Aidan Worsley

The State of Regulation in England: From the General Social Care Council to the Health and Care Professions Council

In this paper, we analyse the way in which social work, as a profession, has coped with and responded to the various forms of regulation to which it has been subject in England. First, we briefly detail the rise of external regulation of the professions, discussing both the rationale for, and criticisms of, such developments. Second, we take a closer look at developments within social work and the operation of the General Social Care Council (GSCC)s conduct proceedings from its inception in 2001 until its dissolution in 2012. Third, we focus on the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and consider how it has begun its regulation of social workers since it took on this responsibility from August 2012. We conclude by outlining some of the concerns we have as well as discussing reasons as to why we feel this area of work needs to be explored further.

The Invisibility of Practitioner Research

The authors offer a critical account of the struggle faced by social work practitioner research in emerging from a state of near ‘invisibility’. The authors make the case for practitioner-led research (PLR) to be valued and supported within the broad arena of social research by an infrastructure that can capitalise on the advantages of PLR. It is argued that the practitioners situated perspective can access knowledge which takes practice fully into account. Practitioners are uniquely situated at the interface of service users, carers, work organisations and policy; their knowledge is transferable to other practice situations and has the potential to achieve change that will enhance the quality of the lives of both service users and carers. Furthermore, PLR provides a vehicle for the frontline practitioner to have a voice in their own right. Once due recognition and the requisite support is given to PLR, it will, it is argued, emerge out of the shadows and stand in full view in the light of knowledge enquiry.

Bridging the gap between social work practice and community based welfare agencies

This article argues that social work in the UK needs to renegotiate its relationship with community welfare agencies. It begins by examining what we mean by local community and how welfare needs reflect complex non-linear dynamics unique to the local circumstances. It is argued that these are not always recognised in centralised policy agendas. The article broadly draws a parallel between policy issues for the European Community and for the national state. The drive for both is towards uniformity, which potentially fails to acknowledge the unique circumstances at both the national level between nations and the local level between communities. The focus of the analysis is the lack of engagement with the subtleties of the local within the arena of social work education and practice. With the opportunity presented by the introduction of a new social work degree in the UK, the authors describe how a social work programme in Liverpool undertook a piece of research with the aim of creating an appropriate place for community welfare agencies in practice placements, the academic curriculum and, ultimately, with the next generation of social work practitioners. Eight welfare agencies within the proximity of Liverpool University, an area known as Toxteth, agreed to participate in the research to investigate what kind of placement module would enable local welfare agencies to engage meaningfully in the social work degree. Out of this process emerged a model for research based curriculum development involving local community agencies and academic institutions. More specifically for Liverpool, it placed the notion of social works relationship with local community welfare at the heart of professional development for qualifying social workers, paving the way in this region of England for closer links between welfare agencies associated with civil society and professional social workers.

Forensic multidisciplinary perspectives of Tarasoff liability: a vignette study

This study reports on 40 completed vignettes of the Tarasoff liability with 10 from each of the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, social work and nursing. The sample was forensic practitioners in the North West of England. The data were analysed for their content on several key words and terms that related to the Tarasoff case and each disciplines major zones of relevance in relation to the decisions required at each point in the unfolding scenario. The results showed a similarity of issues across the disciplines in relation to confidentiality, assessment and informing for the duty to protect. However, differences occurred in relation to the focus of that informing as a means of abrogating responsibility in the nursing discipline whilst the other groups accepted their responsibilities in relation to informing to protect the potential victim.

An analysis of HCPC fitness to practise hearings: Fit to Practise or Fit for Purpose?

ABSTRACT All professions regulated by the HCPC have ‘protection of title’. This means that only those on its relevant register can legally work as or call themselves a social worker. As such, the HCPC’s Fitness to Practise panel wields a lot of power over individuals brought before it, effectively being able to prevent them from gaining employment as a social worker or imposing conditions on their practice. This article reports the findings from a study which examined publically available notes of HCPC fitness to practise hearings. The aim was to analyse what happens when an initial investigation finds that there is a case to answer, what factors influence the findings of the Fitness to Practise panel and how the outcome of the hearing then affects the social worker subject to the HCPC process. Using thematic analysis, our findings suggest that the seriousness of the alleged misconduct does not necessarily relate to the severity of sanction applied. It is the social worker’s engagement with the process, her insight into the issues and her credibility as a witness that appears to have the most significant bearing on the level of sanction applied.

The Experiences of Care Leavers (Post-care Adults) in Social Work Education

This paper explores the experiences of social work students on qualifying degree programmes in the UK who have previously been in care or ‘looked after’. Using a sample drawn from three social work programmes in the North West of England, a semi-structured interview schedule was constructed, with the support of social workers who had been in the care system, to examine the individual journeys of 11 students. This paper aims to explore, with this group of students, how their experiences relate to their decision to apply for a place on a social work course, their experience of admission and the duration of the programme. The paper is of particular relevance to social work educators and makes specific suggestions regarding how current practice in social work education might improve.

Care leavers on social work courses: a study of identity management

ABSTRACT Care leavers constitute a small but important minority of social work students. Their dual role as previous ‘consumers’ of care and students is of inherent interest to both those involved in social work education and providers of social work services. This paper discusses a small research project that explored the experiences of such students through semi‐structured interviews. One theme that reoccurred in the analyses of the interview transcripts was how the students managed their identities, through the time that they were in care, in the period having left care and having been accepted on a social work course. What the interviewees had to say about their care and subsequent life experiences is worthy of consideration in terms of its implications for the delivery of social work education generally and how care leavers on social work courses should be treated by academics and on placement particularly.