21 social care talking points of 2018

In a year dominated by talk of backstops, borders and all things Brexit, Community Care has complied a list of 21 talking points of 2018 from within the world of social care. Leave your thoughts in the comments below to tell us what topics or stories interested you the most.

1. Kiri: Drama with social worker caught in midst of child abduction to air on Channel 4
2. HCPC suspends social worker with mental and physical exhaustion over failure to manage own health
3. Social workers have become ‘too humble’, says Eileen Munro
4. 49% of ASYE social workers promised a protected caseload don’t have one, survey finds
5. Omitting social workers from public sector pay rise announcement harms morale, BASW says
6. Many social workers aiming to leave their jobs within 16 months
7. Government introduces bill to overhaul deprivation of liberty law in bid to save councils £200m
8. Tax fears and staffing pressures: agency social workers on life after ‘IR35’
9. The journey to ‘outstanding’ revealed in the first Ofsted interview podcast
10. The funding panel policies testing the limits of the Care Act
11. Revealed: social worker pay differences for agency, permanent and adults’ and children’s staff
12. Hunt hints at ‘Ofsted-style ratings’ for adult social care services
13. Government pledges new Mental Health Act after review urges shift in power from professionals to patients
14. Five years of Frontline: the impact, the debate and the future of fast-track social work training
15. Social workers ‘did not respond’ to risks murdered teenager faced
16. Talking Alexa: how assistive technology can help adult social care services
17. Unison tells its social workers not to do accreditation tests as rollout begins
18. Some councils ‘washing their hands’ of top-up fee control
19. Social worker named chief executive of new social work regulator
20. ‘Concerning’ question marks over Signs of Safety effectiveness, review finds
21. Social Worker of the Year Awards 2018 finalists announced