The Social Work Community Podcast

In collaboration with Wokingham Borough Council adult social care, social workers from the hospital discharge team team tell us why they love working there. Josh, Noku and principal social worker Vicky describe what it is like working in this market town west of London. Hospital discharge teams aren't often spoken about but the work social workers do is of immense importance to adults who require care after a stint at hospital. Listen to the support they get, and why they continue to choose Wokingham. If you're interested in a career at Wokingham check out current vacancies or take a look at the employer profile. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work. For all news stories and features visit Community Care. Produced by Sharmeen Ziauddin for Community CareSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the final instalment of the Neurodiversity belongs in social work campaign podcast miniseries, Sharmeen speaks to 26-year-old Elizabeth Glandfield about being dyslexic.  Elizabeth, diagnosed in primary school, talks about growing up with dyslexia and how she navigated the world around her.  Having been told by a teacher at school that social work may not be the best career for her, she set out to prove people wrong. As an advanced social worker who works in a serious youth violence, missing, and exploitation team within a local authority, Elizabeth shares the challenges she faces being neurodivergent. Elizabeth talks about the tools that have helped at work, and the strengths and skills she brings to the job she does. Listen to this frank and open conversation with a Gen Z social worker. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram or on TikTok to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work. For all news stories and features visit Community Care. Produced by Sharmeen ZiauddinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, part of the Neurodiversity belongs in social work campaign miniseries, Sharmeen speaks to 'Stacey' (not her real name) talking about her experience of being diagnosed with autism and ADHD (AuADHD) in her forties.  Stacey, a social worker, has not yet disclosed her diagnosis to her colleagues. She explains why she feels unsafe to do this in her current workplace. She also describes how she always felt she was 'different' and now understands why that was. Stacey explains how having a strong sense of social justice is one of the traits many neurodiverse people have. She also talks about 'masking' which is described as a strategy used by some autistic people, consciously or unconsciously, to appear non-autistic. While this strategy can help them get by at school, work and in social situations, it can have a devastating impact on mental health, sense of self and access to an autism diagnosis (Autism.org.uk, 2026). The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram or on TikTok to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work. For all news stories and features visit Community Care. Produced by Sharmeen ZiauddinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special miniseries tied to Community Care's 'Neurodiversity belongs in social work' campaign, Sharmeen Ziauddin interviews Dr Arlene Weekes, social work professor and academic. Dr Weekes has over 35 years experience in the sector and was diagnosed with dyslexia later on in life, while writing her PhD. She has recently completed research which will form part of a new book coming out this year called The Palgrave Handbook of Neuroinclusive Social Work   - it's based on her own reflections of being dyslexic and the responses of five black female dyslexic social workers who she interviewed for this research. Listen to this insightful interview with Dr Weekes where she talks about dyslexia and social work. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram or on TikTok to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work. For all news stories and features visit Community Care. Produced by Sharmeen ZiauddinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the first episode of Season five of the Social Work Community Podcast! This podcast episode, especially recorded for World Social Work month/week/day, features an interview with Nadine KL Boyne, an experienced social worker and author of the book Social Work is Not Self-Harm.  Trigger warning: in this episode there are references to self-harm when discussing Nadine’s book ‘Social work is not self-harm’. We'd encourage you to look after yourself while listening and use supervision and peer support if it brings up anything difficult for you. During the conversation, hosted by Sharmeen Ziauddin from Community Care, Nadine reflects on the pressures of the profession, arguing that systemic issues like high case loads and productivity targets can often lead to burnout and emotional exhaustion. She introduces her "SAVY" model, which stands for Self-aware, Authentic, Valuing, and Intentional, as a framework to help practitioners reclaim their well-being and personal identity. The theme of 2026's World Social Work Day is, 'Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society'. The Kenyan concept of 'Harambee' is a Swahili word that means let's pull together or let's unite. Harambee highlights the importance of collective responsibility and community support. Drawing from her own experience, Nadine encourages social workers to set healthy boundaries and navigate their careers on their own terms to ensure they can thrive, thus ensuring they are helping their families and children in the best way possible. The Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI) that Sharmeen and Nadine mention, focuses on fostering inclusive leadership and equity within the social care and education sector. It was designed and initiated by Patrick Scott, Rosemary Campbell-Stephens MBE and Meera Spillett. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The foundations of trauma awareness are rooted in kindness and compassion and over the last two years, adult social care practitioners at Essex County Council have been on a journey to embed values like these into their direct work, supervision and in shaping Essex’s practice model. Listen as practitioners Danni, Melanie Noel, Kayleigh Johnson and Claire McDermid, explain how trauma awareness is applied in practice, why showing kindness can be achieved in minutes, and why its benefits extend also to the workforce.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of 2025, Hampshire County Council’s children’s services introduced a new pathway plan designed to safely support the process of children safely going home to their parents. The Going Home Pathway uses pre-screening tools that are child centred, family focussed and  backed by evidence to guide the journey in getting children back home to their families. In this episode, we speak to two ‘Going Home Workers’ Maharla and Tracie and senior social worker and assistant manager Sarah about how this new framework is transforming lives for children and families and creating an environment for families to view social work and social workers more positively. Read the transcript here: The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges. Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introduced initially as a pilot in January 2025, the Council’s Integrated Front Door team tracks contacts and referrals using digital whiteboards that share live data.The new technology means an end to time-consuming manual recording, freeing up more hours for practitioners to focus on their work and greater opportunities for the service to invest in the workforce.In this episode, Laura Snell, service lead for North East Lincolnshire’s Integrated Front Door in children’s services. and Sam, deputy service director within the Integrated Front Door and Safeguarding , talk about how, almost a year on, – the IFD pilot project became a reality and a valuable resource. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

North Lincolnshire Council's children and families service is committed to working collaboratively with families through its One Family Approach practice model - an approach that uses co-production to shape support for families and practitioners.In the final segment of this three-part mini-series in collaboration with North Lincolnshire Council, practitioners Steve and Shabnam explore the Council's community social work approach and how it embeds into the statutory service.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first in a three-part series from North East Lincolnshire Council,  social workers from children's services explore some of the changes that contributed to a significant improvement in the authority's Ofsted rating.Earlier this year, the council, previously graded inadequate, was rated good overall and outstanding for leadership by inspectors, who found its children's services were "largely unrecognisable" from where they were in 2021.Recently, North East Lincolnshire Council launched a direct work toolkit to help children make sense of living with in conflict in their families.In this episode, director of children's services Ann-Marie Matson and Hayley Smith, advanced social worker in the children's assessment and safeguarding service, reflect on the impact the toolkit and other practice changes have had on children and families.Access the transcript here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ensuring that practitioners have access to wellbeing support, flexible working arrangements and the chance to network with peers are all areas that North Lincolnshire Council is committed to.In this the second instalment of our three-part miniseries with North Lincolnshire's children and families service, we speak to Heidi Blakey, senior workforce, engagement and development officer in children’s and families at North Lincolnshire Council, and Marco Torres, apprentice social worker in the courts and permanence team.The pair talk about how the council prioritises wellbeing and helps its workforce to achieve a positive work/life balance.Find out more about a career at North Lincolnshire Council here.Access the transcript here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hampshire Hive is a support network funded by Hampshire County Council, that assists fostering families across the county.In this podcast episode Hampshire Hive foster carers Andrea, and Johnny and Hampshire Hive manager Amy discuss the transferable skills that foster carers can bring from previous professions into supporting children and young people.Johnny used to do youth work, while Andrea used to be a mental health nurse. They both talk about being able to draw from their life experiences as young people, particularly Johnny who was care experienced. This podcast is the third and final episode in a three-part series called Hampshire Hive: Fostering Through a Community of Families.Fostering in HampshireHampshire Hive is a support network funded by Hampshire County Council, that assists fostering families across the county. To date, the network helps 27 Hampshire Hive groups with 23 foster care support workers and over 500 registered foster carers collectively.If you would like to find out more about fostering with Hampshire County Council, please visit hants.gov.uk/fostering to download their comprehensive information pack.  You can also sign up for one of their upcoming virtual Q&A sessions attended by both a member of our recruitment team and a Hampshire County Council foster carer.Please find the transcript here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Improving services for children and young people in a large rural county is no easy feat. In the summer of 2025, Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) children's services received a 'good' from Ofsted in three areas and 'outstanding' in two areas. Read the report here.With a strong relational approach senior leaders have led the children social care workforce with strong and empathetic leadership. Frontline social workers are using systemic practice to support children and families.In this episode you will hear from Paul Shallcross, service director of children and families and Beccy Pullinger, a social worker in one of the children and family first teams.Most importantly you will hear from two ambassadors who are care-experienced and employed by GCC. The ambassadors have a number of roles within children's services to help improve polices, procedures and the support offered to young people in the county.Danteiye (19) and Shane (20) explain how their roles have helped in improving services for children and families in Gloucestershire. The ambassadors also mentor senior leaders so that they can tell them directly how to improve things across the service, and make sure they are listened to.This episode is in collaboration with GCC children's services.Read the transcript here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is part two of Oxfordshire County Council’s children’s service’s podcast talking about the benefits of having an in-house clinical team.Clinical pyschologist Dr Emmanuella Vernon is back, talking with Anthony Sayles and Beccy Hawes who are both part of children and families first teams within Oxfordshire.Anthony and Beccy talk about how they lean on the clinical team for advice on different cases. They explain how having that help and expertise in-house greatly benefits them as practitioners.You can listen to the first part of this podcast with Dr Emmanuella Vernon and a parent who explains how practitioners at Oxfordshire County Council children’s services have helped her move from crisis-point to the point of stability and safety.If you are interested in a career with Oxfordshire County Council take a look at its Employer Profile and check out any current vacancies.Read the transcription.Produced by Sharmeen ZiauddinThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special two-part podcast you can listen to ‘Carrie’ (not her real name) explain how practitioners at Oxfordshire County Council children’s services have helped her move from crisis-point to the point of stability and safety.Carrie experienced physical abuse from her 10-year-old son. As a result she was invited to take part in a special ‘Non Violent Resistance’ course aimed at parents who had similar experiences.The ‘Non Violent Resistance’ group is led by the clinical team at Oxfordshire County Council which is made up of therpautic practioners such as clinical psycologists and family practitioners.Dr Emmanuella Vernon, a highly specialist clinical psychologist, helps run the course and explains some of the reasoning behind the group and some of the techniques used.In part two of this episode you will hear from social workers from Oxfordshire County Council's children's services talking about the benefits of working side by side with a clinical team within social work practice. This episode drops on 17 October.Are you interested in a career with Oxfordshire County Council? If so take a look at its Employer Profile and check out any current vacancies.Read the transcription.Produced by Sharmeen ZiauddinThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Sharmeen Ziauddin, senior commercial editor, speaks to Nikki Murphy and Lynn Roberts all the way in the Falkland Islands - that's 8,000 miles away. As a British Overseas Territory (BOT), the Falklands' social services is considerably different to local authorities in the UK.Nikki being the head of social services explains the kind of issues that are prevalent in the Falklands and Lynn (team manager), who grew up there, tells us what it is like living and working in a BOT.For those who don't know much about BOTs this is an eye-opener and an opportunity to learn how social work is carried out in small and remote communities.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This new three-part series, is created in collaboration with North Lincolnshire’s Children and Families Service and explores career progression, well-being and social work practice. In its most recent 2022 Ofsted inspection, North Lincolnshire Council's Children and Families was rated outstanding in all areas by Ofsted, with inspectors citing an “exemplary” commitment to children as one of its strengths. The council’s grow your own approach contributes positively to the service’s succession planning and a focus on supporting social workers in their preferred continuous professional development pathway has resulted in highly motivated, enthusiastic and loyal workforce, the report says.In this episode on career progression, you’ll hear from two practitioners at different stages in their career. Rachel Smith, who started her career at North Lincolnshire over 20 years ago and is now director of children’s services, and Louise Stretten, who has worked across a number of teams including disability and child protection in her 13 years at the council and is now lead officer in Family Help. They talk about how they have been supported to grow in their careers.Please find the transcript here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hampshire Hive is a support network funded by Hampshire County Council, that assists fostering families across the county.In this podcast episode Hampshire Hive foster carers Andrea and Johnny, explore some of the myths often associated with choosing fostering as a career.Andrea highlights the flexibility fostering offers and talks about how she initially combined her career as a mental health nurse with fostering before deciding to commit full time to the role.Johnny, one of the first male foster carers in Hampshire County Council’s fostering service, explodes the myth that only women can be foster carers. He shares his experience of being the main foster carer in his household and why it was important to establish a support group for male foster carers.This podcast is the second episode in a three-part series called Hampshire Hive: Fostering Through a Community of Families.Fostering in HampshireHampshire Hive is a support network funded by Hampshire County Council, that assists fostering families across the county. To date, the network helps 27 Hampshire Hive groups with 23 foster care support workers and over 500 registered foster carers collectively.If you would like to find out more about fostering with Hampshire County Council, please visit hants.gov.uk/fostering to download their comprehensive information pack.  You can also sign up for one of their upcoming virtual Q&A sessions attended by both a member of our recruitment team and a Hampshire County Council foster carer.Please find the transcript here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of the ‘Social work around the world’ series, this episode features two social workers who have practised in Ghana and England.Although social work practice in Ghana mirrors much of what is taught in the UK, a lack of government funding and an emphasis on cultural values that promote community mean that social work in practice is quite different in both countries.It is commonplace for family members to informally adopt children than them going into care and similarly, elderly family members are retained within the family network rather than being house in residential homes. Jemimah, who qualified in social work in Ghana over 20 years ago, and Emmanuel, who qualified in Ghana in 2021, share their unique experiences of supporting children and adults in both countries. In the discussion, Jemimah refers to an organisation called FIDA Ghana, which stands for The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Ghana).  https://www.fida-ghana.org/know-fida/About The Social Work Community Podcast The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives. Senior commercial editors Kirsty Ayakwah and fellow host Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.It was nominated in the podcast category at the 2024 BASW Social Work Journalism Awards following its first season, which ran from October 2023 to April 2024. It can be found on all major podcasting platforms including:SpotifyApple PodcastsSpreakerClick ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published. You can also listen to the episode here:Read the transcript.To whet your appetite for season three, check out our podcast page to listen to previous episodes from seasons one and two.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a special episode of our live webinar which was recorded in June 2025.Guests include Curtis Powell, podcaster and deputy team leader and two newly qualified social workers, Kai Tutton (adults) and Lashonte Royal (childrens) and was chaired by Sharmeen Ziauddin, an editor at Community Care.They talk about their respective jobs on the ASYE programme, how they prepared for their roles and how they overcame challenges. How helpful were their universities in preparing them for life as a social worker? How do they manage their caseload as well as working on the ASYE portfolio? What is the best way to learn how to write assessments?Listen to the answers of this and many more questions which were sent in by the audience.Essential listening for all social work students and newly qualified social workers.Watch it on The Social Work CommunityThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to a new three-part series, in collaboration with Hampshire County Council’s Fostering Service, called Hampshire Hive: Fostering Through a Community of Families.Hampshire Hive is a network established by Hampshire County Council to provide support to foster carers in the county. We speak to Hampshire Hive manager Amy and foster carer Johnny about how the Hive worksHampshire Hive is a unique support network funded by Hampshire County Council, that assists fostering families across the county. To date, the network helps 27 Hampshire Hive groups with 23 foster care support workers and over 500 registered foster carers collectively.In this episode, you will hear from one of these foster carers - Johnny who was involved in the original pilot scheme for the service back in 2021 - and Amy, the team manager of Hampshire Hive. Both highlight how this community-focused fostering support network has been so transformational for the families they support.If you would like to find out more about fostering with Hampshire County Council, please visit hants.gov.uk/fostering to download their comprehensive information pack.  You can also sign up for one of their upcoming virtual Q&A sessions attended by both a member of our recruitment team and a Hampshire County Council foster carer. Please find the transcript here:The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans offer advice to  an experienced social worker who is looking for a role that offers career progression opportunities after going through some challenging experiences in practice.Read the transcript hereSend us an email at: [email protected] can catch up on all the Ask The Experts episodes on The Social Work Community, our forum for social workers at all stages of their career.You can also read past career questions from social workers – and our experts’ responses – on the Community Care website.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is another episode from the Social work around the world series!This month the focus is on Zimbabwe. Sharmeen Ziauddin speaks to Theresa Kambani and Weston Mudimu about their careers as social workers in Zimbabwe to working in local authorities in England.What are the key differences in practice in the two countries? What challenges did both practitioners face when they moved to England? What unique skills have they brought over with them? What do they miss about Zimbabwe and what made them choose England?Theresa mentions 'ubuntu', a philosophy originating from Southern Africa, that promotes humanity towards others. It can be loosely translated to, "I am because we are", meaning the emphasis is on the interconnectedness of humanity and the importance of community, and this is at the centre of her practice.A really informative discussion with a lot of learning for all practitioners.Read the transcript.About the podcastThe Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives. Sharmeen and fellow host Kirsty Ayakwah interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.Join the Social Work CommunityThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior social worker Faisa Abdirahman initially had her sights set on entering the police after gaining a BSC in criminology. However, she pivoted to social work after learning that looked after children were at more risk of being criminalised in the criminal justice system compared to those that are not care experienced. In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast with senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah, she explains why her desire to support children and young people, earlier on in that journey resulted in her pivoting away from a career in the police force into social work.Read the transcript of the interview here.You can listen to our previous episodes in the Career Transitions Series.*According to 2022 data from the Office of National Statistics, more than half (52%) of looked-after children born in the academic year ending 1994 who attended school in England had a criminal conviction by the age of 24 years compared with 13% of children who had not been in care. We’ll leave more details about the ONS statistics in the show notes. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans offer advice to  an international student social worker who is struggling with aligning her expectations about social work with the reality of securing a role for her ASYE. Read the transcript here.Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.comRead past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you an adults’ social worker who is considering moving into children’s social work but don’t know how to make the transition?In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans as they respond to this question and highlight the invaluable skills that adult social workers can bring to children’s services. They also highlight how you can find that relevant job, and why the British Army could hold the key in that transition.Read the transcript here.Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.comRead past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode was recorded for Refugee Week 2025. Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care, speaks to Zahraa Adam and Aimee Hinton about their work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC). They have worked with UASC for 10 years and have a wealth of experience.Both Zahraa and Aimee are national social work award winners and Aimee holds a British Empire Medal for her contribution to social work.They are also age assessors and talk about how this assessment is carried out - this episode was recorded before the news that the Home Office agency, National Age Assessment Board, has been backed by the government despite BASW's opposition to it.Expect emotional stories, the reality of working in this specialism and surprisingly a lot of laughter! An episode not to be missed!If you want to find out more about working with UASC, you can register for a special webinar, Trauma-informed practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, run by Community Care Inform. You can find out more on our Events tab on Community Care's homepage. Read the transcript of this episode here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the miniseries Social work around the world, Community Care's careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, speaks to Riad Arar, a social worker from Hebron, a city south of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank, Palestine.He describes what life is like for him since 7 October 2023. Increased military checkpoints make delivering services incredibly hard for social workers and healthcare professionals. The focus is on survival.Riad speaks about Gaza and the destruction there. But he also talks about hope and how that keeps him going, along with the solidarity of the international community.Listening with the transcript is advisable.His previous interview with Community Care can be accessed here:https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2024/04/25/how-the-israel-gaza-war-has-affected-social-workers-in-the-uk/Here is the transcript.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking how to secure a new job after receiving a negative reference, and where to access help.Read the transcript here.This episode is hosted by Kirsty Ayakwah, senior careers editor at Community Care.If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you.Send us an email at: [email protected] can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.comRead past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to Sharmeen Ziauddin's (career editor at Community Care) report from the One Voice Summit which was held at the London Guildhall on 24 & 25 April 2025.The summit, was organised by Olympian Fatima Whitbread’s charitable organisation Fatima’s UK Campaign. The main aim of the charity is to ‘create a safer, happier, and healthier environment for children, ensuring they can read their full potential’.The One Voice Summit brought together many different organisations and individuals involved in the care system. This included charities, social enterprises, politicians, local authorities, academics and care-experienced people. You'll be hearing from Fatima herself, Dame Kelly Holmes and Professor Alexis Jay.Here are some of the links mentioned in this episode:Fatima's backstory and her day with social workers.Coram Voice's reportCreation of the Child Protection AuthorityListen to Take My Hand News story on Community CareIf you liked this episode do rate and review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to this on. And do follow us on Instagram - we are @CommunityCareOfficialThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah speaks to specialist domestic abuse social worker Jenifer Lamadrid who started her career as an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate.We find out why she made the move, what core skills she's been able to take from her former profession into social work and what keeps her in the sector.Read the transcript of the interview here.You can listen to our previous episode in the Career Transitions Series.About the podcastThe Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.Kirsty and fellow host, careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.The first season went down a storm and was nominated in the 2024 British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.We have since launched season two, during which we have covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.Although the podcast is available on major podcast platforms, Social Work Community members will get special early access to each episode.So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following:SpotifyApple PodcastsSpreakerAudible (Amazon)Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of the 'Social work around the world' series, this episode, hosted by careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, features two Australian social workers, who have practised in Australia and in England.Kristin, worked in Queensland, Australia before moving to London 12 years ago. Tina similarly moved to London from Queensland but moved back and found herself stuck in Western Australia during the covid-19 pandemic, and ended up staying there.Emigrating is never easy and the challenges Kristen experienced led her to write a blog to help other Australian social workers navigate their move to the UK. This is how Kristin and Tina met!The Aussies discuss the differences in social work between the two countries, how they overcame the challenges and what they love about working in both countries. Tina also shares her experience working with Aboriginal communities in Western Australia where she is currently based. Watch a clip here.Read the transcript.About the podcastThe Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives. Sharmeen and fellow host Kirsty Ayakwah, senior careers editor, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.The first season went down a storm and was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.Season two has covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.AClick ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking how an adults' social worker can secure a role working with refugees or co-ordinating disaster relief. This episode is hosted by Kirsty Ayakwah, senior careers editor at Community Care. If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you.Read the transcript here.Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.com Read past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the second part of our conversation with Yohai Hakak, senior social work lecturer and MSc lead at Brunel University, London. If you haven't listened to the previous episode then do go back and have a listen!The episode begins with Yohai talking about his PhD subject, going on to share his experience working as a mental health social worker back in Israel where he was born and raised. He shares insights from his work at a psychiatric hospital in Jerusalem as well as discussing a journal article he wrote on the involvement of social services in interfaith marriages. A fascinating listen.Read Yohai's research article, 'Battling Against Interfaith Relations in Israel: Religion, Therapy, and Social Services'.This episode was hosted and produced by Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the first episode of the new miniseries "Social Work Around The World" from the The Social Work Community Podcast.In the first episode, social work senior lecturer and MSc lead from Brunel University Yohai Hakak, talks to Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care, about the research he is leading with his social work students.The research looks into the migration of social workers to and from the UK. Yohai explains what led him to conduct the research and some of his findings.This is the first of two episodes with Yohai, the second episode is about his experience in Israel so do have a listen to that when it drops.Access the transcript here.There are the studies that Yohai mentions so if you are interested in taking part, have a look:Focusing on international social work students studying in the UK: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/brunel/international-social-work-students-in-the-ukA study examining how international social workers are bridging cultural differences. Social workers who migrated from any, either before or after qualifying as social workers can participate:https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/brunel/the-international-social-worker-advantage-strategies-for-navigaYou can find more information about the project and download the papers published based on it, including questionnaires from some of the countries mentioned in the episode: The migration of social workers to and from the UKHave you joined the Social Work Community? If not, you can sign up for free if you are a social worker or social work student. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking: what are the pros and cons of working in a local authority versus a trust?This episode is hosted by Kirsty Ayakwah, senior careers editor at Community Care. If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you.Read the transcript here. Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.com Read past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Season Three. In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah speaks to two social workers that started their careers in a different profession altogether.Monisola Osibogun and Pam Shodeinde are both social workers in children’s services who both started their careers in law.We find out why they transitioned from law to social work, what core skills they’ve been able to take from the profession into social work and what keeps them in the sector.Read the transcript of the interview here.About the podcastThe Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.Kirsty and fellow host, careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.The first season went down a storm and was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.Season two has covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.Although the podcast is available on major podcast platforms, Social Work Community members will get special early access to each episode.So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following :SpotifyApple PodcastsSpreakerAudible (Amazon)Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to our new mini-series : ‘Ask The Experts’ where we put your career questions to three social work expertsIn this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking how to secure a new job after receiving a negative reference, navigating the profession as an international social worker and where to access help.Click here to read the transcript.This episode is hosted by Ruth Hardy-Mullings, head of content at Community Care. If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you. Read the full transcript here. Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.com Read past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are back with another live episode – this time from adult social care at Wiltshire Council. The session took place at Community Care Live 2024.This is a really special episode where you will hear direct from an adult who not only works within Wiltshire through Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living but also uses services that Wiltshire Council provide. This session is about how service users and practitioners can work together in co-production to enable disabled people in Wiltshire to be able to live the life they want. In this session they talk about practical ways to enable this to happen, such as changing assessment forms, different approaches and language. They explain how working together has improved the lives of adults with disabilities. The unique innovator and pioneer approach is really working and the hope is that those who work in adult social care will benefit from listening to this session.You will also hear the Q&A session at the end. Don’t forget this podcast episode also counts as CPD.The workshop was hosted by Kaylie Chapman - principal social worker at Wiltshire Council's adult social care.Taking part were:Dan Wilkins - Head of transformation and quality assuranceLeila Dickson - Assistant team manager in the advice and contact teamAbbie-Jo Lawrence - Pioneer from Wiltshire Centre for Independent LivingRachael Hanwell - SEND resource facilitator at Wiltshire Centre for Independent LivingThis episode was presented and produced by Sharmeen Ziauddin - careers editor at Community Care.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A collaboration between Hampshire County Council and South Central Ambulance Service is helping to improve the quality of care for adult social workers that would otherwise be transported to hospital.Hampshire County Council works to ensure that older adults avoid unnecessary journeys to the hospital thanks to a collaboration the council has formed with the South Central Ambulance Service or SCAS.Through the collaboration, the Social Work Line was created - a dedicated phone number that crew can use to contact a social worker directly. In this episode, you will hear from Matt Hutchinson, head of service for South Hampshire older adults’ team and senior social worker Maria Kneller, who talk about how this service is helping to give older adults greater independence to stay in their homes if a conveyance to hospital is not essential.You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Spreaker or wherever you normally listen to podcasts.Here is the transcript.Did you know podcasts can count towards your CPD?Learn more about Hampshire County Council and see what opportunities are available.Other articles and learning from Hampshire:Podcast: using new approaches to promote ‘old school’ social work for older adultsCommunity social work: supporting vulnerable adults to reconnect with their communitiesJoint working and learning new things: social work in a transition teamFrom busking to horse-riding: using strengths-based practice to transform livesThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the second episode of the new mini-series, 'Ask the Experts'. In this series our panel of experts will be answering questions sent in by readers. Our experts are Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans, and the session is hosted by Ruth Hardy-Mullings, head of content at Community Care.The dilema in this epsidoe is two-fold. How to keep motivated working in a child exploitation role and how to navigate out of social work with teens to either fostering or even to the adult care sector.Listen to our experts tackle this.Read the transcript here. So if you have any burning social work related career questions do drop us an email on [email protected] Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's that time of year🎄! And to celebrate we recorded a Christmas special for The Social Work Community Podcast!The social work sector and face of Community Care, have both changed a lot over the last 50 years. As it is Community Care's 50th birthday year it made sense to discuss all this and more with some of the longest-standing members of the Community Care team.In this episode Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor, sat down with three people, who combined, have been at Community Care for over a whopping 80 years. All three were fairly resistant to the idea of recording an episode but with some sweet-talking I managed to persuade Mithran Samuel, editor of Community Care, Nicky Davies, head of partnerships and events and Natalie Valios, content editor on Inform Adults, to come to our London office one morning and have a good old natter.Mithran started at Community Care 20 years ago as a reporter, and moved up the ranks to his current role as editor. Nicky joined in the late 80s in a sales job and has progressed to her current role. Natalie also started over 30 years ago, left Community Care for bit and then came back - because she simply could not stay away.Listen now for this special behind the scenes episode.Read the transcript here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a special episode which was recorded live at Community Care Live 2024.In this thought-provoking and session, you will hear about the importance of a parent’s journey while considering their own child’s life story.You will hear first-hand the experiences some parents have had and how practitioners can gain a better understanding of the impact positive life stories can have on both parents and children.Social worker Rachel Thomas and Pause practitioner Julia Williams, both in Wiltshire Council, narrate Laura's story to a live audience. Laura, who gave up her baby up for adoption, went through a tough time and her story shows how she was supported by professionals every step of the way.Callum, a father, and someone who spent some of his childhood in care, talks about how is key worker, Ceri Evans, through the Dads Matter Too project, helped him overcome his personal challenges and become the dad he wanted to be.Remember, most of our podcast episodes count as CPD.If you want to get in touch, then you can via our Instagram, which is @thesocialworkcommunity, and if you haven’t joined the community site then you can register for free - you will be able to talk to like-minded professionals about work, your career and a lot more.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Anti-Racist Movement (ARM) - a collective of Black female social workers, academics and allied professionals got together for its second annual conference in London in November 2024 - it was ARM's second anniversary.It was my first time at an ARM event and the day was filled with learning, sadness, frustration but also filled with laughter, celebration and most importantly, hope. And a lot of singing and dancing. Shantel Thomas, founder of ARM, had just celebrated winning the 2024 social justice advocate Gold award at Social Worker of the Year Awards in November.Listen to my day at the conference where you can hear from Shantel and others as well as music featured from the amazing Tonia Soulbird, also a social worker.By Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to our new mini-series : ‘Ask The Experts’ where we put your career questions to three social work experts. In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking how to tailor a job application to get the best results and secure that new role.This episode is hosted by Ruth Hardy-Mullings, head of content at Community Care. If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you.Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Expert questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.comRead past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two social workers share their experience of returning to social work from maternity leave and highlight how Essex County Council has supported their transition.How much support did you have when you returned to social work after becoming a first-time parent?In three episodes of the Social Work Community Podcast, social workers at Essex County Council discuss the various ways the local authority supports its workforce and promotes their wellbeing.In this episode, Amy, a team manager in a Care Quality Commission service improvement team in adult services, and Brooke, who works in a family support and protection team in children’s services, share their experiences.Both first-time mothers highlight that being a parent is no barrier to career progression at the local authority and show how supportive management structures have helped them achieve a work-life balance.Access the transcript here.About the podcastThe Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Our first season was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following:SpotifyApple PodcastsSpreakerAudible (Amazon)Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Podcast: locum v perm – what works for you?We ask two social workers from each side of the agency-permanent divide what has driven their career choices and if they would ever change their minds.In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah asks two social workers (Le'Siran Edwards and Kayleigh Rose Evans) from either side of the divide about what has driven their career choices.Le’Siran has 25 years' experience working with children and families, and over a decade in children’s social work. She has spent the last 10 years building up her coaching service, Social Work Coaching Hub, and stepped away from locum work last year to focus on it full time. She also runs her own podcast, called Dear Social Worker Pod.Kayleigh has spent her career working in permanent roles. Alongside her social work practice, Kayleigh works as an independent trainer and also shares reflections on social work through her YouTube channel, @KayleighRoseEvans.Since this podcast was produced, there have been changes to rules curbing English councils’ use of agency social workers in children’s services. You can read more about the changes here. Read a transcript hereAbout the podcastThe Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.Kirsty and fellow host, careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.Our first season went down a storm and was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you work for an inadequate-rated children's services?This episode is in collaboration with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP).In this episode Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care, speaks to a number of social workers at BCP Council about its improvement journey and why working for an inadequate-rated children's services is not all bad!Sharmeen speaks to Steph, Riauri, Jamie, Cyra and Monique talk about their experiences. Steph and Cyra talk about taking the leap from agency to becoming permanent members of staff and how that has allowed them more flexibility as well as career progression. Monique shares how she left to take a job in London but why she returned to BCP Council.Jamie talks about his experience from ASYE to present day and all the brilliant support he's got. And Riauri explains why he has stuck around for five years and plans to stay put.If you are interested in a career at BCP Council then take a look at their employer profile or check out their current vacancies.If you want to get in touch, then you can via our Instagram, which is @thesocialworkcommunity, and if you haven’t joined the community site then you can register for free - you will be able to talk to like-minded professionals about work, your career and a lot more.The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Community Care marks its 50th anniversary this year, we wanted to find out what the social work landscape was like through those decades and how that shaped the career of a social worker.Community Care’s senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah, spoke to Gretchen Precey, an independent social worker, who celebrates 47 years in children’s services this year - almost as long as Community Care has been around – to find out.Gretchen qualified as a social worker in 1977 and spent over 20 years working directly for local authorities before establishing herself as an independent social worker.In her role, she combines direct assessment work with children and families and consultancy to practitioners.In the latest of our Social Work Community Podcast, Gretchen tells us what keeps her in the sector so many years on and what advice she would offer to the next generation of social workers.The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.Kirsty and fellow host and careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.Our first Season went down a storm and was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards. You can listen to all of the episodes on the leading podcast platforms, including Spotify , Audible (Amazon) and Apple podcasts.Read the transcript here.Carry on the discussion on the Social Work Community.You can follow us on Instagram: @thesocialworkcommunityOn X, Facebook & LinkedIn.For all the latest news go to visit www.communitycare.co.ukThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Season Two of The Social Work Community Podcast!In this episode we'll be discussing whether we need more male social workers. The social work profession is female dominated – recent figures show women make up about 80-85% of the workforce in the United Kingdom. Why is this and what can be done to change this? Does it need changing?Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care, speaks to social workers Curtis Powell and Jason Barnes about their experience of the sector, why they choose the social work profession and what they, as men, bring to the table.Read the transcript here.Carry on the discussion on the Social Work Community.You can follow us on Instagram: @thesocialworkcommunityOn X, Facebook & LinkedIn.For all the latest news go to visit www.communitycare.co.ukThe Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.