Social Workers In England Research Articles

Aspirational impact and independent social work podcasting in England

The number of social work podcasts has grown rapidly in recent years, and the regulator of social workers in England, Social Work England, suggests that podcasts can and should be used as a valid form of continuing professional development for social workers. Within this context, this article reports on research involving semi-structured interviews with twelve independent social work podcasters based in England. The research found that participants were positive about the potential of podcasts as continuing professional development for social workers, highlighting opportunities around flexibility, dialogue and engaging with current topics. However, participants also noted challenges around quality assurance, and voice and representation. Significantly, participants described their desires to have a broader social impact through their podcasts, but for most this was something that they did not feel they were yet achieving to the extent they would like. It is suggested that in contrast to the frequent characterisation of podcasters as an aspirational labour force seeking future monetisation, independent social work podcasters could be better understood in relation to aspirational impact, or a desire to grow their podcasts, audiences and influence in order to have a future positive impact on the profession of social work, and society in general.

Adapting across Borders: Experiences of Hong Kong Social Workers in England—Navigating Challenges and Fostering Professional Growth through Cultural Adaptation and Continuing Professional Development

Abstract This study investigates the experiences of overseas-qualified Hong Kong social workers in England, specifically focusing on the challenges they encounter while preparing for or working in the social work sector and the strategies they employ to navigate these challenges within the unique English social context. It offers valuable background information for comprehending the journeys of migrant Hong Kong social workers as they transition into a new social work environment. Using qualitative enquiry, ten experienced Hong Kong social workers, who had moved to England in 2021, were selected as participants. This study contributes significantly to the literature on transnational social workers by emphasising the critical role of continuing professional development (CPD) for transnational social workers during their relocation process. It addresses complex transnational issues, such as cultural differences, language barriers, professional development and the integration of global and local intervention skills and practices, filling existing gaps in the literature. This research also provides insight into the importance of CPD for transnational social workers during their relocation and transnational experiences and the potential for advancing their local social work practices.

Examining the feasibility and acceptability of an online mindfulness-based stress reduction program for frontline child protection social workers in England

ABSTRACT This study explores the feasibility and acceptability of an online mindfulness-based intervention (O-MBI) for stress prevention and reduction among frontline child protection social workers (F-CPSWs) in England. In Phase I, a non-randomized, one-arm feasibility study (N=104) demonstrated post-O-MBI reductions in perceived stress and increased mindfulness. Phase II employed a phenomenological approach using semi-structured interviews (n=7). Participants suggested adjustments to content, delivery, and design, highlighting the need for customization. Despite promising results, the study underscores the importance of tailoring interventions to individual needs and circumstances. Future research should delve into O-MBI effectiveness with a more diverse F-CPSW sample.

Exploring social workers' views on assessing child neglect in England and Wales

AbstractChild neglect poses many issues for social work, notably in terms of effective assessment leading to informed intervention targeting the needs of children and families. In response to this challenge, our multiphase research project is developing a new multiagency child neglect measurement tool. The phase of the project reported in this article administered an online survey via Qualtrics to explore the views of children and families social workers on assessing child neglect. One hundred and twenty‐nine completed responses were received from registered children and families social workers in England and Wales. The main findings are that social workers are regularly undertaking child neglect assessments and feel relatively confident in completing them. They also feel relatively confident that their assessments are inclusive of social harms such as poverty and social isolation, but less confident they are accurate and informed by research evidence. Almost two‐thirds are using a child neglect assessment tool, but they lack confidence in these accurately assessing neglect or being quick and simple to use. The findings illustrate that social workers require both the work conditions and tools to use in which they feel confident to undertake balanced and accurate assessments of child neglect.

Understanding and Improving Black Social Worker and Student Experiences in England

This article explores the experiences of Black newly qualified social workers and student social workers in England. Drawing on related studies that have begun to outline the challenges faced by Global Ethnic Majority social workers in the UK, the article highlights that this is both an important and under‐researched area. The article provides a much‐needed contribution to understanding the unique experiences of Black social workers through a thematic analysis of interviews with Black social workers, providing an opportunity for social work colleagues, managers, educators, and academics to understand the challenges and obstacles that these social workers face. The research reveals a dire situation in which Black social workers are hindered by racial stereotyping, discrimination, and invisibility. Black social worker voices also highlight suggestions for best practice and guidance for the social work sector about how to improve. By centering these underrepresented voices, this article provides an opportunity to acknowledge and begin to rectify the barriers and challenges that Black social workers face.

“Fighting the invisible system”: A grounded theory study of the experiences of child protection social workers in England

AbstractThis article reports on an exploration of social workers' perspectives on the social policy and agency processes that shape their experiences of working in child protection services. A qualitative constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed, and 17 qualified social workers and managers were recruited. Social workers described working within an oppressive system, balancing unrealistic demands placed on them, and struggling to restore balance and hope. They shared how this filtered into the work they do with families and the role that relationality and peer support has in surviving the work.

Can Social Workers Estimate the Likelihood of Future Actions and Events? A Forecasting Accuracy Study

Abstract Social workers routinely make decisions and formulate care plans in the course of their work with children and families. These decisions and care plans are based at least in part on the professional judgement of the worker. An important component of judgemental quality is the extent to which explicit or implicit forecasts about the likelihood of different future actions and events are made with accuracy. In this article, we report an analysis of 21,193 forecasts made by 581 child and family social workers in England about the likelihood of different future actions and events following referrals to children’s services. We found that the more likely social workers said an action or event was to happen (as the forecast likelihood increased towards 100 per cent), the more often it occurred. However, we also found that social workers tend to over-estimate the likelihood of almost all specified future actions and events. Social workers were most accurate when forecasting something to be very unlikely, and less accurate when they forecast something to be likely or very likely. We consider these findings in relation to false positive and negative errors in child protection, and the theory of judgemental rationalism.

Social Work with No Recourse to Public Fund Migrants: Obstacles and Strategies

Abstract Migrants with no recourse to public funds (NRPFs) are vulnerable to destitution due to the NRPF condition attached to their immigration status. In this quantitative study, fifty-five social workers in England completed an anonymous online survey identifying the obstacles faced in their practice with NRPF migrants and any strategies they developed to overcome these impediments. Informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework, the study identified four main obstacles when working with NRPF migrants: lack of resources to support NRPF migrants; lack of knowledge/skills; negative attitudes from colleagues and insufficient institutional support. Compared to their local authority counterparts, NHS social workers expressed lower levels of confidence in their knowledge and skill level, and received less specific training, organisational guidance and support in their work with NRPF migrants. A 4-fold typology of strategies used by social workers to overcome obstacles was devised from responses to an open-ended question. In addition to the need for more resourcing, the findings suggest a need for social work education and training on how to effectively support NRPF migrants using extant legislation and agencies, and suggest knowledge exchange to promote inter-agency collaboration.

Measuring the ratio of true‐positive to false‐positive judgements made by child and family social workers in England: A case vignette study

AbstractSocial workers routinely make judgements and decisions as part of their everyday practice. The nature and quality of these can have a significant and long‐lasting impact on the children and families concerned. In this paper, we present an analysis of more than 20 000 judgements (n = 21 193) made by social workers (n = 586) in relation to case vignettes, based on a series of anonymized referrals (n = 12) to social services in England. We do so to ascertain how accurately the social workers were able to predict subsequent actions, events and outcomes, and to calculate the ratio of true positives to false positives at various decision thresholds. We find that the social workers' predictions were more accurate than chance in relation to all but one of the referrals, albeit at the cost of a high rate of false positive errors. We consider these findings in relation to what appears to be a general lowering of the threshold for child protection interventions in England in recent years and in relation to who suffers the injustice of false positive errors in child and family social work.

Practitioner Vulnerability in Children and Families Social Work—Identity, Impact and Implications

Abstract Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, this article explores the experiences of vulnerability for nineteen children and families Social Workers in England and discusses how this emotional state manifests and impacts upon practice. As this study shows, workers frequently harbour personal vulnerabilities that can motivate them in their work and act as an enabler within relationships with service users; these same feelings can also provoke a sense of threat and discomfort, resulting in self-doubt and reduced confidence. Whether carried from the past or housed in the present, feelings of vulnerability often rise to the surface when provoked by routine encounters with clients and the knotty issues that surround them; what is valued by Social Workers encountering such feelings is a sense of validation and recognition. In taking an explicit focus on practitioner vulnerability, this article adds an original contribution to the literature concerning the emotional world of Social Workers. It reveals vulnerability to be an important component of identity and a driver for practice, which needs to be given greater consideration in social work training and employment, arguing that enhanced attention to worker histories, emotional challenges and self-care are not only necessary but also essential for practitioner and client well-being.

Managing risk: social workers’ intervention strategies in cases of domestic abuse against people with learning disabilities

Social workers in England are key professionals involved in addressing safeguarding concerns affecting adults with learning disabilities, including the risk of harm from domestic abuse. This article reports the findings from an empirical study conducted with 15 social workers who participated in a 2-stage interview process. The findings and discussion examine social workers’ approaches to risk management interventions in cases of domestic abuse against adults with learning disabilities. Informed by Beck’s Risk Society theory, our analysis finds that interventions often focus on individuals taking responsibility for managing risk, with either the victim or the social worker becoming the risk decision-maker. Furthermore, in carrying out their work, social workers used bureaucratic tasks to protect the organisation and individual decision-makers from blame. The article concludes with recommendations for practice which explores more holistic understandings of risk and which seeks to promote more collective responses to risk management.

‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’? The Experiences of Forty Social Workers in England Who Had Previously Indicated They Would Stay In or Leave Children and Families Social Work

Abstract This article is focused on the concern about the retention of child and family social workers in England. Retention of workers is seen as a major issue for the delivery of quality services for service users, stability of workforces and development of social work. The article reviews international studies in relation to retention identifying a gap in relation to studies that have followed up those who indicated they were going to leave child and family social work but were unable to say whether they acted on this intention or not. This study focuses on forty semi-structured interviews with child and family social workers in year 2 of a five-year longitudinal study half of whom had indicated they would remain or leave social work practice and followed them up to as whether they did so or not. The findings indicated that there were major similarities between those who left and those who stayed. However, the importance of the interaction of organisational, job role and individual factors provides organisations with opportunities to mitigate such challenging aspects of children and families social work so that their workers feel supported, and able to respond to these challenges positively.

Social Work England: A regulator worthy of our collective dissent

INTRODUCTION: In December 2019, Social Work England (SWE) officially took over as the regulator of the approximately 100,000 social workers in England. This article explores the foundations and first two years of SWE, suggesting that, as a regulator, it has earned the collective dissent of social workers. APPROACH: Initially, a brief history of social work regulation in England is provided, before moving on to explore the founding of SWE and the makeup of the organisation. The regulator’s standards and rules, approach to consultation and representative role are also discussed. DISCUSSION: This culminates in a discussion about the dissent that many social workers in England have already started to demonstrate towards SWE, with a particular focus on the new continuing professional development (CPD) requirements. The potential to translate this largely individual dissent into collective action and mutual support is explored.

Against a bitter tide: How a small UK charity operationalises dissent to challenge the “hostile environment” for migrant children and families

INTRODUCTION: Dissent is currently under political and ideological assault in the UK and immigration has long been a target for those looking to quell dissenting practices. At the same time, dissent appears increasingly out of place in the contemporary social work context in England. Yet, as the authors argue, dissent is codified within the professional and ethical standards that social workers in England must adhere to. APPROACH: This article introduces the work of a small UK Charity, Together with Migrant Children, and applies to it key facets of the theoretical basis for dissent through case study and practice-based reflections on challenges in immigration policy and opportunities for dissenting practice. IMPLICATIONS: The authors set out the challenges and opportunities for dissent in practice in statutory, non-statutory and wider community development settings, illustrating how dissent can bring individual ‘success’ that is located within a cumulative structural and tactical change that points to dissent and its practice as a necessary feature of democracy.

The role of foster carers in England and Portugal: Is it solely a parenting role?

AbstractThe role of foster carers can be described as similar to the role of parents, but with some additional tasks. Through focus groups, children in care, young adults who are care‐experienced, foster carers, and social workers in England and Portugal shared their views on this role. Key themes included the need to promote children's sense of belonging and relationships with foster carers and their birth family, to support children's individual needs, and to recognise the influence of children's social care services, social workers and foster carers’ family and social network. Foster carers and social workers in the English sample talked about the complementarity between the parenting side of the role and these additional tasks. On the other hand, children and young adults in both samples, and foster carers and social workers in the Portuguese sample, focused mostly on the parenting side of the role, but also stated the importance of some additional tasks, such as collaboration with children's birth families. These findings reflect policies and alternative care context differences between England and Portugal.

Can Social Workers Forecast Future Actions, Events, and Outcomes? A Study of Referrals to Children’s Services in England

ABSTRACT Child protection social workers in England are required to make many decisions in their day-to-day work, including whether to accept a referral, undertake a child protection investigation, pursue care proceedings, or close the case. Many of these decisions involve implicit or explicit predictions about the likelihood of future actions, events, and outcomes. This paper presents the results of a study in which social workers and social work students in England were asked at two time points, six to eight months apart, to read a series of case vignettes and make forecasts about the likelihood of different actions, events, and outcomes. The accuracy of these forecasts was measured to determine (1) the aggregate level and range of forecasting accuracy, (2) whether forecasting accuracy is stable over time, (3) whether different vignettes are harder or easier to forecast and (4) whether personal or professional factors are predictors of forecasting accuracy. On average, respondent’s forecasts were 6% better than you would expect by chance, although there was significant variation within the sample. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents who made forecasts more accurately than chance at Time 1 did so again at Time 2. Four of the vignettes were found to be consistently easier to forecast, and four were consistently more difficult. No personal or professional characteristics were found to be significant predictors of forecasting accuracy. There are few straight-forward decisions in social work and the question of how best to support practitioners as they undertake this critical aspect of their role will continue to be an important focus for research.

Social Workers Migrating between England and Australia: Linking Social Hierarchies, Bureaucracy, Trust and Politeness

AbstractFor many years, several Western countries have been relying on migrating social workers to fill local shortages. While studies documented the assumption that migrants moving between Commonwealth English-speaking countries will find it easier to integrate, scholars found that such transitions are often more complicated than assumed. Despite this general awareness, research has neglected to explore the impact of the specific culture migrating social workers are coming from and the new culture in which they find themselves. This is the gap we aim to fill. Using a mixed method approach that included online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, we explore the experiences of migration and integration of Australian trained social workers in England and English trained social workers in Australia. Using National Habitus as a key theoretical concept, the findings highlight cultural differences connected with the acceptance of social hierarchies in England compared with the cultural emphasis on egalitarianism between white people in Australia. Such hierarchies produce in England a strong top-down approach which is more bureaucratic and procedural while also emphasising a less direct and more inhibited form of interpersonal communication with line-managers, colleagues and service users compared with Australia. Our findings will help better support future migrating social workers.

From communal duties to individual rights: The migration of Indian social workers to England

Abstract The demand for social workers in England has been outstripping supply for more than a decade. As a result, social work continues to be on the UK Shortage Occupation List (2021; available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-shortage-occupation-list (accessed May 26, 2021), ensuring the migration of social workers will continue. While several studies have examined the experiences of migrating social workers, these studies largely neglected the impact culture plays in this transition. This article will focus on the experiences of social workers who were trained in India and migrated to England. It is part of a much larger study that used a mixed method approach to explore the migration to England of social workers from eight different countries. Indian social workers highlighted the significant differences between the individualistic character of English culture and the much more collectivist Indian culture. This difference shaped a range of attitudes towards the family and parenting, as well as the distinctions between what is ‘public’ or ‘communal’ and what is ‘private’. Other differences raised were regarding communication resulting from the more hierarchical tendencies of Indian society. In the final section, implications for practice are discussed and recommendations are made for the induction required to help future migrating social workers make a smoother transition.

Skills and knowledge not checklists: social work interventions into childhood emotional abuse

ABSTRACT One of the most harmful forms of childhood abuse and neglect is emotional abuse. Harm may occur in ways that are not easy to see, leading to challenges for social workers. Consequently, cases may remain unresolved and the level of abuse may continue and intensify. Risk assessment tools will not necessarily pick up on the less tangible aspects of emotional harm. The social worker carrying out the work must have the necessary knowledge and skills to recognise emotional abuse and the impact it may have on a child. They also require emotional intelligence and self-awareness of their own role in the assessment process to identify and work with emotional abuse effectively. This qualitative doctoral research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council explores some of the ways in which child protection social workers in England intervene with emotional abuse. This article suggests that social workers use aspects of their subjectivity to inform their day to day work with emotional abuse. Interrogating one’s own practices is, therefore, essential in supporting effective practice approaches to reduce harm. The goal of this research is to support the development of teaching and training in relation to social work with emotional abuse.

Better together: comprehensive social work education in England

Prospective social workers in England are increasingly being segregated into different qualification routes. While the justification for this segregation relates to either academic achievement or the vocational nature of the course, students also end up segregated based on prior advantage, personal circumstances, context and experience. This article examines the three main routes into contemporary social work in England: fast-track training programmes, apprenticeships and mainstream programmes. It is shown that each of these approaches arguably have advantages and disadvantages, but that ultimately it is the segregation itself is doing the most damage to the profession. An alternative approach is suggested, based on comprehensive and social justice values, where the focus is on bringing students together, rather than splitting them apart.