Survey shows media ignorance about social work
Fewer than half of journalists surveyed by Community Care know that social workers must have a degree in order to practise.
Our poll of journalists in England found that 47% believed the minimum required qualification was a degree, while nearly a quarter said an NVQ was needed. Ten per cent said A-levels and a further 10% opted for GCSEs. One person believed no qualifications were required.
The findings also revealed journalists are confused by the distinction between social work and social care, with 68% of respondents saying “care worker” was a social work post. In addition, 18% believed foster carers were working in a social work post and 7% said nursery workers were employed in social work.
The 10-question survey, which was completed by 30 journalists from national to local media, including three specialist social care writers, found 20% believed social workers were better than they were 15 years ago while 13% said they were worse.
About 70% said they would approach the British Association for Social Workers for a social work perspective on a story, while two-thirds said they would contact the local authority concerned. One-third said they would contact the NSPCC.
The survey was conducted as part of Community Care’s Stand Up Now for Social Work campaign to raise the public standing of the profession, including through more balanced and accurate media coverage.
Improve media skills
The campaign is also calling for councils to improve their media skills to ensure they are more responsive to the press and enhance opportunities for positive coverage.
The survey follows widespread concerns by social work leaders about media coverage of the profession. In an online survey conducted earlier this year, the Social Work Task Force found that 88% of respondents agreed that “the social work profession was undervalued, poorly understood and under continuous media attack”.
In its latest report, the taskforce proposed the creation of a national college of social work to give the profession a stronger voice in the media, and issued a proposed description of social work to aid public understanding (www.communitycare.co.uk/whatissocialwork).
Taskforce chair Moira Gibb said: “It is very interesting to see that the results of this survey back up the evidence that the Social Work Task Force has gathered so far – that there is a real lack of understanding around what social workers do. We hope that this description will start to aid understanding – both by journalists and, in turn, by the public.”
Ignorant of social work
The findings did not surprise BASW chief executive Hilton Dawson. “We know that even the supposedly better quality print and broadcast media are ignorant of social work from the way they use outdated words such as social services and child protection or at-risk registers so I’m sorry to say that your findings don’t come as any surprise at all,” he said.
“Much of my profound irritation with the media stems from being asked often to fill in with a comment on a poorly researched piece to support a story which has already been written and in any case misses the point.”
He said BASW was about to appoint its first public relations manager to build relationships with the media and “offer real stories” about social work.
“Hopefully, we will be able to engage better with those who are prepared to hear,” Dawson added.
“Social workers need to speak out”
Guardian journalist Debbie Andalo, who has written about social work for 10 years, said she often struggled for comments from frontline local authority social workers but those in the voluntary and independent sectors were more forthcoming.
She recently edited a social work supplement and was unable to find a single social worker employed by a council to comment. Instead she interviewed social workers elsewhere, including from an independent fostering agency.
“I understand the nervousness, especially after cases like Baby P, but the more frontline social workers talk about their jobs the more understanding there will be of the challenges they face,” Andalo said.
“It would help if there were more social workers who would speak on the record about what their job involves. They have to take some responsibility for that – perhaps be a bit more courageous.”
The survey said…
● Who do you go to for a social work perspective on a story?
“Normally wouldn’t because it is notoriously difficult to get a social work perspective on a story.”
● Who can you complain to about the conduct of a social worker?
“Their boss, local health trust, police, MI5.”
Source: CommunityCare
Social Care Demand to Rise
Demand for mental health and children’s services will continue to rise as the longer-term effects of the recession and unemployment become evident, theAudit Commission has warned.
Around a third of councils in England have already seen higher demand for mental health and children’s services, according to an Audit Commission report today on the impact of the recession, but most expect further increases.
In addition, three in 10 councils that responded to the public spending watchdog reported higher demand for services for older people, with another half anticipating increases. And 44% anticipated higher demand for homelessness services, on top of the 47% of councils already experiencing it.
Sensible approach
The Audit Commission said most councils had taken “sensible, low-risk steps to support vulnerable households”, while some “more ambitious” authorities, often with experience of widespread deprivation, had “coherent action plans” and the capability and resources to manage risks.
However, other authorities were “investing in recession responses without the backing of a sound, well-informed plan”, and many should be “doing more to prepare for the expected social, financial and economic development challenges ahead”.
The Audit Commission also pointed to the financial impact of the recession on councils themselves, a fact highlighted by the Local Government Association (LGA) earlier this week in a report that claimed councils had lost £4bn of income in the past two years.
Frontline services a priority
However, an LGA spokesperson said frontline services would remain a priority for councils during the recession, allowing for local circumstances.
Although some were making redundancies among “backroom” staff to cut costs, many continued to “actively recruit” social workers to fill vacancies, she added.
LGA vice-chair Sir Jeremy Beecham said the Audit Commission had “recognised the huge efforts that councils have made to help people and businesses through tough times”.
Councils ‘recognise long-term impact of recession’
“Town halls recognise that the impact of the recession will continue long after the economy returns to growth and will continue to act decisively to ensure that people in difficulty will get the support they need,” he added.
The Audit Commission also criticised national government-backed schemes to tackle the impact of the recession. “Too few” of the programmes “harness local knowledge to maximise their impact”, it said, while many had “complex or restricted eligibility, or bureaucratic application processes”.
Source: CommunityCare
Social workers want to become party MPs
The Conservative Party has confirmed that “lots of social workers” have applied to stand as Tory candidates in the next election, but has been unable to give details of how many.
In an interview with The Guardian this week, party chair Eric Pickles said lots of practitioners, along with doctors and community nurses, had applied to be candidates after Tory leader David Cameron decided to reopen its candidates’ list in May to bring fresh blood into the party.
A party spokesperson said that what Pickles had said about social worker applicants was “true”, but he could not confirm how many had applied, adding: “We’re not going to give a running commentary on people who have applied to be candidates or go into individual cases.”
Pickles said that the party had had 4,000 applicants – 70% of whom did not have a conventional political background. He predicted 20-30 of these “new people” would become candidates at the next election, due by 3 June 2010.
Labour social workers
Although a number of current and recent Labour MPs have had a background in social work, including current British Association of Social Workers chief executive Hilton Dawson and Cabinet Office minister Tessa Jowell, this has not been true of the Conservatives.
In 2005 social worker Evett McAnuff became the first black woman to contest a seat for the Tories who was considered to have a realistic chance of winning. She stood for Lewisham West at the general election and came third behind Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
Doctor to stand
Pickles hailed the election this week of a politically inexperienced local doctor to become the Tory candidate for the Totnes constituency in Devon through the country’s first ever “open primary”, in which all local electors are entitled to vote.
He said: “I hope Totnes represents a new type of politics, which rejects negative campaigning, and sees openness as a way to restore confidence in public life.”
Source: CommunityCare
Help for unemployed older people
The TUC has called on the government to tackle unemployment among older workers by extending a job guarantee currently offered mainly to under-25s through the £1bn Future Jobs Fund.
The TUC said the job guarantee, which gives employers subsidies for taking on an unemployed person for at least six months, was a “far better way to tackle long-term unemployment” than the ‘work for your benefits’ alternative also proposed by the government.
This programme, included in the Welfare Reform Bill, would force people to do compulsory work experience for as little as £2 per hour, which would “do nothing to improve the job prospects for older workers”, according to the TUC.
It said a guarantee that every unemployed person still on jobseeker’s allowance after two years would be offered a job paying at least the minimum wage would “offer real hope for older unemployed people”.
Poor prospects
A TUC report, based on findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, said every year of unemployment for an older man increased their chances of never working again by almost 25%. In addition, almost half of all unemployed people aged over 50 had been out of work for more than a year.
The TUC said the government had “rightly prioritised” youth unemployment, given that the unemployment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds was 17.3%, compared with 4.3% for those aged over 50.
Unemployment causes poverty and isolation
However, it pointed to a Social Exclusion Unit survey that showed unemployment among older people often leads to poverty and isolation, andthat tackling unemployment among people over 50 but under retirement age should be a target.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “In previous recessions people complained about the injustice of working women keeping men out of jobs. Sadly today, people are saying similar things about older workers causing youth unemployment.
“The idea of forcing older workers out of the labour market is morally offensive and would cause economic chaos. The UK would instantly lose vital skills and experience and young people would not necessarily be in a position to take up their jobs.”
Intensive support needed
The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) said the government should provide “intensive back-into-work assistance” to older unemployed workers within three months of the date they signed on as unemployed, rather than the current six months.
Its own survey of job seekers aged over 50, published in July, found that 72% felt employers saw them as “too old”, while 48% were seen as “too experienced or over-qualified”.
Source: CommunityCare
Bonuses for Social Workers
Social workers will receive bonuses for helping looked-after children reach goals linked to educational attainment, stability of placements and finding jobs, in one of the government’s social work practice pilots.
Liverpool-based charity Personal Service Society, which launches one of the practices under contract from Liverpool Council in the autumn, will also offer high street vouchers and gym memberships to staff and reward children for their achievements.
Social work services will be outsourced for groups of 100-200 looked-after children in each of the six pilot areas. Kent Council has chosen young people’s charity Catch22 as its provider, while Hillingdon, Sandwell, Staffordshire and Blackburn with Darwen councils are recruiting groups of registered social workers to run the practices.
Funded from savings
PSS commercial director Paul Clitheroe said bonuses for staff could be funded from savings on placements in children’s homes.
“Research shows that those who have a stake in an organisation are more loyal and less likely to leave,” he said. “This is because they feel they don’t have to leave to improve their pay and conditions.”
PSS is recruiting a team of 12 professionals including seven social workers – with a caseload of about 17 each – two family support workers and a counsellor.
A consultant social worker will oversee spending, supervision, case allocation and professional development, with equivalent status to a partner in a GP surgery.
Building partnerships
A practice manager will be responsible for day-to-day business and building partnerships with other agencies, with support from a receptionist.
In Kent, Catch22 will take over the cases of between 100 and 200 young people aged 16 and above. Experienced social workers will lead the multi-agency practice, which will also comprise professionals from mental health, Connexions, and housing.
Joyce Moseley, chief executive of Catch22, said: “We welcome the opportunity to pilot this scheme, which will be all about giving frontline workers more freedom to make decisions with the young people in their care.”
The government will make a decision about whether to implement social work practices nationwide in 2013.
Source: CommunityCare
