Gordon Jack

Recognising the Person within the Developing Professional: Tracking the Early Careers of Newly Qualified Child Care Social Workers in Three Local Authorities in England

This study follows the progress of newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) through their first year in employment. Questionnaire and interview data were gathered from NQSWs and line managers working in children and families teams in three local authorities in the south west of England during 2007. Although all of the NQSWs started their first jobs with optimism and confidence, a combination of the day-to-day reality of the work and the organisational conditions under which it was undertaken led to increasing levels of frustration and unhappiness. This rapid decline in the well-being of NQSWs appeared to be the result of a failure on the part of their employers to properly recognise the person within the developing professional. Unfortunately, by focusing almost exclusively on what NQSWs employed in childrens services across England need to know and do, the pilot induction programmes introduced since the study was completed run the risk of reinforcing this tendency. It is argued that this is likely to result in an increasingly disillusioned workforce, lacking the motivation and self-belief necessary to provide the high quality services required to effectively safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in the future.

Developing cultural competence for social work with families living in poverty

Social workers need to have a good understanding of the cultural contexts within which the families they are working with are living. Whilst each context will be unique in many respects, the majority of families involved with social workers will share the experience of living in impoverished circumstances. At a time when levels of family poverty are rising rapidly in the UK and many other European countries as a result of a global financial crisis followed by economic recession and major cuts in public spending, it is particularly important that social workers understand the impact of poverty on the lives of the adults and children with whom they are engaged. One of the best ways of developing an understanding of any aspect of culture is to listen to people talking about their lives. Using a combination of research evidence based on the first-hand accounts of parents and children, and analysis of selected practice examples drawn from anti-poverty social work in England, the key elements of culturally competent practice for social work with families living in poverty are identified.

Social Work with Children

The ultimate introductory companion to your children and families module. Starting with an exploration of the knowledge base and contexts of social work practice with all children and their families, this friendly guide moves on to demonstrate how knowledge base is applied in practice with specific groups, from disabled children to young offenders.