Community Care

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Over the same period, the social worker vacancy rate fell from 11.6% The increase has been driven by two factors: an excess of new starters (3,000) over those leaving their roles (2,400) in the year to September 2023, and a rise in the number of indirectly employed social workers, mainly those in agency roles.

Social Worker 196

Social Worker Government Therapist Disability 196

Community Care

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

Unite strike action Unite, meanwhile, is holding strikes in specific local authorities, with a three-week strike in Wrexham and Cardiff councils, Wales, having started on Monday (25 September) , alongside a 24-hour walkout in Haringey, north London.

Government 237

Government Social Worker Schools 237

My Brains Not Broken

JANUARY 4, 2024

A few years ago, I reflected on how I’d like to start the new year off right. Start where you are. When it comes to mental health and wellness, it’s important to know where to start. Now, over to you! What mental health tips would you like to share as we start another new year?

Mental Health 243

Mental Health 243

Community Care

MAY 1, 2024

In a statement on its decision to scrap Pathways, the DfE pointed to other workforce initiatives it was funding, notably the development of a five-year early career framework for practitioners starting in children’s services.

Social Worker 195

Social Worker Communication Mental Health Government 195

Community Care

DECEMBER 14, 2023

The regulator has issued fresh guidance on the local authority assurance process as it announced it had been given the green light by government to start assessing England’s 153 councils over the next two years. It said it would be notifying the first group of authorities to be assessed this week.

Government 214

Government Social Services Social Services 214

Community Care

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

Ethnic differences in age at start of proceedings One of the key findings was that black and Asian children were, on average, older than white and mixed or multiple ethnicity children at the start of proceedings. The proportion of children aged 10 or over was also highest for those who were black, Asian or from other ethnic groups.

Adoption 250

Adoption Interventional Social Worker Government 250

Community Care

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Over 800 practitioners have applied to rejoin the social work register in the immediate aftermath of this year’s renewal round. According to Social Work England’s figures, 741 of the 1,017 had started the application form but did not complete and submit it, with the others not having started the form at all.

Social Worker 222

Social Worker 222

Community Care

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Sector bodies have roundly criticised the DfE for providing one-fifth of the funding recommended by MacAlister – £200m over two years as opposed to £2.6bn over five – to reform the system. Reforms will get started this year, but children and families will have to wait longer to see results. ”

Government 237

Government Consultation Foster Care Social Worker 237

Community Care

MARCH 15, 2024

The findings follow those of a 2021 survey of almost 2,000 social workers that found that over a quarter (28%) had experienced racism from people they worked with over a 12-month period, while almost one in five (18%) disagreed that their organisation was doing enough to tackle the problem.

Diversity 306

Diversity Social Worker Social Services Social Services 306

Community Care

MAY 5, 2023

I’ve been the assistant director for adults with disabilities at my local authority for over a year now. However, during Ramadan, I was struck by the realisation that the opportunity to start work early, grab a coffee and mould a routine around my busy work schedule was actually a luxury.

Social Worker 220

Social Worker Disability 220

Community Care

DECEMBER 7, 2023

This is the highest proportion recorded in the four renewal rounds since it took over the regulation of social workers in England in December 2019. 3,600 more social workers on register As a result, England starts the new registration year with 3,609 more registered social workers than last year, when 96,886 renewed.

Social Worker 236

Social Worker Communication 236

My Brains Not Broken

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

Over the years I’ve started to learn more about myself and my mental health which has made things a little easier, but I still feel like I’m fighting an uphill battle. I don’t know if I’ll always feel this way, but it’s how I’m starting to feel about February.

Mental Health 237

Mental Health Anxiety 237

Teaching & Learning in Social Work

DECEMBER 8, 2023

She has over six years of experience supervising students during field placements and eight years of social work practice experience. Now, I did review the assignment and correct a few things, but overall, it was a pretty seamless process from start to finish. Here is an AI tool directory to help get you started.

Social Worker 297

Social Worker University 297

Community Care

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

However, echoing the language of other sector leaders, she said it was latest of a number of “sticking plasters” that the sector had received over many years, leaving fundamental problems unaddressed.

Hospital Discharges 240

Hospital Discharges Hospitals Government Home Care 240

Community Care

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Sefton’s Department for Education-appointed commissioner, Paul Moffat, has recommended that the DfE should not turn the Merseyside authority’s services over to an independent trust or invite another council to take them over, in a report completed in September but published last week.

Social Worker 218

Social Worker Government Administration Interventional 218

Community Care

MARCH 21, 2024

Rising levels of burnout on back of Covid The changes over time in morale coincide with the Covid-19 emergency and its aftermath. The real value of council adult social workers’ wages has fallen progressively over time , with the average full-time equivalent pay in September 2023 – £41,500 – being worth 7.2%

Social Worker 208

Social Worker Interviewing Disability Mental Health 208

Community Care

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

The National Audit Office (NAO) said work needed to start soon, backed by more resource, to deliver the cap and a more generous means-test for care by the revised target date, two years later than originally planned. There may also need to be a second group of authorities testing the reforms, who would need to start work next year.

Government 178

Government Social Worker Case Management Administration 178

Community Care

FEBRUARY 24, 2023

Though the size of the workforce increased over that time, this was only by 11%, from 28,496 to 31,634 FTE social workers. This contributed to the number of social workers starting with local authority children’s services in these years exceeding those commencing their careers in 2022, 2020 and 2018.

Social Worker 249

Social Worker 249

Community Care

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

Specialist social workers will be appointed to lead child protection cases while a new framework will be introduced to support practitioners at the start of their careers, the government has said in its response to the care review. DfE social care strategy: key points Funding: £200m in funding over two years.

Social Worker 327

Social Worker Consultation Government Foster Care 327

Community Care

MAY 25, 2022

The Department for Education (DfE) has appointed a commissioner, Paul Moffat, to oversee and direct improvements at Sefton council, and also to determine whether it has the capacity and capability to improve itself over the long term. A new director of children’s services, Martin Birch, started in post last month, pledging to improve.

Interventional 323

Interventional Government 323

Community Care

JANUARY 31, 2024

About 400 more social work apprentices could be recruited over the next year in England courtesy of a £12m fund designed to boost practitioner capacity adults’ services, announced by the government today. According to Skills for Care , 740 people started social work apprenticeships in 2021-22.

University 267

University Hospitals Government 267

Community Care

DECEMBER 10, 2021

Over three-quarters of 3,490 respondents to a Community Care poll selected this option over better multi-agency working, lower thresholds for intervention or the creation of a dedicated child protection service. The cuts to services over the years have made doing this work incredibly difficult. It’s a huge problem.

Social Worker 342

Social Worker Government Interventional University 342

Community Care

APRIL 24, 2024

Years later she decided to read her case files, only to find “pages and pages of cold, very formal language” where her name had been misspelt “over 100 times”. “I hope it’s just the start of a wider conversation that we all need to have about how [care] experienced people are spoken about and how they’re represented.”

Social Worker 326

Social Worker Foster Care Diversity 326

Community Care

NOVEMBER 9, 2023

But with the family justice system emerging from the pandemic with more cases than previously – despite a decrease over the past year – and significant delays across both public and private law proceedings , Cafcass has set itself a colossal task. Here, Cafcass is starting from a good base.

Social Worker 272

Social Worker Interviewing Consultation Government 272

Community Care

APRIL 6, 2023

A government asylum age assessment body that the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has urged practitioners not to take jobs with has started work. However, the same data shows that, over time, the number of those found to be children has increased. This was true of: 48% of resolved cases (337 out of 701) in 2020.

Social Worker 243

Social Worker Government Interventional University 243

Community Care

MARCH 6, 2022

And though the key government target of the number of children with a PO waiting longer than 18 months to be placed fell to its lowest in over two years (970), this group made up 52% of all of those waiting, the joint highest proportion since April to June 2019. It is a troubling picture,” he said.

Adoption 318

Adoption Government Diversity Disability 318

Community Care

MARCH 15, 2024

Non-statutory placements make up over half of practice learning provision for social work students in Scotland, leaving some graduates underprepared for practice, research has revealed. We plan to have the revised requirements in place for the start of the new academic year.2

Administration 304

Administration Mental Health University Social Worker 304

My Brains Not Broken

MARCH 22, 2022

Over the years, I’ve added many coping techniques and strategies to my mental health toolkit. After shifting my attitude around meditation, I started to have success with finding time in my day to ground myself, find peace, or decompress after a long day. Now, over to you! That type of change takes time.

Mental Health 246

Mental Health 246

Community Care

MAY 2, 2024

Funding pressures And though care workers have seen their wages rise in real terms over the past two years, due to consecutive 10% increases in the national living wage (NLW), councils are struggling to cover the costs in the fees they pay providers. As providers must ensure staff receive at least the NLW (now £11.44 ”

Government 180

Government Engagement Social Worker Social Services 180

Community Care

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

The review, led by safeguarding consultant Bridget Griffin, was based on conversations with one of the seven young people and three of their families and the involvement of over 100 practitioners, through a survey, workshops, case discussions and a webinar. The seven young people were aged 15-20 at the time of the 2021 deaths.

Engagement 207

Engagement Social Worker Interventional Schools 207

Community Care

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Cafcass has started prioritising the allocation of “less urgent” private law cases in London to help maintain safe workloads for its social workers. The decision to institute the prioritisation protocol comes on the back of a 27% rise in the number of private law applications in the capital over the past 12 months.

Social Worker 254

Social Worker Welfare 254

My Brains Not Broken

JANUARY 19, 2023

This blog started as a way for me to tell my story, and there is no story without writing one word after the other. My story has evolved over the years, and I think a big reason for that is because my language has evolved. Until I started having my own struggles, mental health definitely felt like one of them. Now, over to you!

Mental Health 130

Mental Health Anxiety Depression 130

Community Care

JUNE 6, 2023

Delivering the programme over three years, rather than two, with the master’s moved from the second to third years to avoid the pressure of participants completing it alongside their ASYE. A cohort of 500 is above the record 463 it managed in 2020 and significantly higher than the just over 400 it placed in local authorities in 2022.

Social Worker 174

Social Worker University Consultation Mental Health 174

My Brains Not Broken

JULY 14, 2022

I found five things I’m going to start trying in an effort to cope with some of my limitations, and I hope these offer some help to anyone looking to do the same! And even though it might have to become part of my daily routine, saying that fact over and over is one way I can get comfortable with even having limitations.

Communication 246

Communication Depression 246

My Brains Not Broken

OCTOBER 4, 2022

I recently started working out at my gym again, and enjoyed the impact that had on my mental health. Over the years, each of these activities has provided boosts when I needed them. Each activity serves a unique purpose, and the reason I look forward to them is that I’m starting to realize that.

Mental Health 246

Mental Health Anxiety Depression 246

Gary Direnfeld

MARCH 11, 2024

A week with each parent and change over Friday before dinner. The child starts to grieve. Then they are satisfied when back with the missed parent, only to have the cycle start again for the other parent after a few days. Each was focused on missing their child. They were also focused on creating an easy parenting plan.

Private Practice 113

Private Practice Mental Health Social Worker Counseling 113

Community Care

MAY 1, 2024

In total, 62 DCS appointments were made across the 153 local authorities over the past year, up from 50 in 2022-23 and a recent low of 39 in 2020-21, revealed the Association of Directors of Children’s Services’ (ADCS) annual update on the role. This is the second highest figure since ADCS started recording the data in 2007-8.

Diversity 159

Diversity Government Social Services Social Services 159