complete the survey on the day, or soon after, will also be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad Mini.
The results of the survey will be treated anonymously, but will be shared to help shine a light on what social workers experience in a 24 hour period.
You can also follow the day and share what you’re doing as you go on Twitter, using the hashtag #SocialWorkWatch.
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I work in a Disabled Children’s Team in the north of England. We provide packages of support to families where there is a disabled child within the family.
My work is very varied. Section 17 (iii) of the Children Act 1989 says that any child with a disability is a “Child in Need”, so we have CIN, child protection, proceedings and Looked After Children. My caseload has a mix of all these cases. I have case responsibility for 18 children presently but my caseload has been as high as 25.
I have had an office based day. I have a new student who started this week and our LA is halfway through a four week OFSTED inspection.
I discussed yesterday’s Statutory Visit with my student and showed him how to and where to record the information from the visit and to include the child’s views. The visit had also been to ensure Fire Safety compliance and to ensure the adaptations were suitable for the child so the visit was undertaken with an Occupational Therapist.
A colleague is on leave so I am the link person for her student. I showed the other student how to create a Child in Need meeting and who to contact for a meeting later in the week and to contact respite carers to set dates for respite until Christmas. I have offered to use this CIN meeting as one of her “observations” for her portfolio.
I have completed five PEPs for looked after children today and completed a new Placement with Parents Agreement. Both parents were on the previous agreement but dad has been issued with a Restraining Order for 2 years and is now living away from the family home. As mum is acting protectively, the agreement has been changed to her sole name. I have arranged for an interpreter to attend a visit to mum to sign the agreement as mum does not speak any English and cannot read.
I have also contacted a local Children’s Hospice to arrange overnight care of a child to give parents a break.