£3.25 Social Work News Magazine
mysocialworknews.c0.uk
October - December 2017 issue
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20
The spotlight on your profession
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A day in the life of...
Reader recommended
Evidence based practice
Hear what it’s like to work as a senior youth offending social worker.
14 readers share their views on how to empower families.
Learn how to ensure your evidence for assessments is unbiased.
Adult care in Norway
Dementia book giveaway
Driving service improvement
Discover why Norway is considered ‘the best place to grow old’. Pg. 30
Win four of the latest Jessica Kingsley Publishing dementia textbooks. Pg. 18
Read about Hillingdon Children’s Services major service redesign. Pg. 14
In this issue
Contents October - December 2017 issue
08
10
Domestic abuse
Your questions answered
“Domestic abuse remains a taboo subject” explains Senior Social Worker and Ambassador for the City Sikhs Network, Kiran Grewal, as she shares her views on engaging the Sikh community.
How do you know when to stick to theoretical knowledge and when to trust your instincts? Our guest panellists from Frontline, HCPC, and Social Work Trainer, Jo Spender, answer your questions.
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Service improvement
A day in the life of…
In 2013, Ofsted reported the London Borough of Hillingdon Children’s Services as ‘requiring improvement’. We catch up with Tony Zaman, who is leading a major service improvement strategy at the borough.
“I've been delighted to see young people leaving care and securing employment or moving on to higher education” reflects Youth Offending Social Worker, Simon Godfrey when talking about his work.
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Social work giveaway
Recommended by you…
If you, or one of your colleagues, supports people living with dementia, you will want to enter our exclusive dementia textbook giveaway for your chance to win our four featured titles.
What advice would you give to somebody working with vulnerable families where domestic abuse, mental health or substance misuse is an issue? Some of our readers share their tips.
24
30
Evidence based practice
Adult care in Norway
It is crucial evidence for assessments in used a substantive way without bias, but how can you make sure you always do this? Trainer, Gretchen Precey discusses the evidence base in depth.
Norway is referred to as ‘the best place to grow old’. We find out why in an interview with Professor Terje P. Hagen from the Department of Health Management and Health Economics at the University of Oslo.
Social Work News ~ 02
Social Work News
Editorial
foreword In reviewing theme suggestions for this issue, we received requests to cover a broad range of topics on safeguarding children and adults; many of which focused on empowering families. As a profession, there’s a lot of talk about empowering families and building resilience; both at an individual and community level. But what does all this mean? Sarah O’Toole
Unquestionably, now more than ever, there’s a real need to recast children’s services and review how other services can wrap around referral and assessment to provide more flexibility, as Tony Zaman, Corporate Director of Adult, Children and Young People Services at Hillingdon points out on pages 18-19.
Meet the team
This very desire for a more joined-up approach is echoed by our readers in their recommendations for helping families to make positive change (pages 20-21). Only then can we address Social Worker and Ambassador for the
City Sikhs Network, Kiran Grewal’s observation that “the community still very much sees social workers as taking children away from families” (pages 08-09), when in reality every attempt is made to ensure the child is safe whilst in a parent or guardian’s care. Of course, when supporting vulnerable children and adults, practitioners need to feel empowered to make decisions. But when should you follow what research dictates and when should you trust your instincts? It’s an interesting question explored by Social Work Trainers Jo Spender (page 11) and Gretchen Precey (pages 24-25). After all, as Simon Godfrey, Operations Manager of a Youth Offending Team, surmises on page 17 “our job is to see the bigger picture”.
Sarah O’Toole
Managing Director, Skylakes
Emma Plummer,
Andrew Pirie,
“For the eagle-eyed, you’ll notice a slight change in the title of the magazine. We’re now Social Work News. It’s an exciting time as we look to cover issues that interest our readers the most.”
“We had a fantastic response to our last magazine, with more articles downloaded than ever before. Once again, we’ve focused on content that has a real continuing professional development benefit.”
Owen Dye,
Amy Dawson,
“This issue is packed full of features looking at social work practice across a broad range of cultures. My favourite to design was the article on how Norway has redefined care for older people.”
“It’s great to see so many frontline workers share their thoughts on empowering families. It shows just how important peer-to-peer advice is in promoting positive outcomes.”
Editor
Marketing Director
Art Director
Editorial
0333 7000 040 | press@mysocialworknews.com
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Research & Events Manager
Advertising
0333 7000 040 | advertising@mysocialworknews.com
From the frontline
From the
frontline News directly from council teams.
Stay Safe Online campaign launched in Suffolk Suffolk County Council has joined forces with Suffolk Constabulary, Suffolk Community Foundation and the University of Suffolk to launch a new ‘stay safe online’ campaign. Designed to raise awareness of the growing dangers of online grooming, cyber bullying and sexting, the campaign will provide financial support through grants for charities, schools and community groups working with children and young people in hard-to-reach groups.
Seven authorities set to pilot Lifelong Links Seven local authorities across England have been selected to trial Lifelong Links; a new DfE Innovation Programme funded three-year service for Looked After Children and young people under the age of 16. The authorities include Coventry City Council, Devon County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Kent County Council, London Borough of Camden, London Borough of Southwark and North Yorkshire County Council. Based on the ‘family finding’ model in the United States, the aim is to identify and engage relatives or other supportive adults (such as former foster carers) who may play an on-going role in a person’s life once they have left the care system.
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From the frontline
New SMS initiative launched to support young people in Dorset Dorset HealthCare has launched a brand-new SMS initiative, ChatHealth, which has been designed to make it easier for young people aged 11-19 to seek confidential advice and support. ChatHealth is a new text messaging service which allows school pupils to send questions directly to the ChatHealth School Nursing Team who answer questions relating to issues such as relationships, anxiety, mental health, stress, self-harm or even alcohol and/or smoking.
First Aid mental health kits launched in South Yorkshire
Manchester Resilience Hub launched to offer mental health support
A Sheffield-based charity has launched a unique first aid kit dedicated to the needs of those with mental health issues. The Children and Young People’s Empowerment Project (Chilypep) has created the kit which is similar to a traditional first aid box, with the needs of young people in mind.
Hosted by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, in collaboration with other NHS and voluntary sector agencies, The NHS Manchester Resilience Hub has been established in response to the Manchester Arena attack.
Filled with supplies such as stress balls, wristbands, colour therapy books and glitter jars, the kit will be distributed to schools and colleges across South Yorkshire in time for World Mental Health Day on October 10. To find out more, visit chilypep.org.uk
Staffed by trained mental health professionals and trauma specialists, the hub has been set up to coordinate the care and support for children, young people and adults whose mental health and/or emotional wellbeing has been affected. The Hub is based in Greater Manchester but it is for everyone who was affected, regardless of where they live.
Share your news! Simply email press@mysocialworknews.com if you have a story you wish to share with us. Social Work News ~ 05
News bites
News bites Key news stories and announcements.
Adoption figures fall The number of children being adopted and the number of adoption orders being granted by the courts has fallen, according to Department for Education (DfE) figures. Latest Adoption Leadership Board data shows that 1,060 children were adopted in the three-month period between July and September 2016, down from 1,070 in the quarter before and from 1,160 between January and March 2016.
More frequent reviews of care plans needed Healthwatch, the service user watchdog, says reviews of people’s care and support plans should be completed more frequently than once a year. A report stated that reviewing care plans should instead be a “continuous process”, particularly in cases where a person’s ability to do things for themselves might be changing rapidly. Under The Care Act 2014, councils should review care plans no later than every 12 months. Visit healthwatch.co.uk to read the report in full.
Named social worker scheme’s further roll-out Over the past six months, the Department of Health (DoH), in partnership with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the Innovation Unit, have been supporting six local authorities piloting named social workers to support those with learning disabilities. The role of the named social worker has, in Chief Social Worker for Adults, Lyn Romeo’s words “largely focused on building relationships with service providers, alongside the individual and their family”. Now, the scheme has called for further expressions of interest from councils wishing to pilot the use of named social workers in their area.
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News bites
Radicalisation cases “challenging” for social care staff Findings from a Department for Education (DfE) funded report reveal that radicalisation still “presents substantial challenges for social care and safeguarding professionals”. These include uneven distribution of cases across the UK (with varied opportunities for staff to develop understanding and expertise); an ongoing debate over where radicalisation sits in relation to existing thresholds for work delivered by social workers, as well as unclear ownership of cases and questions over the legitimacy of interventions. The report calls for clearer local agreements on who is responsible for responding to radicalisation and what the most appropriate response should be.
Social workers and medical staff to identify victims of human trafficking 180 social workers, police officers and medical staff in London have been trained to identify and help victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.
LSCBs to carry out safety checks post-Grenfell Local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) across the country have been instructed by the Association of Independent LSCB Chairs (AILC) to carry out checks to assess the safety of children living in high-rise flats, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Chair of AILC, David Ashcroft, urged LSCBs to ask “hard questions” regarding the safety of such buildings and whether there are any specific risks to children being considered within local emergency plans.
Being specifically trained in how to identify and approach a victim, those who attended the training, have since returned to their organisations to pass on their knowledge to colleagues, including A&E receptionists and police first responders.
It is estimated there are between 10,000 and 13,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK. With almost half of these found in London and the Home Counties, it is hoped that such training will help with the identification of and support offered to victims.
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Domestic abuse
“The community perception is still very much that social workers take children away from families.” Senior Social Work Practitioner and an Ambassador for the City Sikhs Network, Kiran Grewal, shares her views on what more could be done to help victims of domestic abuse within the Sikh community.
What barriers are there in reporting domestic abuse? When it comes to reporting domestic abuse, every community faces challenges such as fear of being judged, fear of what the perpetrator may do when he or she discovers the disclosure and fear of how others within the community may react. For Sikh communities, domestic abuse remains a taboo subject for which there is still a lack of acknowledgement that both genders can be victims and what constitutes as domestic abuse. There is a trend of not speaking out, even to family members due to fears of bringing “shame upon the family” which is not helped by some elders in the community still considering physical and emotional abuse to be the norm. Communication can also be difficult if English is not their first language as help is often delayed due to the time it takes to source an interpreter. In my opinion, the government should consider making a wider range of interpreters readily available across agencies. Personally, I can speak both Punjabi and English, a skill that ensures I can undertake suitable and appropriate intervention if the victim’s first language is Punjabi, but not all social workers are bilingual nor should it be a necessity if appropriate resources are provided.
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Domestic abuse
What support would help victims? Within my current role within the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) team, I sometimes work within the Barnardo’s Screening Tool (BST) domestic abuse team. This has provided me with a strong understanding of how and when the police refer cases of domestic abuse through to children’s services.
Kiran Grewal
From my experience, further funding is necessary to improve support services in any community, especially for male victims. Over five years ago, I wanted to write a dissertation on male victims of domestic abuse, but my research was compromised by the lack of charities for male victims and limited academic research. Today, there still remains a strong taboo in respect of male victims, and it is not a topic openly discussed. Victims also need to be informed of the services available to them. For this to happen, other professionals who already have one-to-one contact with families need to have a better understanding of the role of the social worker. The community perception is still very much “social workers take children away from families” when, in reality, every attempt is made to ensure the child is safe whilst in a parent or guardian’s care.
How should underreporting be addressed? I believe there needs to be awareness campaigns within the Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) especially during busy periods. Sikhs of both genders would be educated with information regarding domestic abuse alongside teachings from Sikhi where men and women share equality under the eyes of God (Waheguru Ji). A campaign should also target many individuals across all generations as well as professionals to ensure that there is an improvement in knowledge of domestic abuse and local support services. Not only would this break down the barriers and challenges of reporting domestic abuse, it could eventually achieve a normalisation of speaking about such concerns.
What inspired you to be a social worker? I believe you need to have a calling and passion for social work. As a Sikh female and second generation British Indian in the UK, I am the first in my family to work within social work. While it was not highly respected amongst extended family members, I am also blessed with a close non-judgemental family unit, who have supported my career path in life and continue to motivate me to progress and facilitate change.
Social Work News ~ 09
Also, my mother is my key inspiration and strength, as during my childhood, she instilled a strong moral compass in me and taught me to understand hardship from the perspectives of others using an empathetic and supportive approach for positive change. This is one of the reasons I became a social worker and an ambassador for the City Sikhs Network; a registered charity providing a voice for British Sikhs. I am extremely grateful to my team where I work for giving me the time to commit to this. It is my personal belief that we all have a duty to make positive change within society. Since I know the barriers associated with domestic abuse, I ensured a speaker from a local domestic abuse charity came along to our ‘Recipe for Success’ event in June. This event enabled almost 100 people from different generations of Sikhs to be made aware of domestic abuse, the support services available, and to engage in reflection and dialogue to promote positive change in the community, which I hope to continue to do.
Author biography: Kiran Grewal is a Senior Social Work Practitioner, who has significant experience working within MASH, Duty and Assessment, and Care Management Teams. She has managed a variety of complex Child Protection, Child In Need, Looked After Children and court cases including chairing strategy discussions. Outside of work, she is an Ambassador for the City Sikhs Network where she hopes to promote positive change within the Sikh community. Kiran would like to thank Asif Sabir, Paul Eggett and Jasvir Singh OBE, for their support in helping her with this article.
Your questions answered
Your questions answered Our experts answer your questions on social work practice, career progression and more…
Q: “In an unprecedented era of high stress and
high caseloads, what can we do to make the career attractive to new graduates?” Matthew, Birmingham
A: One of the biggest challenges we face in recruiting new graduates is overturning the many misconceptions they have about social work. We are working to change this by going out to university campuses to communicate the benefits of a career in social work, as well as running insight days to enable graduates and final year students to find out what the job is really like.
Do you have a question? Simply email your question to our team at yourquestions@sanctuarysocialcare.com and we may feature it in our next issue!
Today’s graduates are more socially engaged and keener to make a positive impact than ever before. Social work offers a huge variety of work with a number of organisations, high levels of personal responsibility, and of course the immense satisfaction of making a difference to some of the most vulnerable children and families across the country. Not all graduates are the same, and there are several routes into social work. At Frontline, our offer of 200 days of on-the-job training in your first year and the ability to earn as you learn help us attract top graduates who are eager to leave university and enter the world of work. We also recognise the importance of personal development to young people. Our unit model and offer of leadership coaching and seminars, provide high levels of personal support. Meanwhile the chance to complete a Master’s degree and join the Frontline Fellowship - our network for alumni - allow our participants to continue their development throughout the programme and beyond. John Batteson, Attraction Manager, Frontline
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Your questions answered
Q: “Research suggests that siblings
in care should be kept together where possible, however, I am working with a case where I believe it would be better if they were separated. How do you know when to stick to theoretical knowledge and when to trust your instinct?” Laura, Northampton
A: The short answer to this question is,
John Batteson Attraction Manager, Frontline thefrontline.org.uk
Q: “As an experienced social worker (not presently practising), how can I get back into the profession?” Jolyon, Cardigan
A: If you are still on the register, you are
Louise Shewey HCPC hpc-uk.org
free to ‘pass on your knowledge, skills and experience’ as part of your Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This type of CPD is commonly referred to as Workbased learning and/or Professional activity. It is important to understand what we mean by practising. We have defined ‘practising your profession’ as drawing on your professional skills and knowledge in the course of your work. This does not have to be in clinical or ‘frontline’ practice and can include roles in education, management and research, or other areas. Some examples of CPD activity can be found on the CPD section of our website: hcpc-uk.org/registrants/cpd/
Jo Spender Social Work Trainer creativesocialworkltd.co.uk
With regards to retuning to practice, if you have been out of practice for two years or more you will need to complete a period of updating your skills and knowledge before you can apply for readmission to the HCPC Register. This can be made up of any combination of supervised practice; formal study; or private study. Full details of the requirements for returning to practice can be found in our recently revised guidance, which is available to download on our website. If you would like further information of advice on returning to practice, you can email the Registrations Department registrations@hcpc-uk.org or speak to an adviser on 0300 500 4472. Louise Shewey, HCPC (See article overleaf for more information)
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social workers do not make professional judgements based on instincts alone, we use methodologies to underpin our assessments and decision making to enable evidence based practice. The Adoption Minimum Standards 2014, also state there needs to be a clear decision-making process when deciding whether it is in the best interests of each child to be placed together or separate, and what the impact of this decision is on each child. The separation of siblings is a complex area of social work practice as instinctively practitioners want to keep sibling groups together. This is because sibling relationships are likely to last a lifetime and can be an integral part of a child’s sense of identity. However, despite often having the same parents and living in the same family, siblings are usually very different. This is because parents respond differently to children according to their age, gender, temperament and stage of development. The nature of the individual child’s attachment style is the primary consideration, as this will determine the parenting style the child needs, in their permanent placement. Once the child’s attachment style and parenting needs have been established the pattern and strength of the sibling relationship needs to be assessed. There are some behavioural issues that indicate separation must be considered, such as highly sexualised behaviour, severe scapegoating or significant differences in attachment styles requiring diverse parenting styles. If a decision has been made to separate siblings, it is important to maintain relevant levels of contact, as once the child has been able to develop a secure relationship with a significant adult then they have the platform to develop healthy sibling relationships. Jo Spender, Social Work Trainer
Returning to social work
Scheme helps with return to social work A scheme to help up to 100 social workers return to work after a career break has been launched by the government. The scheme will see employers offering training and support to those who have had time out from social work for a range of reasons such as starting a family or caring for a relative. The initiative is part of a government plan to support parents and carers returning to work and close the gender pay gap. It will also help individuals refresh and improve their skills, and build professional networks.
Tailored training The social work element will see the Government Equalities Office work alongside the Local Government Association and see the LGA build on the Come Back to Social Work pilot to partner three regions across England from November to offer placements to 100 social work returners. The placements will include tailored training and development to prepare social workers for their return to practice. The returner programmes, part of a £5 million fund announced in this year’s Budget, are also available to teachers, allied health professionals and civil servants.
Getting back into the workplace The Minister of State for Apprenticeships, Skills and Women Anne Milton MP said: “Millions of us need to take time out from our careers, but it can be really hard to return. This is bad for the people affected, and the businesses who miss out on their talents. Women in particular find the routes back into employment closed off after taking time out to start a family.
These returner programmes will make it routine for women to go back to the workplace and get on with their careers. It ultimately should also help us to tackle the gender pay gap. I think it’s important that the public sector leads by example and introduces programmes to support people returning to the workplace.”
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Working in...
Sandwell
‘It’s a place of opportunity’ Sandwell Children’s Services has been working hard to improve the service it provides to the children and families of Sandwell.
As it enters a new chapter in its improvement story by establishing a brand new, independent Trust for its Children’s Services, it’s never been a better or more exciting time to join.
Available jobs
Sanctuary Social Care, is proud to say it will be actively recruiting permanent social workers on behalf of the council to assist in achieving its goal of providing the highest quality service possible.
• Care Management
So, if you want to work in a children’s social care environment that puts the child at the centre of everything and is committed to helping you to be your best, Sandwell could be the ideal place to practise.
There are a number of permanent social worker, senior social worker and team manager roles in the following teams: • Duty & Assessment
• LAC • Fostering • Leaving Care
Benefits of working at Sandwell At Sandwell, there is more to rewarding employees than just salary alone. Employees are provided with a range of competitive benefits, including: • One of the most generous annual leave entitlements in the West Midlands area • A strong focus on manageable caseloads • Agile, flexible working arrangements enhanced with the use of the latest IT equipment • An award-winning wellbeing package to help maintain a good work-life balance • A commitment to continuous learning and development to unlock potential • Quality supervision • And much more…
Find out more To find out more and view current vacancies, visit sanctuarysocialcare.com/permanent-social-work-roles or call 0333 7000 026 to speak with a consultant.
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Service improvement
Driving service improvement In 2013, Ofsted reported the London Borough of Hillingdon Children’s Services as ‘requiring improvement’. Tony Zaman, Corporate Director of Adults and Children and Young People Services, shares his experience implementing a major service improvement strategy.
Could you tell us about your approach? Having accepted the role of Corporate Director of Adult, Children and Young People Services, nine months following the inspection, I quickly realised that we needed to not concentrate on chasing a plan, but on improving the service. The plan would then take care of itself. We stood back and recast how we were going to improve performance and outcomes and address the major challenge of attracting and retaining high-calibre staff. One of the first things we did was to manage the perception of the service; to deal with short-term capacity issues and give us head-room to plan ahead, was to freeze recruitment and temporarily increase our reliance on agency staff and managed service resources. This approach reduced the turnover of permanent and agency staff and created much more continuity and stability.
Within 12 to 15 months we had moved from 80 percent agency staff and 20 percent permanent staff to the exact opposite: 80 percent permanent staff and 20 percent agency staff.
Essentially, our approach was a 'back to basics' one: getting the right operating model, case flows and leadership team in place, recasting the career pathway for social workers, supporting staff and backing decision making at the front line.
How important was Council administration support? It was vital. Both at a political and corporate level, the service and I, have been supported all the way. As you would expect from Hillingdon Council, all key decisions and changes were backed with strong financial service improvement business cases, providing the support we needed to make necessary changes in an enduring way.
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Service improvement
How did you change the front door?
Tony Zaman
The 'Children's Pathway' was already in place. It is broadly based on the principle of one social worker seeing a case through from initial referral through to the final outcome for that child. What was evident is that whilst the principle as an aspiration is right, it is only effective if tempered by the realities of strong practitioner and case-flow management, with good planning being well managed, by the right highly skilled workers at key case progression stages. This wasn't the case at the time and cases were getting stuck in the system, or drifting.
To give us the clarity and the strategic space to plan for the future, we took the decision to procure a fully managed referral and assessment service from Skylakes. They quickly mobilised several teams of highly experienced social work practitioners to take control of our front door. This freed us up to concentrate on progressing cases already in the system that were on Child in Need (CIN) or protection plans. It also gave us headroom to focus on stabilising the rest of the service.
What was the impact on staffing? We were able to redefine our career pathway to offer progression based on ability and achievement rather than length of service or drawn-out processes. We revisited our pay and rebranded the service to show we had real vision and a sense of direction. With the expert help of Sanctuary Social Care, we then launched a major recruitment campaign. Within 12 to 15 months we had moved from 80 percent agency staff and 20 percent permanent staff to the exact opposite: 80 percent permanent staff and 20 percent agency staff. The strategy of utilising agency staff and the managed service whilst we were stabilising and planning, rather than lurching into a knee jerk response, was a tremendous success. As we were recruiting, the average tenure of our agency staff was above 40 weeks, a number of whom later became permanent members of staff and a number of practitioners who had left have come back to rejoin us.
Is there one key thing that really made a difference? I'd have to say two, with a couple qualifying points. The political and corporate support the service received must be close to unparalleled. As well as the power that trust and financial backing can achieve, the support for our various support functions has been stunning. By May 2016, we had a permanent senior management and management team in place, right through to team managers, which is very rare these days. Having that
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strong, stable, supportive leadership and management through the structure is a tremendous asset.
Have you measured the progress? Very much so. Without boring you with the whole suite of specifics, we know what we have, where they are, what we need to do and how we can improve outcomes. Our routine Ofsted business meetings are going well and in November to December 2016 we had an extremely positive Joint Targeted Area Inspection of our SEND service by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, parts of which shone a light on the end-to-end strength of children and young people services in the borough.
So, what's next? Drawing on the experience of all those improvement dimensions mentioned above, we are reworking our pathway and operating model. It isn't far off and the key changes will be around the greater integration of much earlier focused intervention.
We aim to wrap other services around our referral and assessment service to provide more flexibility and responsiveness. We're also gathering those services together under the same management structure, so that we can control them more effectively and target de-escalation from the point of contact and step-down cases from plans more quickly and safely. Having got the basics right, we're now focusing on seriously improving outcomes for children, young people and families.
A day in the life of...
Work life A day in the life of a senior youth offending social worker. Simon Godfrey is Operations Manager of a youth offending team at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
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A day in the life of...
My journey into social work
Simon Godfrey
I graduated with a History degree in 1997. Having done some voluntary work as a student, I decided to apply for jobs in the social care sector. I landed a role supporting people with learning difficulties and then worked with young people in supported accommodation. In 2004, whilst working in a supported housing project in Berkshire, I responded to a request from the local authority for staff to train as a social worker. I jumped at the opportunity and graduated from Reading University in 2007. My final placement at uni was in a drug and alcohol team. On the strength of that, I got a job as a substance misuse worker in Oxfordshire County Council's youth offending team. Although my original goal had been a career in adult services, I quickly developed a real passion for working with young people.
My typical day Inevitably, there's a mundane side to the job, with a significant proportion of my time taken up by quality assurance administration, such as reviewing assessments and reports. However, my other day-to-day work commitments can be quite interesting and varied, from attending court hearings to regular meetings with partner agencies. Like many youth offending teams, we run risk management panels, which I chair on a fortnightly basis. One of the key strengths of the UK's youth offending service model is that teams are multi-disciplinary, often comprising not just social workers, but also the police, probation officers, education workers and parenting workers.
My proudest moments I've spent most of my 10 years as a qualified social worker in youth offending. It's unrealistic to expect that you can transform the life of every young person you deal with and, sadly, many young people continue offending into adulthood. However, it's very rewarding every time you do help someone really turn their life around, particularly if they've been in custody. I've also been delighted to see young people leaving care and securing employment or moving on to higher education. We've even had a couple of young people who have gone on to train as social workers. It's that kind of thing that really makes the job worthwhile.
Lessons I've learnt I guess the most important thing I've learnt is not to give up on any young person. It may be a clichĂŠ, but it's
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nevertheless true: being involved in crime or antisocial behaviour can simply be a phase they're going through. You need to believe in them, stick with them and try to guide them through a difficult period in their lives, while doing your best to minimise any harm they do to themselves or others. A large proportion of youth offending, particularly in London, is gang-related. As social workers, we need to offer those young people a different, more positive viewpoint on life. It's also important not to have preconceptions. When a young person commits an offence, it's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a complex journey that they have made to get to that point. Our job is to see the bigger picture and understand the reasons why they have taken the wrong path.
The most challenging part of my job Providing expert testimony in court can be challenging. Although my social work training gives me a basic knowledge of the law relating to youth offending, I'm not a legal specialist and I might have to face some difficult questioning from the judge or counsel. Over the years I've also had to deal with quite a few situations where a young person has been hostile or aggressive. Protecting yourself is about risk assessment and management. For example, if you're concerned about a young person being violent, you might ensure there are always two members of staff present at all interviews. Of course, sometimes it's just a matter of being quick on your feet. I can recall one occasion when I had to make a hasty retreat from a potentially dangerous situation.
After work I'm really passionate about food and wine. The daily commute from Suffolk to London makes it difficult for me to spend a lot of time preparing meals during the week. However, on Saturday nights I love nothing more than cooking up a delicious culinary treat and enjoying it with a glass or two of good wine. I also enjoy listening to a wide range of music - everything from opera to heavy metal!
Social work giveaway
Dementia care giveaway We’ve partnered with renowned social care publishers, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP), to offer an exclusive social work giveaway valued at £60. If you, or a colleague you work with, has an interest in supporting those living with dementia, you’ll be interested in winning four of JKP’s newest dementia care textbooks.
jkp.com Social Work News ~ 18
Social work giveaway
Win these titles For your chance to win all four titles, simply send an email to giveaway@sanctuarysocialcare.com with the subject heading “book giveaway”. Don’t forget to include your name, postal address, email and phone number. The closing date for both entries will be 20 December 2017. The winner will be randomly selected and the judge’s decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Life Story Work with People with Dementia Edited by Polly Kaiser and Ruth Eley - £19.99 The voices of practitioners, researchers and family carers sit alongside those of people living with dementia to present a wide-range of perspectives on life story work. This evidence-based book offers practical guidance for introducing life story work in a variety of settings. It empowers people living with dementia to inform social workers and family members about what care and support they may need by taking into account their wishes and aspirations.
The Dementia Diaries Matthew Snyman and Social Innovation Lab Kent - £9.99 Follow the stories of Brie, Fred, and other young carers as they try to understand and cope with their grandparents' dementia at all stages of the illness. Adapted from true stories, and supplemented with fun activities and discussion ideas, this book cuts to the truth of living with dementia and tackles stigma with a warm and open perspective. Longlisted for the School Library Association’s Information Book Award 2017, it’s an invaluable resource; not only for family members but also for the professionals supporting them.
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Confused, Angry, Anxious? Bo Hejlskov Elven, Charlotte Agger and Iben Ljungmann - £12.99 Working with older people in care can be challenging and frustrating, especially when they behave in ways that appear to be irrational, aggressive, or repetitive. The authors of this useful and practical book explain how to understand the complexities of how older people in care can behave (especially those with dementia) and how to stay calm and compassionate in resolving issues. With many examples of everyday challenges and how to deal with them, this book has the potential to make a lasting impact on daily social work practice.
End of Life Care for People with dementia Laura Middleton-Green, Jane Chatterjee, Sarah Russell and Murna Downs - £16.99 Emphasising the importance of being attuned to the experiences and needs of the person with dementia, the authors explain why and how those living with dementia should be included in decisions relating to their end of life care. Practical strategies for ensuring physical and emotional wellbeing are provided, drawing on useful real-life examples. Dilemmas surrounding end of life care are explored in detail, including the moral dilemma of medical intervention, and the authors suggest ways of supporting family members through the process.
Reader recommended
As recommended ...by you
Due to the success of our last ‘recommended by you’ feature, we asked you for your thoughts on how social workers can successfully empower families to make positive changes in their lives!
What advice would you give to somebody new to working with vulnerable families? “Listen carefully to what is being said; think carefully about what you hear and examine what the individual needs are. Listening and responding is more likely to bring about change than dictating advice; sustainable change happens when trusting relationships are built and where individuals learn from those they can trust.” Teresa, Worcester
“Keep yourself informed and up-to-date. You can only do a good job if you are well equipped with any changes.” Robina, Knutsford
“Approach your intervention as a team worker, and view the family as team members. Do not go in as the one with all the answers; your knowledge will mainly be professional and not about this particular family. Be prepared to listen and ask open-ended questions to enable you to understand the family better." Diana, Birmingham “Use all of your senses to assess - eyes, ears and nose! Be inquisitive when asking questions and provide practical solutions.” Hazel, Liverpool “Think of goals which enable the family to get to where they want to be, and be as transparent as possible.” Viv, London “Keep an open mind, avoid stereotypes and over-generalisation. Work hard to improve and enable, not to maintain and sustain.” Nahid, London
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Reader recommended
What specific tools do you have available to empower families? “Each family is unique and different, so the best intervention relies on tailoring a plan that suits each family, ensuring that you not only have their agreement to embark on change but that trust is a given. Individuals and families who have already managed this transition can be one of the best resources to use in supporting new families but supervision is critical. New workers should be encouraged to work alongside those with more experience.” Jolyon, Cardigan
Money and hands-on practical support is required, then counselling for the individuals to learn how to take responsibility for their decision making.” Hazel, Liverpool “Carer Consultation model to support carers in meeting the holistic needs of vulnerable children, Protective Behaviours process to teach personal safety and emotional intelligence to children and young people and their families, carers and anyone working with them, face-to-face training in a variety of knowledge and skills re emotional intelligence and behaviour support, Theraplay tools, Webster Stratton intervention skills, direct work using role play, drama, art, music and photography etc.”
Supporting parents to see the world through their child’s eyes throughout the situation, and enabling them to hear that child’s voice. This can help them to identify what their child may be going through and motivate change.”
Teresa, Worcester
Ellie, London
How can you help where domestic abuse, substance misuse or mental health issues are involved?
“Genograms can be helpful as they allow families to look back at patterns in family history and see how these patterns are repeating themselves.”
“Empower the person who has been abused, helping them to learn about how they have been groomed and understand how they can avoid it in the future. The wellbeing of the child is the most important thing and should be at the forefront of everything, and parents must appreciate this.”
Jean, Witham “Two chair therapy reverses roles and encourages the person to identify and talk about what it means to be the other person. It helps them to manage their experiences by owning it and working through it. It puts the person in the driving seat and enables them to take control.”
Susan, Rugeley
Risikat, Milton Keynes
“Have a clear understanding of the impact of the issues on the children. Be clear with the family about what needs to change and set goals to achieve this.”
Want to hear more?
Amanda, London
To read more about some of the specific practice models mentioned, turn to page 23.
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Advertisement
Looking ahead to 2018! We know that events, exhibitions, conferences, training seminars and workshops all play a key part in supporting your ongoing professional development. In the next issue of Social Work News, we will be providing you with a comprehensive calendar of social work events, enabling you to make a note of key dates for your 2018 diary. So, if you are planning to host an event specifically for social workers and would like to be added to our calendar, please get in touch! Whether you are planning a public training seminar, a local network meeting, a webinar or even an exhibition or conference, we want to know! All you need to do is let us know the following details, no later than Friday 1st December 2017; Event title | Event date | Location | Price | Website | Contact information To get involved in our 2018 calendar, please email advertising@mysocialworknews.com
Social Work News ~ 22
Practice models
Recommended practice models When we asked what practice models you would recommend to help children or adults at their most vulnerable, we received many responses. Below we take a look at four highly recommended tools. Genograms Genograms are a practical social work tool, and come highly recommended by one reader, Jean Adkell, from Essex. They are used in children’s services to explore the quality of relationships and behavioural patterns across generations. They can also be helpful when working with adults and to explore issues of interest beyond family dynamics. There are many software platforms available to build genograms, such as smartdraw.com/genogram or you can create them using Microsoft Office.
Enhanced assessment bed model Reader, Diana Murungu, advocates Birmingham Cross City CCG’s enhanced assessment bed model. Patients who are fit to be discharged from the city’s acute hospitals but need further support and assessment, are transferred to community based beds for assessment. Patients spend four weeks in the bed, giving them a better chance of returning to their own home with a package of care than if assessments had taken place while in hospital. To find out more visit chshealthcare.co.uk/services/ hospital-discharge-schemes/discharge-to-assess
Face to Face pathways
Strength cards
As recommended by reader Adam Pickford of Hopton, Face to Face work is very useful. Face to Face pathways is funded by the Department for Education’s Innovation Fund. The programme is a systemic approach that enables young people aged 14 to 24 to determine their next steps beyond care. It ‘fits the system to the family rather than asking the family to fit to the system’.
As suggested Rachel Boden of Bridgend, Strength cards, are a useful tool. Available for purchase from CoramBAAF, they can help children, young people and families use their strengths at times of change, conflict, worry or stress. Each card focuses on a particular strength and they are illustrated in a way that engages the child.
Discover more by reading the Jan - Mar 2017 issue of Social Work News magazine issuu.com/socialworknews
To purchase the cards or to find out more, simply visit corambaaf.org.uk/books/strength-cards
Social Work News ~ 23
Evidence-based practice
How to make sure your evidence is unbiased It is crucial that we use evidence for assessments in a way that is both substantive and without bias, but how do you know if you are collecting the right evidence? discusses social work Trainer, Gretchen Precey.
The evidence base in social work Evidence-based practice is about substantiating why we think the way we do; it informs our assessments and, most importantly, helps to protect those at their most vulnerable. But what do we mean by evidence?
Gretchen Precey
It is the information that we use to back up our position and this can be sourced from what we observe directly in our interaction with clients, what we hear from others, what we read on file as well as what research has to offer. We all know of theoretical research that strongly guides us on what we should be recommending in our assessments. Take research into special guardianship orders (SGOs), for example. The creation of SGOs was influenced by research that suggested that children who are placed with family members or ‘connected persons’ and have less involvement with statutory regulations, experience more stability and the placement is less likely to break down than with children placed in foster care. As a result, there has been a rise in the number of SGOs made by the court and an increase in SGOs that have a supervision order attached to them. But this has also led to a rise in the number of SGO placements that are breaking down, which suggests that they have perhaps been used as the placement option of choice without full consideration about whether a SGO is the right option for that particular child’s circumstances. Relying too heavily on research from large data sets as an evidence base can impact negatively on assessments. This has led to more research into the value of direct experience; practice-based evidence. In my course, I
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often refer to Professor Harry Ferguson’s description of the ‘smell’ of practice. By this I mean, the social worker getting to know the family as a unique entity and using all their powers of observation and experience to gain an understanding of the family and how they see the world.
How important is instinct? When carrying out an assessment, you have to remember why you are there and go where the family takes you, listening to their concerns, observing and getting an idea of how the family functions. Having been a practising social worker since 1977, I understand, as most social workers will, that sometimes you just ‘know’ when something feels off. Your instincts will help point you in the right direction, but remember they are just that, until you can substantiate them with evidence.
Evidence-based practice
Is evidence the truth? One thing is clear, there are precious few facts in social work. It is based much more on subjectivity than objectivity and contains more opinion than fact. We are people dealing with people and, as such, we bring our own values, background and belief systems to the work we do. If we’re looking at a case of child neglect, for example, we would be observing attachment, the physical environment and how the child presents in other settings to understand what impact living in the family environment has on the child. But there are so many aspects to consider. This is why two people doing a joint home visit to the same family may come away with very different impressions of the family’s situation.
How important are previous case notes? Sometimes social workers think they should have formed their opinion on their first visit, but you need to be able to work with a lack of clarity until evidence emerges that informs your opinion and assessment. If you go in with pre-conceived ideas, even if they are from an earlier visit you’ve conducted, you could be biased in your evidence-base. How much should I read ahead of a visit? This is a question I am often asked during training. Whilst it’s important to familiarise yourself with case notes, you must remain open to accepting new information, which could either confirm or contradict earlier findings. Supervision can assist with this; talking through your findings and discussing the options available based on the evidence presented.
Trainer profile Gretchen Precey, a practising social worker since 1977 with over 18 years social work training experience, provides a range of learning programmes designed to help, train and guide children’s services professionals. She also remains closely involved with day-to-day social work practice by undertaking serious case reviews, specialist evidential interviews, risk assessment reports, mediation and supervision.
Learn more from Gretchen If you want to learn more from Gretchen, she will be leading an Evidence-Based Practice training course in London on 31st October. To book your place, visit sanctuarytraining.com or call 0333 7000 028.
Keeping your research up-to-date: It also helps to stay up-to-date with research findings. As a practitioner, this can be a challenge, so here’s some resources I would recommend: • Research in Practice - rip.org.uk • The Guardian - theguardian.com/education/socialwork • Community Care Inform - ccinform.co.uk • Child Abuse Review - inter-professional journal for research, practice and policy in child maltreatment published by registered charity and membership association, BASPCAN - baspcan.org.uk/child-abuse-review/ • NAGALRO events and membership news - nagalro.com/about-nagalro/aims-and-structure.aspx
Social Work News ~ 25
Reablement
An insight into reablement By Zoë Betts, Adult Social Worker & Owner of iamsocialwork.
The transition from hospital to home can create much anxiety, for families as much as for the patient. It can be new territory for people and often the longer the admission the greater those worries can become. The list of questions can be endless.
Zoë Betts
Having discharge planning meetings early in the process with the patient and their family whilst in hospital, can hugely alleviate many worries. They are often understandably fearful that the support will stop as soon as someone leaves hospital, but as I discover, when talking to physiotherapists and a senior occupational therapist at a large London Trust, reablement pathways are helping to address these very real concerns. Working within a hospital environment myself, I know what a great job the staff do there, but I absolutely understand the reasoning behind founder of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Don Berwick’s assertion that “the hospital shouldn’t be the centre of healthcare, it’s a repair facility, it’s not the source of health. Home is the source of health”. More and more Trusts, CCGs and local authorities are in agreement with this; that support can be implemented – and more successful - at home. This can include a combination of health and social care services. Particularly from a functional rehabilitation point of view, many boroughs are accepting that the rehab journey can be continued at home and no longer requires a hospital admission.
Social Work News ~ 26
Confusingly, the pathway for consideration of support at home can differ between each local authority. One model followed by those I spoke with for the purpose of this article, commonly referred to as a reablement pathway, offers care free of charge alongside an intense programme of therapy. Care is brokered out via the local authority to a care agency and therapy will be in place with either the local authority as well, or with a more specialist healthled therapy team. This can include speech and language therapists as well as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, depending on the reason why therapy is needed. The level of care and therapy is discussed and recommended by the hospital multi-disciplinary team, and then discussed with the patient and their family to understand how much support they will accept and what works best for them. Both aspects are usually in place free of charge for a period of six weeks, to allow a long enough period of time to improve and achieve the goals set.
Reablement
The criteria is goal orientated, which can be very minor such as washing your body using both hands or maintaining a sitting balance, completing a transfer consistently; as well as having no previous package of care or having newly identified goals after a new admission. As this is such an integrated pathway, working closely with the therapy teams is a must. The social worker completes an assessment of needs and the physiotherapists and/or occupational therapists provide the therapy goals from the outcome of their hospital sessions. It can be a huge relief for people and their families to know that this intense level of support will be in place to help at home so frequently. To find out what the specific benefits and challenges are with the reablement pathway, Nicole, a Senior Occupational Therapist at the Trust, shared her thoughts with me.
What are the main benefits of the reablement pathway for the patient?
How do you find the transition to community therapy teams? “We are fortunate to have close working relationships with community services with regular meetings, handovers and a clear referral process. We try, where possible, to get rehabilitation teams to come and assess patients in hospital first, as a means of handing over the patient. It is important where possible for community therapists to work alongside reablement carers to ensure they are both working on similar rehabilitation goals so we try and get them to have a session together when we know the carers will be there too. This is particularly important when there are any manual handling risks involved.
What's the most rewarding part of your job? Working with amazing patients, carers and their families and being part of a proactive, hardworking multidisciplinary team. It’s very rewarding!
“We often find people make much better progress once they are back in their own home. Therapists can visit a patient at home anything from three times a week to once a day, depending on someone’s goals and their own motivations. This works alongside a care package sourced by the local authority or by the person directly and ensures a person gets a good balance of care and therapy and really gives them the best chance to get back to where they were before their admission.”
What do you consider when recommending a reablement pathway? “We consider whether the patient has a condition that has the potential to improve, whether the patient wants to become more independent and if they have rehabilitation goals.”
What are some of the main challenges you face? “It’s often motivation, low mood and any cognitive impairment. I work on stroke rehab ward and following a stroke there is a high incidence of depression and cognitive impairment, which can influence engagement in rehabilitation and a patient's ability to improve.”
Author profile Zoë runs iamsocialwork which supports students and qualified social workers to network with one another and learn from academics via a variety of national events and forums. She is a judge for the Social Worker of the Year Awards and works full-time as a social worker.
Social Work News ~ 27
Tax
What do the new tax evasion offences mean? We consider the implications of the new tax evasion offence that came into effect on 30 September 2017. Since IR35 came into force in April this year, a number of non-compliant umbrella companies and companies offering contractor loans (SCH) have emerged, drawing agency public sector workers into risky tax avoidance schemes, in an effort to circumvent IR35. But now, HMRC is cracking down on said schemes by making it a criminal offence for an associated person or corporation to fail to prevent tax evasion.
What does this mean for public sector recruitment?
What does this mean for agency social workers?
If a corporation, which could be a recruitment agency, is associated with a third party (facilitator) avoiding tax, they could be found liable for failing to prevent tax evasion.
The offence of tax evasion has not changed for workers, but with HMRC’s renewed focus on cracking down on those facilitating tax evasion, providing all three steps above can be established, agency social workers could
Whilst those operating in financial services offering tax advice are the main targets of the legislation, HMRC has made it clear that all corporations are within scope. Provided all three steps outlined below can be established, the recruitment agency (corporation) can be liable: 1. A tax evasion offence is committed by a tax payer (a tax evader) (e.g a contractor or local payroll company) 2. The commissioning of that offence is criminally facilitated by a third party (the facilitator) 3. The facilitator is associated with the corporation It will, therefore, become hugely important for recruitment businesses to carry out rigorous supply chain checks and to closely monitor referrals made to third party umbrella companies; a process already embedded at Sanctuary.
find themselves caught up. Take contractor loans, for instance. HMRC has issued a warning stating: “Scheme providers will tell you that the payment is non-taxable because it’s a loan, and doesn’t count as income. In reality, you don’t pay the loan back, so it’s no different to normal income and is taxable. So if you’re using one of these schemes and being paid this way you’re highly likely to be avoiding tax.” Crucially, where scheme users push their cases to litigation, HMRC wins around 80% of all avoidance cases that end up in court. If tax evasion is suspected, you may have to pay the disputed tax up front if HMRC sends you an accelerated payments notice.
Social Work News ~ 28
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Adult care in Norway
“Institutional care has been dismantled in favour of enhanced integrated home care” Norway is often referred to as ‘the best place to grow old’. We interview Professor Terje P. Hagen from the Department of Health Management and Health Economics at the University of Oslo, to find out why.
Over the past two decades, Norway has redefined the way it cares for its ageing population. Long recognised as a “good place to grow old” - with HelpAge International research showing it has the highest global level of well-being for over-60s - it was a nation that in the past tended to place relatively high numbers into residential and nursing homes. That emphasis, however, has now shifted towards keeping older people in their own homes for longer and delivering care in the home.
Responsive to social care needs The Government Pension Fund Global, funded from the country’s oil wealth, helps finance the demands of an ageing population, but that cash cushion is now coupled with a culture change backed up by various legislation. As one of Norway’s leading authorities on this, Professor Terje P. Hagen at the University of Oslo, explains: “To an increasing degree, older people with care needs are supported at home, either in their original home or in sheltered housing, which in Norway is also legally defined as a personal home. People are to a lesser degree taken care of in nursing homes or other institutions, although this is still an alternative in terminal stages.”
Social Work News ~ 30
Adult care in Norway
Everyday Rehabilitation at Home Support at home is given as nursing and practical assistance, with physiotherapy and other care. A new model called Everyday Rehabilitation at Home has been implemented in several communities to encourage the those in need of support to manage their own health and remain independent.
Professor Terje P. Hagen
The approach is multi-disciplinary with social workers and care professionals delivering comprehensive services at a local level for all citizens irrespective of age, diagnosis, economic situation, social status, or other factors. Norwegian municipalities are responsible for taking care of older people, which also makes it possible to integrate that with care for other user groups, says Professor Hagen. The process began in the 1970s when legislation was
Norway has a population of 5.3m people. People aged 65 and over make up 16% of the overall population. 1.4% of Norway's population suffer from dementia.
introduced to start the process of transferring roles and responsibilities from the state to local government. Milestones include the Municipal Health Services Act (1983), which made municipalities responsible for primary health services; the nursing home reform (1989); reform for people with intellectual disabilities (1991); and reforms within psychiatry (1997). Professor Hagen explains: “Segregated special care and institutional care have been dismantled in favour of enhanced integrated home care services and new living arrangements in communities. Thus, the focus has shifted from special care to common solutions that are adaptable to nearly all service recipients.”
Reforming care Another key stage in re-inventing health and social care in Norway was the Coordination Reform in 2012. It aimed to make municipalities more capable of addressing health issues through early intervention and halting the development of disease by educating those at risk of developing serious illnesses. However, he added: “These changes require new approaches to care work and the development of services to perform these tasks. An example of the new initiatives is the Healthy Life Centres, which actively target specific groups such as smokers and people with obesity.” The Reform resulted in municipal co-financing of patients treated in the state-owned specialist health care services, and made municipalities financially responsibility for patients ready for discharge. This was enforced with the introduction of a daily fee - 4000NK/390 euro/£350 - to reduce bed-blocking and to be paid by the municipality to hospitals for patients
Social Work News ~ 31
declared ready for discharge but unable to leave the ward because municipal services were unavailable. Initial research indicated that the fee reduced the length of stay in hospitals for patients, with no change in mortality and readmission rates, he said. The reform package also encouraged local authorities to build up services to tackle the increased care burden.
Centres for care research Norway has a number of research facilities analysing caring for an ageing population, including the Centre for Care Research West Norway, a cross-disciplinary research centre hosted by Bergen University College; one of five regional centres for care research. Professor Hagen’s centre, part of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo, conducts research and teaching in the fields of health economics, policy, management and systems of care, and quality of care. He acknowledges the success of the Coordination Reform remains disputed among experts, but says there has been many benefits, as the global over-60 population heads towards two billion - a fifth of the world’s population by 2050.
Living at home is an advantage for both the individual and the society,” says Professor Hagen. “For the individual, they become able to develop their own skills, with an increased focus on preventive and health-promoting measures. For the society, it is in fact cheaper up to a certain threshold, to keep people at home.”
Give your CPD a boost ‌by reading and downloading articles inside this issue of Social Work News.
In this issue: Discover what your peers have to say about empowering families. Check if you are remaining unbiased in your assessments. Find out why Norway is considered the 'best place to grow old' and more. Each and every article has been carefully selected to offer insight into how social work is changing, making it easier than ever for you to count reading the magazine as part of your Continuing Professional Development profile. We strongly believe in giving our readers every opportunity to contribute to the magazine and our editorial team will happily consider any ideas you might have. Let us know your ideas by filling in our feedback survey at sanper.ltd/2cesHZX We look forward to hearing from you!