At last social work has its own blog! Come on! Lets hear it for the profession of social work!! So guess what you are going to find in here? Here are some things that are coming down the line to you: Great ideas about innovation Fun reports of life on the job Updates on new legislation and guidance Great ideas about how to deliver better social care Advice on how to survive in bad organisations, and bad managers Jobs Great career advice from people who know Training modules How to pass an inspection! And LOTS more!!!!   We want to be a free resource for the social care community nation ..read more

Most people starting as a newly qualified social worker, or a newly promoted social work manager, will know the feeling of imposter syndrome. 70% of people experience this at some point in their life, and 25– 30% of high achievers are reported to suffer from it. It was first identified in the research in the 1970s amongst high achieving women, and recent research indicates that it also higher in black women. Imposter syndrome of course, also affects men. It is not however a diagnosable mental illness or disease. It reflects how we have been conditioned to see ourselves. Imposter syndrome is c ..read more

From an article in Frontline, practitioners discuss the impact of the social ggrraaacceeesss in the way that they work with young people. Social work in schools in Croydon Saul Lovell is a Frontline fellow whose career in social work spans over 13 years. Now in his sixth year as a social work manager, Saul is currently leading a new team on a project called ‘social work in schools’ in Croydon. ‘Social work in schools’ is an innovation that Croydon Council is committed to as part of their systemic practice, where social workers are based in schools rather than council offices. The pilot initia ..read more

Social work that makes a difference: All of us in the world of social work came into it to make a difference in the lives of children or adults that are vulnerable at risk or in need. So often the media shouts about the cases that didn’t go well, where despite upteen visits and interventions, a child tragically died, or was abused multiple times, such as Arthur Labinjo Hughes and Star Hobson. Public image These examples tend to depress the public image of social work and discourage practitioners, especially when the same lessons appear to be repeated in the subsequent learning review afterward ..read more

Effective relationship and strength based social work models are a key feature of all local authorities that Ofsted has judged “Outstanding” in recent years and is becoming more common in London. But it isn’t a panacea – there is variation in how relationship and strength based social work models are applied. Some lead to impressive outcomes for families, whereas others get poor results. As with all things, how it is applied makes all the difference. Effective relationship and strength based social work essentially strives to facilitate change for children by building authoritative, helpful ..read more

Social Worker Youtubers and bloggers: Social work features in more and more twitter feeds and YouTube channels. These show real social workers, often London based, giving their own authentic views and experiences of the profession. They give great advice to young social workers coming into the field. These come from different stages in their careers, some are students, some are newly qualified, others are experienced and seasoned social workers. They are all there to talk about their experiences and keep it fun. Some bloggers maintain anonymity because they are still practicing. (Please note t ..read more

The “drama triangle” is a powerful insight into relationships in social work organisations. It applies as equally to professional peer relationships as it does to relationships with service users. The drama triangle theory comes from the work of Stephen B Karpman and transactional analysis. The risk for practitioners and managers comes from not recognising when we are actually in the “drama triangle”. Understanding the “drama triangle” helps all of us recognise when we have slipped into unhealthy patterns of management or responses to others. These responses can completely block organisations ..read more

Sabotage Field Manual 1944What does a second world war sabotage manual tell us about social work organisations? In 1944 the allied dropped a secret sabotage manual behind enemy lines to give guidance to citizen saboteurs. This secret manual has been recently republished and contains some surprisingly timeless, up to date insights into modern social work organisations. It contains a lot of advice about how to sabotage organisations surreptitiously. Unfortunately many of us will recognise times when we have seen this advice put into practice in our local authorities! From committees meetings, to ..read more

Difficult and challenging conversationsDifficult and challenging conversations One of the key skills as a social worker is dealing with difficult service users. Conflict is very stressful and it has an impact on us and the way we feel about our jobs. There are times when service users can be aggressive, threatening, disrespectful, or even violent. Some are vexatious, some have personality disorders, some are just bewildered and out manoeuvred by more powerful and articulate people (could be you!) in processes that they don’t understand. And some are just down right dangerous. Many of our servi ..read more

Most people starting as a newly qualified social worker, or a newly promoted social work manager, will know the feeling of imposter syndrome. 70% of people experience this at some point in their life, and 25– 30% of high achievers are reported to suffer from it. It was first identified in the research in the 1970s amongst high achieving women, and recent research indicates that it also higher in black women. Imposter syndrome of course, also affects men. It is not however a diagnosable mental illness or disease. It reflects how we have been conditioned to see ourselves. Imposter syndrome is c ..read more