Community Care

JANUARY 14, 2024

Child in need cases have been opened up to non-social work qualified staff despite concerns that the policy will increase risks to children. Child protection enquiries and casework will remain ring-fenced for social workers.

Disability 336

Disability Consultation Social Worker Youth Worker 336

Community Care

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

By Beverley Barnett-Jones Addressing ethnic inequalities in children’s social care requires an understanding of the disparities that families face, as well as the factors that shape them. This was based on research carried out in collaboration with the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research at Lancaster University.

Adoption 254

Adoption Interventional Social Worker Government 254

Community Care

AUGUST 7, 2023

Children whose parents are referred to family drug and alcohol courts (FDACs) are more likely to be reunified with their families than those involved in standard care proceedings, research has found. A third of FDAC parents had stopped misusing drugs or alcohol by the end of the case (33.6%) compared with 8.1%

Interventional 201

Interventional Interviewing Mental Health Social Worker 201

Community Care

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

Good practice in family group conferencing must not be diluted as the intervention gets rolled out across children’s social care services. “It is reducing by significant proportion the number of people going into care. The cost savings] are not my primary concern.

Interventional 294

Interventional Confidentiality Government Social Worker 294

Community Care

JULY 17, 2023

Proposals to legally limit children’s social workers’ caseloads have been rejected by the Welsh Government. Deputy minister for social services Julie Morgan also said action was already being taken to improve support for practitioners and enhance workforce planning.

Government 195

Government Social Worker Administration Social Services 195

Community Care

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

Qualified social workers who have been out of practice for at least two years will face minimum learning requirements if they want to rejoin the register in Scotland. Regulator the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has launched a consultation on introducing return to practice requirements similar to those in England and Wales.

Social Worker 218

Social Worker Self-harm Consultation Social Services 218

Community Care

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

In a recent report, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (“the panel”) asked safeguarding partners to review their policies on bruising in non-mobile infants “to check for consistency with the evidence base and national guidelines.”. The evidence does not support this. What the evidence on bruising says.

Self-harm 360

Self-harm Hospitals Adoption Consultation 360

Community Care

DECEMBER 7, 2023

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel said the inquiry would examine how practitioners and agencies could improve how they identified, assessed and responded to CSA within the family. Safeguarding leaders have launched a national review into child sexual abuse within the family due to a “concerning number” of such cases.

Engagement 253

Engagement Government Social Worker 253

Community Care

JANUARY 30, 2024

Children’s services leaders must foster the conditions for professional curiosity and challenge to improve the quality of child protection practice, the national safeguarding body has said. This was after his father, who played a significant role in his care, was removed from the family home.

Self-harm 195

Self-harm Mental Health Engagement Social Worker 195

Community Care

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

‘Serious reform’ is needed to cut the number of children in care placed out of area, MPs and peers have said. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on children in care and care leavers said new legislation and binding targets may be needed to tackle the adverse effect of being placed far from home.

Government 346

Government Social Worker 346

Community Care

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

By Max Stanford, head of impact and evaluation at Coram This month marks one year since the publication of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Stable Homes, Built on Love strategy to reform children’s social care. Take part in Community Care’s new series, My Brilliant Colleague , and tell us about their excellent practice.

Crisis Intervention 241

Crisis Intervention Psychotherapy Interventional Administration 241

Community Care

MARCH 30, 2023

A scheme placing social workers in schools does not reduce children’s need for statutory social care services, one of the largest ever randomised controlled trials carried out in the sector has found. No impact on social care outcomes It found that the rate of section 47s was 5.5%

Schools 272

Schools Social Worker School Social Work Interventional 272

Community Care

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Our work seeks to develop innovative ways in which children and young people can digitally and safely self-refer to children’s social care, allowing them to communicate harms and experiences in real time. This presented challenges for children’s social care, but services were quick to adapt.

Case Management 205

Case Management Communication Adoption Self-harm 205

Community Care

JUNE 8, 2022

A care review recommendation to require all registered social workers to carry out 100 hours a year of client-facing work has drawn criticism from academics. “Yet this approach to practice makes it even more likely that practitioners will miss an opportunity to intervene effectively with families.

Social Worker 268

Social Worker Confidentiality Administration Engagement 268

Community Care

JANUARY 18, 2023

Hospital social workers should be reinstated onto wards to support people to achieve better outcomes on discharge, amid the current severe pressures on the NHS and social care. That was the message today from the Adult Principal Social Worker Network in an open letter to health and social care secretary Steve Barclay.

Hospitals 291

Hospitals Social Worker Recovery Rehabilitation 291

Community Care

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

High levels of social worker turnover undermined engagement with six young people with histories of social care involvement who were later convicted of violent offences, a review has found. All are black British and male and had lived in areas of very high deprivation within Croydon.

Engagement 217

Engagement Social Worker Interventional Schools 217

Community Care

OCTOBER 23, 2023

The Care Quality Commission has given its initial verdict on council adult social care services under its new local authority assurance system. The assessment covered two of nine quality statements against which the CQC will be assessing authorities: care provision, integration and continuity, and assessing needs.

Nursing Home 261

Nursing Home Social Worker Government Social Services 261

Community Care

OCTOBER 27, 2023

The Department for Education (DfE) has ditched plans to cap agency social worker pay to the equivalent of permanent staff in local authority children’s services. The changes came after the DfE received over 1,200 responses to the consultation on the rules , 70% of which were from individual social workers.

Social Worker 341

Social Worker Consultation Engagement Government 341

Community Care

MARCH 13, 2024

The study, commissioned by children’s services evidence body Foundations, found that personal experience had helped some staff understand the impact of domestic abuse on those they supported. The Foundations-commissioned study was based on: An online survey of early help and family support staff across 11 local authorities.

Counseling 247

Counseling Interviewing Diversity Disability 247

Community Care

DECEMBER 1, 2023

Councils need more funding to manage the impact of Care Quality Commission (CQC) performance checks of adults’ services, sector leaders have warned. The Department for Health and Social Care handed each council a £27,000 flat-rate payment to prepare for their first assessment.

Government 246

Government Social Worker Social Services Social Services 246

Community Care

JUNE 9, 2023

Welsh councils must be legally required to set maximum manageable caseloads for their children’s social workers and to take all reasonable steps to maintain them. Social work caseloads ‘too high’ “Overwhelmingly, we heard that children’s services social workers’ caseloads are too high,” said the report.

Social Worker 256

Social Worker Government 256

Community Care

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Moving from expecting compliance from social workers to enabling them to exercise professional curiosity is a key factor in improving children’s services. This included initiatives such as the use of social work academies to develop staff, with training days backfilled and caseloads capped.

Social Worker 262

Social Worker Anxiety Government Interviewing 262

Community Care

AUGUST 14, 2023

By Rachael Wardell Kate Shoesmith’s recent article for Community Care argued that the Department for Education’s (DfE) proposed rules on agency work won’t fix the issues facing the local authority children’s services workforce. A requirement for employers to request and provide references for all agency social worker candidates.

Social Worker 206

Social Worker Engagement 206

Community Care

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Councils must be under a statutory duty to support birth parents of children taken into care to tackle, and eventually end, repeat removals, a charity has said. The charity said its ambition was for no birth family to have more than one child taken into care. Practices are generally run by local authorities or other charities.

Adoption 265

Adoption Crisis Intervention Interventional University 265

Community Care

MAY 17, 2024

A proposed requirement on people working with children to report child sexual abuse (CSA) to children’s social care or the police is “a waste of printer’s ink” and will fail the majority of victims. “The task ahead is to enact legislation that reflects this to create a more robust set of safeguards.”

Criminal Justice 169

Criminal Justice Consultation Government 169

Community Care

MAY 25, 2022

The murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson demonstrate the need for child protection practice to be handed over to specialist multi-agency teams of expert practitioners. It also accepted the care review’s proposal that such expert practitioners co-work cases with family help teams to avoid fragmentation.

Government 342

Government Social Worker Interviewing Engagement 342

Social Care

JANUARY 10, 2024

As the Department of Health and Social Care announces its adult social care workforce reform package , Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care , gives her insight into what this means for recruiting, retaining and empowering the care workforce.

Diversity 139

Diversity Disability Consultation Engagement 139

Community Care

DECEMBER 3, 2021

The “full spirit of the Care Act” is not being met, the government has said as it plans to reintroduce performance assessments of council adult services. People can access outstanding quality and tailored care and support. People find adult social care fair and accessible. ” Lack of carer support.

Government 344

Government Interventional Social Services Social Services 344

Community Care

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

The Department for Education (DfE) has backed a care review proposal for a five-year early career framework (ECF) for the development of children’s social workers, but rejected its call to introduce national pay scales to recognise progress. “We do not intend to create new DfE-led pay scales.

Social Worker 256

Social Worker Consultation Government Adoption 256

Community Care

MARCH 25, 2022

Less than 1% of social workers reported to Social Work England last year were referred to a hearing or found to have impaired fitness to practise (FtP), show figures released by the regulator. Both rates have fallen since Social Work England’s first year regulating the profession (December 2019 to November 2020), when 0.8%

Social Worker 289

Social Worker Adoption Mental Health Government 289

Community Care

MAY 22, 2022

The government must introduce national pay scales for social workers, tied to a “vastly improved” learning and development offer, to boosts skills, reward expertise and retain staff in practice, the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care said today. Care review: key social work recommendations.

Social Worker 355

Social Worker Government Case Management Interventional 355

Community Care

MARCH 15, 2023

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced increased tax relief for foster and shared lives carers, improved support for care leavers and enhanced help for disabled people to enter the workplace, in his Spring Budget today. Boost for staying close scheme for care leavers Funding will increase by £15m to £23.1m

Disability 333

Disability Social Worker Government Foster Care 333

Community Care

NOVEMBER 29, 2022

Under the proposals , local authorities would be expected to present a fully resourced plan in their final evidence to court, in cases where they are seeking a supervision order or this may be the outcome of care proceedings. Unlike with care orders, there is no statutory requirement to produce a supervision plan.

Government 245

Government Social Worker Consultation Adoption 245

Community Care

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Moving from expecting compliance from social workers to enabling them to exercise professional curiosity is a key factor in improving children’s services. This included initiatives such as the use of social work academies to develop staff, with training days backfilled and caseloads capped.

Social Worker 212

Social Worker Government Anxiety Interviewing 212

Community Care

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

The last few years have seen a plethora of reports about the lack of appropriate placements for children in care and the dire outcomes that have followed. These include children and young being placed far from loved-ones and social networks, or in unsuitable, and sometimes unlawful, accommodation, and enduring multiple placement breakdowns.

Adoption 213

Adoption Government University Foster Care 213

Social Work Blog

MARCH 13, 2024

By Sue Coyle Self-care is an often-discussed topic among social workers, the organizations that employ them, and the profession as a whole—and for good reason. Social work is a challenging career choice in myriad ways. Evidence of this exists in the rates of both turnover and burnout throughout social work.

Social Worker 95

Social Worker Child Welfare Welfare University 95

Social Work With Adults

JANUARY 31, 2024

Lyn, enjoying the stunning vistas of her home country, Australia, on an earlier trip.for all the amazing adult social work This is my farewell post before I step down as Chief Social Worker for Adults. This improved visibility for social workers was, in part, a consequence of the Care Act 2014.

Social Worker 143

Social Worker Empathy Mental Health Diversity 143