Nadine Thorpe knew that the newborn baby – which arrived during lockdown – would be better off staying with her mother. But the family court was keen for the child to be separated from the parent because of her substance misuse problems.
Thorpe, who works as a children’s guardian (children’s social worker) for the Children and Family Court Advisory Service, Cafcass, in London, recalls: “I advised the court that a placement in a specialist baby and mother unit was better for the child because while there the mother could reduce her substance misuse. The mother ended up with a supervision order and still tells me today about her progress. I can make a small change which can change the outcome for a child long-term.”
In another part of the country, Harry White, a mental health social worker for Durham county council, recalls how helping the husband of a client he was supporting turned the couple’s lives around. “The husband had fallen through the net and was providing an increasing amount of care for his wife who had a brain disorder, and wasn’t really able to understand what was going on,” says White, who is on the postgraduate training programme Think Ahead. “I worked with him to get him the extra support he needed – sometimes it’s just as rewarding to work with the people around the service user as it is to support the service user themselves.”
These stories illustrate how social workers in children’s and adult services can change people’s lives for the better at times when they are especially frightened and at their most vulnerable. Often those changes last forever, says Rachael Wardell, executive director for children, families and lifelong learning at Surrey county council, and chair of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services workforce development policy committee. “If you support positive change for a child’s life, it’s lifelong in its impact. All social workers change lives – few professions have such a transformative impact.”
As Social Work Week is celebrated (20-24 March), it is that opportunity to make a difference that still motivates people to join the profession, according to Charlene Stapleton, who is responsible for the postgraduate Step Up to Social Work programme for children and family social workers across the West Midlands. “They want to make a difference to children and families, but they worry that they will be unable to meet the demand.”
Those worries are not unfounded.
Directors of both children’s and adult services say cases are especially complex and challenging post-Covid and because of the cost of living crisis. In Essex, the county council recently decided to establish a concept team to support newly qualified children and family social workers. Jess Wright, who manages the team, says: “We set it up in response to Covid because of the complexity of cases and the amount of referrals coming through. It’s about managing and nurturing them so they have dedicated support.”
Alison Ansell, a director of adult social care in Essex, says the cost of living crisis is a worry: “It’s a huge challenge for us if the person we are supporting in their own home doesn’t have the heating on because they are worried about paying the bill. This is difficult to manage on a week-by-week basis.”
Another key challenge across the sectors is the workforce. Last year, 5,400 children and family social workers left the profession – the highest number since 2017, according to official figures. In adult care, 2,600 social workers left local authority adult services last year – a 17% turnover rate, statistics show.
In the London borough of Barnet, golden hellos are offered to recruit social workers to children’s services; the council is also planning to pay the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) charges for staff, reveals its director of early help and children’s social care services, Tina McElligott. “Ulez is a real worry for us because we have to visit families and this kind of charge really affects staff.”
Sarah McClinton, director of health and adult services for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, says for the first time this winter the council had problems recruiting social workers to replace those retiring or moving on after Covid.
McClinton, who is president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, says: “Nationally the workforce issue is critical. It’s the sector’s biggest challenge.” Proposals to create a fast-track graduate leadership development programme for social care providers could help solve some workforce issues facing care homes if it wins political backing.
The scheme, drawn up by a team of sector leaders, is similar to Teach First. High-achieving graduates would join the Social Care Leaders Scheme and train as key registered managers of care homes, helping to fill the current 12.8% of vacancies. Jonathan Freeman, CEO of the CareTech Foundation, who is championing the scheme, says: “We would create a pipeline of leaders who have been on the frontline and who will understand the sector.”
Despite the continuing challenges, those who are leading adult and children’s services are still impassioned about social work. “I don’t think there is anything more rewarding than supporting people to make changes to keep them safe or make it easier for them to live the life they want to live,” says Ansell.
McClinton adds: “One family told me recently that their mum came out of hospital and our reablement team got her back on her feet – they said it had changed their lives. I think it’s really important to tell these positive stories about what a difference we make to people’s lives.”
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