Social Work news - January to March 2017 by Social Work News Magazine

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January ~ March 2017 issue Work life

Principal Social Worker, Rob Mitchell, discusses his proudest moments and lessons learnt.

NEW S

The spotlight on your profession Focus on CSE

Hear about the reality of protecting children from sexual exploitation.

Work in the Falkands

Social Worker, Kathy Fricker, shares what it is like working in a community 8,000 miles away.

In this issue

Contents January ~ March 2017 issue.

04 06 10 16 21 24

News bites Read about Justine Greening’s £4.7m investment into social work education, tabled changes to the proposed social work regulator, and more!

Giveaways Are you looking for new practice enhancing tools and books? Well, the ink is now dry on our latest giveaways; ActiveMinds’ Timeslide reminiscence cards and a trio of textbooks!

Council spotlight Child Protection Services at Redbridge Council has received praise from Ofsted for its “exceptionally strong” front door services. We find out more.

Meet the winners Iamsocialwork founder, Zoë Betts, goes behind the scenes to discover the inspiration behind the practice of two Social Worker of the Year award winners.

Focus on Havering Havering’s Face to Face approach turns traditional children’s social work practice on its head. Dave Tapsell, Head of Systemic Practice at the Borough, tells us why.

Adoption Author and Director of Service at Adoptionplus, Joanne Alper, talks about a specific therapeutic approach to nurturing child and parent attachments in adoption.

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From the frontline Discover how other areas are tackling familiar social care issues; from the decriminalisation of children in care to merging adult services.

Work life “We should always be reflective and ready to learn lessons” says Principal Social Worker, Rob Mitchell, as he walks us through his typical day.

Child Sexual Exploitation Child Sexual Exploitation Manager, Kellie Murphy, discusses the reality of safeguarding young people.

Lyn Romeo “Good relationships, trust and confidence will determine whether integration works” explains Chief Social Worker for Adults, Lyn Romeo, in a compelling interview.

Tax rules explained Are you an agency social worker? If yes, find out more about the impending HMRC reforms to off-payroll working within the public sector.

The Falkland Islands Delivering social work 8,000 miles away to a community with just 3,500 residents, Kathy Fricker, shares her experience of helping children and families in the Falkland Islands.

Sanctuary

s we enter 2017, not long after the celebrations of the profession at the Social Worker of the Year Awards, I can confidently say we are witnessing an even closer alliance between social services and our friends in health. James Rook

Heather Kent, winner of the Adult Social Worker of the Year award (page 16), is testament to this. And as Chief Social Worker for Adults, Lyn Romeo, remarks in an exclusive interview about integrating health and social care, “good relationships, trust and confidence determine whether integration works” (see page 18 -19). Of course, collaborative working does not only happen at an organisational level, but amongst families and communities. Our guest article (pages 14 -15) from Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Manager, Kellie Murphy, makes this abundantly clear when discussing the balance of safeguarding children at risk of CSE with the need for a much greater understanding of healthy relationships. If, as a profession, we are to get this balance right, more thought needs to be given to how frontline staff can be afforded the head-space to reflect on their practice and partnership working. As Dave Tapsell from the London Borough of Havering quite rightly emphasises

(page 20); it’s the social work practice in the room that facilitates change and reduces risk, and this is only possible with the right support. I just hope that as plans for the proposed new regulator, Social Work England, progress towards setting ‘higher standards’ in the profession, there will be further recognition of the importance of collaborative working and stronger post-qualification support for those wanting to concentrate on specialist areas. I am confident there is no one better to deliver social work than the skilled practitioners we have the privilege of working with. As a company, it is our job to support you wherever we can. It’s with this in mind that we have adapted our Sanctuary Training course programme (see page 13), making our 2017 schedule the most diverse and accessible yet. I wish you all the very best for the New Year.

James Rook Managing Director

Visit us sanctuarysocialcare.com Follow us twitter.com/sanctuarySW Like us facebook.com/sanctuarypersonnelltd See us instagram.com/sanctuarypersonnel

LIVE ‘Careers’ chat

s a social worker, you’ll be all too familiar with working in a fast-paced environment whilst securing the best possible outcomes for the people you support.

It can be difficult to find the time to reflect on what direction you are taking your career in and whether you are on the right path to achieving your desired professional outcomes. Join us and like-minded practitioners for a live online ‘Social Work Careers’ webinar on Wednesday 18 January between 12.30-2pm and start your 2017 with a clear plan. Simply visit sanctuarysocialcare.com/ webinar-careers to pre-register to take part.

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Save t he d a t e!

‘Social Work C areers’ webina r, Wed 18 Januar y 2017 12.30 2pm

News bites

News bites Key news stories and announcements.

Tabled changes to establish Social Work England

Pilots launch to help people with learning disabilities

The tabled changes will establish a new separate legal entity, Social Work England, as regulator of social workers. This will operate at arm’s length from government, as Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults mentions on page 18.

Education Secretary announces extra investment Providing vulnerable children with the best possible opportunities is high on Education Secretary Justine Greening’s agenda as she highlighted in her first address to the social care profession.

Six local authorities are now participating in the government’s named social worker pilot scheme for people with mental health issues or learning disabilities. The ‘My Social Worker’ scheme is expected to strengthen the rights of service users and their families by having a social worker present when decisions are being made about an individual’s care. To read Lyn Romeo’s views on the pilot, turn to page 18.

Following discussions with members of the House of Lords, a number of changes to the Children and Social Work Bill are being proposed.

Justine Greening

She announced an injection of £4.7 million into the Teaching Partnership Programme to improve the education of social workers in 11 additional localities. She also invited local authorities to nominate talented senior social workers to join the new Practice Leader Development Programme.

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From the frontline

Sh a r your n e ews!

From the

Simply email press@ sanctua r y s ocialcare if you h .com ave a s tory yo u wish to share with us .

frontline News directly from council teams.

First LSCB to receive ‘OUTSTANDING’ Ofsted rating As the first Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) to receive an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report for it’s children’s services, The City & Hackney LSCB has been praised by inspectors for providing “exceptional outcomes” for children in it’s care.

Milton Keynes to tackle youth criminalisation The Thames Valley Protocol to reduce the criminalisation of children in care has now been given the full backing from Milton Keynes Council. The aim is to promote a fair approach to the way children in care are treated by the youth justice system. As one care leaver, Jack Smith states: “Young people in care are more vulnerable so it is vital that black they are given the support they need to get back on track.” 11 mm clearance all sides

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The report cites “outstanding leadership, management and governance” as pivotal to giving looked-after children an exceptional level of support.

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Plans to merge delivery of adult social services by councils Windsor and Maidenhead Council is going ahead with plans to transfer it’s existing adult services workforce to Wokingham’s social care trading company, Optalis. Subject to final council approval, Windsor and Maidenhead will join Optalis as a 45% shareholder. The council will retain its statutory responsibility for adult services with current staff remaining in the borough.

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Resources giveaway

Picturing the past Introducing Active Minds’ Timeslide reminiscence cards.

communications with people affected by the disease.

ctive Minds founder, Ben Atkinson-Willes’ grandfather was a jigsaw fanatic; you could find him with a piece in hand, looking for its place amongst the 1,000 other pieces.

But, in the years after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, he had forgotten how to do daily tasks, struggled with recognising his family, and was only able to complete children’s puzzles. “The activities that occupied my then 86 -year-old grandfather were designed for a young child rather than somebody with dementia”, recalls Ben. It was, and still is a personal mission of Ben, who majored in design at Kingston University, to “create products to assist people with dementia to enable them to lead active, engaging and fulfilling lives”. In 2010, he founded Active Minds, and the company is now well on its way to developing 100 activity products for those with dementia by 2018.

“Reflecting on, and sharing stories from our personal memory map - the sum of our life experiences - helps to affirm the essence of our identity (of who we really are) and reminds us that we are truly alive”, says Ben. This is especially important for people living with dementia as communication becomes more challenging. The Alzheimer’s Society ‘Home from Home’ report shows that meaningful mental and physical stimulation can help with depression and social isolation which are all too prevalent among people with dementia. This is exactly why we decided to develop our Timeslide range, a purposely designed set of reminiscence cards. Each set contains 15 large picture cards and a Timeline, featuring everyday subjects from the 1950s to 1969. Ideal for social workers looking for new ways to communicate with those they support, there are prompts on the back of each card to start conversation around the subject matter shown. Visit active-minds.org for more information.

As a winner at the Dementia Care Awards 2015, we were intrigued to learn more about the latest products he is bringing to market to assist adult social workers in their

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Resources giveaway

Timeslide giveaway Would you like to win the complete set of four Active Minds Timeslide reminiscence cards, which hit shelves January 2017. Simply send an email to giveaway@sanctuarysocialcare.com with the subject heading “Active Minds giveaway”. Don’t forget to include your name, postal address, and phone number.

“The wisest mind has something yet to learn” Make sure you bookmark this page to read more about the latest social work textbooks which could be of benefit to you and your colleagues. Tackling Child Neglect Edited by Ruth Gardner with a foreword by David Howe, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (jkp.com), £22.99 Neglect is the most common form of child abuse, but it is hard to identify and address. In this book, expert contributors provide the latest thinking on the theory, research and practice surrounding child neglect. It includes illustrative examples to show the impact of neglect on families and how change can be achieved.

Win these titles For your chance to win all three titles, simply send an email to giveaway@sanctuarysocialcare.com with the subject heading “book giveaway”. Don’t forget to include your name, postal address, and phone number.

Helping Children to Tell About Sexual Abuse Rosaleen McElvaney, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (jkp.com), £14.99 Children experiencing sexual abuse often feel trapped by it conflicted between telling and not telling. Practical and accessible, drawing on research carried out with children who have experienced sexual abuse, this book explores challenges in facilitating and responding to disclosures of abuse, such as: how to recognise the signs, ask the right questions and react to a disclosure.

Play in Healthcare for Adults Edited by Alison Tonkin and Julia Whitaker, Routledge (routledge.com), £31.99

The closing date for both entries will be 24 March 2017. The winner will be randomly selected and the judge’s decision will be final.

Play - we all do it: we play cards, play sport and play music. It features in every aspect of our lives. We all do it, but the authors of this book offer insight into why do we do it and what impact it has on our health and wellbeing, and how play-based activities can be used in the health and social care service delivery for vulnerable adults and their families.

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A day in the life of...

Work life A day in the life of... an award-winning Principal Social Worker. My typical day

ob Mitchell is a Principal Social Worker (PSW) and Service Manager for Adult Services at Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire. He won the 2015 Principal Social Worker of the Year award, mainly for his inspirational leadership, infectious passion for social work and tireless efforts to raise the profile of the profession at a national and regional level. We chatted to Rob to find out more about the man behind the role.

My journey into social work I consider myself really fortunate to have found social work. I left school with few qualifications and had a number of different jobs, including working for a couple of days as a postman and even training to run a pub. Everything changed when I became a care assistant in a nursing home for the elderly. I knew within an hour that social care was the career for me. After working for a few years in a housing association and other care sector management roles, I realised I needed a proper qualification to progress my career further in social work. So as a 26-year-old, I enrolled at university and never looked back, joining my home local authority as a hospital social worker straight after graduation.

As far my as PSW role goes, there are many demands for my time and any two days are rarely the same. For example, yesterday I was lecturing to social work students at a local university. Today I sat on a recruitment panel, did some winter pressures planning, prepared a presentation on safeguarding, held supervision sessions with two new operations managers and had a meeting with the Department of Health about a pilot social work project. Many of my commitments as a Service Manager, such as chairing panels, are regular items in my diary, so I work all of the PSW stuff around those.

My proudest moments As a practitioner, it’s some of the people I’ve provided social care support to who really stand out in my mind and give me a real sense of achievement. Seeing the amazing love and support that they get from their families is always really humbling too. It reminds you how privileged you are to be positively involved in somebody’s life when they’re experiencing real personal difficulties. As a manager, it really makes me proud to see the career progression of some of the colleagues we’ve employed here at Calderdale.

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A day in the life of...

“Seeing the amazing love and support that they get from their families is always really humbling. It reminds you how privileged you are to be positively involved in somebody’s life when they’re experiencing real personal difficulties.” We made a decision a couple of years ago to ring-fence some positions to create opportunities for newly qualified social workers. Seeing some of those people move into management or advanced practitioner roles is really gratifying. I recently attended a conference on the Human Rights Act and it was great to see that two of the speakers were people I had interviewed for jobs as newly qualified social workers just three years before.

Lessons I’ve learnt I believe that, as social workers, we should always be reflective and ready to learn lessons. One of the most important things I’ve learnt is to find ways of working effectively with colleagues and partners who, while they may be just as passionate and committed as I am, are inclined to see things differently from the way I do. I won’t compromise in representing my service users. However, in terms of working relationships it’s important to be collaborative and take people with you, rather than adopting a dogmatic and confrontational stance which is almost certain to be non-productive.

After work Having three sons, I’m kept pretty busy at weekends with family commitments. However, last Easter my wife encouraged me to take up running. It was tough at first because I hadn’t done any serious exercise since school, but now I’m regularly doing 5K and 10K park runs. If I go out early on a Saturday morning, it really energises me and sets me up for the weekend, although I have to stop myself using it as an excuse to eat loads of chocolate and crisps! I’m also daft enough to be a Leeds United supporter. The challenges they’ve faced over the last 10 years make social work look like a walk in the park!

The most challenging part of my job Working with independent service providers can be difficult. Right now some of them are really feeling the effects of public sector budget cuts. As a result they’re struggling to recruit and retrain high-quality staff. If we’re regularly commissioning care but have concerns about the quality of that care, that’s a real challenge for us as social workers. Then, of course, there’s the perennial challenge of winter pressures. It feels like we start planning for winter in June!

Rob Mitc Sanctuary Social Work News ~ 09

hell

Council spotlight

Council spotlight We find out what it is like to work for Redbridge Council’s children’s services.

Cathy Worboyes

edbridge Council has just received a ‘good’ Ofsted inspection rating for its Child Protection Services, with inspectors praising the council’s “passion, ambition and commitment” to improving the lives of children and their families with an “exceptionally strong” ‘front door’ service. We catch up with Cathy Worboyes, Head of Child Protection and Early Intervention Services, to find out what it is like working for a children’s services department that is well known for its ‘strong learning culture’.

What are the key priorities for the council’s children’s services? We have worked hard to create a robust ‘front door’ where clear analytical reasoning underpins every decision by our frontline staff. The right information is recorded at the right time to secure the best possible outcomes for the children and young people we support. As the majority of councils will recognise, our main priority is to maintain our existing good standards of service delivery during a period of austerity.

Tell us about your approach to early intervention? Early intervention plays a vital role in preventing situations from escalating into more serious safeguarding concerns. Our

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Sundown over Ilford

multi-agency Early Intervention Panel is very effective at ensuring the right help is received at the right time by sharing information and agreeing packages of support. This includes a wide range of early intervention and assessment services. We’ve had a great deal of success with the ‘Families Together’ programme, working with those in profound need across a full range of interventions. This gives parents practical strategies to help them build stronger, healthier relationships with their children and prevents problems from escalating. I was particularly pleased this was picked up by Ofsted, which details one parent we have supported as having said they are “not easily pleased”, but they would give their support worker “five stars for service”.

How important is multi-agency working? Good partnership work means that child protection enquiries are undertaken swiftly and effectively. Our local Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Panel, led by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, is a great example of our approach. Multi-agency analysis identifies themes, types of abuse, hotspots in the local area, and prevalence whilst regular meetings between partner agencies ensure this information is communicated back to frontline staff. CSE training is also available to all professionals in Redbridge, with specialist multi-agency training provided for those working with children and young people at risk of CSE.

Council spotlight

We also run our own in-house multi-agency training to assist frontline staff in recognising the signs of neglect, its impact on children and strategies for effective intervention.

What makes the council’s learning culture strong? Supporting all members of our team is crucial to maintaining a good standard of service to those we support. For instance, newly qualified permanent staff are given the head space to make that transition into frontline social work with a reduced caseload and three extra days training. This includes a comprehensive practice learning programme enabling them to continuously improve.

What can you expect if you join the team? • •

Competitive salary

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Fantastic learning and development opportunities, with access to a wide range of training courses, mentoring, coaching and shadowing

Retention allowance of up to £5,000

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All social workers in children’s services are allowed three extra Continuing Professional Development (CPD) study days

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Flexible start and finish times around core time bands and operational needs, with occasional authorisation for home working

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Support with achieving a work/ life balance with consideration given to various types of leave

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31 days annual leave, increasing to 36 days after 5 years service

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Local Government Pension Scheme based on career-average contributions

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Essential car user allowance of £963 per annum and subsidised car parking

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Childcare vouchers scheme

We have created a learning culture where training, live supervision, reflective discussion and mentoring feature heavily. This has enabled our practitioners to progress from social work practitioners to managers, a number of who have been with us for several years now.

Benefits of living & working in Redbridge •

Redbridge is a Central Underground line, running to central London. The M11 starts in Redbridge, giving good road links to the rest of the country

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Well-known for its exceptional local schools

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One of London’s greenest Boroughs, with more than 35 parks, playgrounds and open spaces to enjoy

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Enjoy special offers on leisure facilities with The Redbridge Card, given to all employees of Redbridge Council

Hainault Forest Country Park

It’s important that you never stop learning, which is why I have just completed my Masters in Strategic Leadership and Management.

What would you say to somebody interested in joining your team? Social work is tough, and I couldn’t say otherwise, but with the right support it can be an incredibly rewarding profession. Here at Redbridge, nobody feels that they are on their own. I wouldn’t expect any member of my team to work in a way I wouldn’t want to myself and that’s an ethos shared by our frontline managers. It’s not unusual for a social worker to ask me directly for advice on a particular case and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Apply today For vacancies, please visit sanctuarysocialcare.com/jobs or call Sanctuary’s permanent recruitment team on 0333 7000 026.

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Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. Stadium

Wanstead High Street

Promotional feature

Working in Scotland Would you like to deliver positive outcomes for people in Scotland? Above: The Jacobite train (The Hogwarts Express from Harry Potter) running through the Scottish highlands.

n 2011, Scotland Excel developed a national framework for secure care services. This framework is delivering positive outcomes for service users. Sanctuary is delighted to be on the framework for the supply of social workers and other healthcare professionals who are making this happen day in, day out.

Sanctuary benefits We have a strong reputation amongst Scottish authorities and are currently recruiting in the localities below:

Sanctuary benefits To be considered for a position, you will need to be registered with Sanctuary where you can benefit from:

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Competitive rates of pay

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Free PVG check and online training

• • •

Access to exclusive vacancies (as an on-framework agency)

A dedicated consultant and support team Part-time or full-time contracts, flexible to your needs Free subscription to a printed copy of Sanctuary Social Work News magazine

Recruiting for Social workers and senior social workers in the following teams:

Aberdeen Argyll & Bute East Dunbartonshire Renfrewshire

Dundee Fife West Lothian Edinburgh

East Renfrewshire

• • • •

Children’s Social Workers Adult Social Workers Senior Social Workers Community Care Workers (Occupational Therapists)

Find out more To find out more and view current vacancies, visit sanper.ltd/2fvaMfb. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Training

New!

2017

Training programme Introducing Sanctuary Training’s new calendar of social work courses.

assionate about supporting social workers to build their knowledge in specific safeguarding practice, Sanctuary Training’s 2017 course programme is our most accessible yet! Below are some of the courses we’ll be delivering in the first half of the year.

Key

Form F Assessment - with Roger Chapman

Form F Assessment

Roger has been a Form F trainer for several years and his book, Undertaking a Fostering Assessment, is a ‘blueprint’ for the assessment process. His course teaches attendees how to prepare for Fostering Panel Presentations.

Achieving Best Evidence BIA Refresher Radicalisation & CSE and Honour Based Violence

Achieving Best Evidence - with Robin Watts Robin Watts spent 30 years working as a Detective specialising in child protection investigations. He now trains social work professionals on how to investigate child abuse, from the initial referral right through to its conclusion.

BIA Refresher - with Jenni Pennington Having worked as a Mental Health Nurse for 13 years and as a trainer since 2002, Jenni provides an update to the full Best Interest Assessor training. Her teaching methods and passion for the sector ensure delegates get the most out of the course.

Radicalisation & CSE and Honour Based Violence - with Bal Kaur Howard Bal has been working directly with those affected by honour based violence and other forms of abuse for many years. She now delivers courses on radicalisation, child sexual exploitation and honour based violence.

To view our course calendar, visit sanctuarytraining.com.

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Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual

Exploitation Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Manager, Kellie Murphy, discusses the reality of tackling CSE.

t’s incredibly hard to undo 16 years of parenting. Many of the vulnerable young people I work with have attachment issues with their families, making them that much more susceptible to being groomed for sexual exploitation.

“So how, as social workers, do we compete with the intense and all-consuming level of control?” Kellie Murphy

The perpetrators of this incredibly damaging crime are phenomenally persuasive and exercise an unprecedented level of coercive control. They are experts at spotting vulnerability and will be grooming their victims 24/7 to perform sexual activities in exchange for a number of things; money, drugs, gifts, affection or status.

Major challenges Young people often trust their abuser above anybody else and cannot identify with being a victim of abuse. So how, as social workers, do we compete with the intense and all-consuming level of control? I would like to say there’s a straightforward answer, but that’s not reality. Our very existence poses a risk to the victim, for if we are known to be involved in safeguarding them, this can cause them more harm and so we have to be exceptionally careful in our approach.

particular type of abuse, but are reliant on there being enough evidence under the Sexual Offences Act for a perpetrator to be convicted.

We’re working within the confines of the law, which in itself is a major challenge. There is an undeniable discrepancy between the statutory obligations as a practitioner under the Children’s Act and the Sexual Offences Act. On the one hand, we are working hard to safeguard these young people from this

Then there’s the overarching issue of CSE not naturally fitting into child protection. I find, it helps to break down the grooming process though; there is emotional abuse as the perpetrator is telling someone they do not fit in with a view to exploiting them sexually and these abusive cultures are represented

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Child Sexual Exploitation

within child protection. Emotional abuse can be incredibly difficult to break. I will often find myself switching between Barnardo’s youth intervention model, which seeks to understand the root causes of CSE and the plans that can be put in place with the family, and statutory safeguarding, which is to risk assess and protect.

Multi-agency working A key factor in knitting together this very complex level of engagement and intervention is effective multi-agency working. Apart from the local authority and the police, the majority of agencies are voluntary. Whilst it’s great to have that additional support from the third sector, the local authority is the only partner agency that has a statutory duty of care under the Children’s Act. Quite often, the young people affected by CSE will have complex health needs. Our colleagues in healthcare can assist by making and attending appointments, but they are not allowed to arrange for transportation. This is when social workers are called, and we often find that though we are not trained in therapeutic support, we find are the only ones able to offer support. There needs to be a change in the law to facilitate greater intervention from partner agencies. Opinion is divided on this, but until somebody has worked with young people who are resistant to help and whose parents have very little influence, it’s virtually impossible to describe how frustrating it can be. CSE is very much an issue that occurs outside of the family home, and so it requires a co-ordinated approach. I am fortunate enough to be working within Rotherham’s specialist multi-agency team tackling CSE, Evolve. The team is one of the first of its kind in the country and consists of social workers, Pace (Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation), a child sexual exploitation specialist nurse, a Barnardo's project worker, a children's social care operational manager, business support staff and police officers. We operate out of a single building opposite the town hall and provide ‘wraparound’ support and protection to children and their families. Together we can provide the experience and confidence to support innovation, maintain momentum and push through when things get tough.

Rethinking foster care Even here though, we face an enormous barrier with regards to finding suitable foster placements. Once we’ve invested so much time and effort in helping the young person agree to being in our care, it’s disheartening when foster carers refuse to take them in through fear they will not be able to cope with the complexity of their needs. Developing highly staffed residential care provision in the young person’s home community needs to be made a priority. This enables young people at risk of CSE to maintain existing relationships rather than being placed out-of-area and/or in a secure children’s home. Sheffield, for example, is using the Mockingbird Family Model; a well-evidenced fostering model established in the USA that clusters trained foster carers and kinship carers around a ‘hub carer’. Within this hub there is a greater understanding of CSE and consequently a support network there to help foster carers to support those affected by CSE.

Outside the care community Beyond the care community though, it’s clear to me that there needs to be a much greater understanding of healthy relationships. Children and young people should be more educated about the risk of sharing very personal information and images online. After all, we’re talking about exceptionally vulnerable young people. They are being targeted because they need a sense of belonging and through the grooming process they are given that. Responding appropriately to CSE in both protecting the victims but also dealing with the perpetrators is absolutely crucial. We must look at the issue from a more preventative perspective and try and understand what makes someone vulnerable to CSE to stem its growth.

Author profile Kellie Murphy has 15 years’ post-qualifying experience. She now specialises in child sexual exploitation in her position as CSE Team Manager at Rotherham, drawing on her vast knowledge of complex child protection case management and management of frontline social workers.

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Social Worker of the Year Awards

Meet the

wınners

Stephanie Mills, Newly Qualified Children’s Social Worker of the Year 2015 award winner

Zoë Betts, founder of iamsocialwork, interviews two Social Worker of the Year Award 2016 winners.

s we enter 2017, rather than focusing on the year’s challenges, it’s important to let the successes shine through. The Social Worker of the Year Awards 2016 did just this and it was the biggest yet, marking a hugely rewarding time for so many brilliant social workers who are working in exceptionally pressured roles. I caught up with two of the winners; Adult Social Worker of the Year; Heather Kent from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Children’s Social Worker of the Year; Emily Tiplady-Ead from Suffolk County Council, to hear what continues to inspire and motivate them.

Heather Kent, Adult Social Worker of the Year 2016

What do the awards mean to you? I am proud to be recognised for my work over the last 15 years. It was a great honour to be nominated by my team manager, who I completely respect as a social worker and manager. I mentored her through her postqualifying studies and so I like to take a small amount of credit for the wonderful social worker she is! In turn, the support she gives me is invaluable and has enabled me to be the practitioner I am today.

Tell us about your journey into social work…

I have a very strong social conscience, a commitment to equality and diversity and a non-judgemental positive attitude. After graduating in social anthropology and sociology in 1977, I did a lot of voluntary work; I co-ordinated a children's adventure group in Newcastle, taught English as a foreign language, supported people at Alzheimer’s UK and was a team leader at a charity supporting care leavers, to name a few roles. I ultimately decided the best way I could help people and influence services was as a social worker; my daughter is also a social worker so that is the best influence I could ever have!

Heather Kent

What's the biggest lesson you've learnt so far? I’ve learnt that as an individual social worker, you can still make a massive difference and have the ability to positively affect people’s lives and influence the delivery of services at a local level. To achieve this, it’s essential to take advantage of all the support networks at work, such as supervision and peer support, and to maintain a sense of humour.

What positive message would you like to share? Recognising the impact we have on people’s lives and our influence on services are our greatest tools. If we are open, honest and always mindful of equality and diversity issues, then we can be ‘islands of empowerment’, regardless of the environment we work in.

Heather, was recognised for establishing “a strong presence within an integrated health and social care setting” with the set-up of a Macmillan social work role for end-of-life care.

“It’s essential to take advantage of all the support networks at work, such as supervision and peer support.” Sanctuary Social Work News ~ 16

Social Worker of the Year Awards

Left: Odi Qquosa receiving the Student Social Worker of the Year 2016 award. Right: Beverley Williams MBE, founder of the awards.

June Thoburn receiving Outstanding Contribution to Social Work 2016 award

“On the night, it was lovely to hear so much praise and positive recognition for social workers, teams and organisations across the country.” Emily Tiplady-Ead, Adult Social Worker of the Year 2016

What do the awards mean to you? I was very surprised and honoured when my practice manager nominated me, and it has given my colleagues a morale boost. I feel very proud to be named ‘Children’s Social Worker of the Year 2016’. Right: Emily Tiplady-Ead

Emily, works in Suffolk County Council’s Children In Need team. It is her “risk-sensible rather than riskadverse approach” to child protection that impressed the judging panel.

On the night, it was lovely to hear so much praise and positive recognition for social workers, teams and organisations across the country. I was also pleased to see Professor June Thoburn being recognised for her Outstanding Contribution to Social Work. She is a professor of social work at UEA, where I studied for my MA in Social Work.

Tell us about your journey Sanctuary Social Work News ~ 17

into social work… A couple of years after completing my first degree in Early Childhood Studies, I started a job as a Family Support Practitioner for Suffolk County Council which really opened my eyes to the world of social work. I quite quickly decided that this was what I wanted to do, and would be something I could do well.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far? I’ve learnt not to lose sight of life outside of social work. It is so easy to let it take over all aspects of your life and that isn’t healthy. After work, it’s important to switch off. I go for long bike rides... Sometimes 100 miles! During the spring and summer months, I try to cycle 10-12 miles before work.

What positive social work message would you like to share? It’s a privilege to work with vulnerable children and families. Although some days are really tough, I’m constantly encouraged by the amazing work carried out by my colleagues. I think it’s fantastic that the awards celebrate this.

Interview: Lyn Romeo

“Good relationships, trust & confidence will determine whether integration works” We catch up with Chief Social Worker for Adults, Lyn Romeo.

016 has been a busy year for Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults. She’s been travelling the country raising the profile of social work and supporting its vital role in the integration landscape. We find out more about the progress made and her plans for 2017.

What plans are there for health and social care integration? Integration is being led at a local level by councils and their health partners. We are seeing the development of models that cluster social workers with GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals to improve combined responses to the health and social care needs of individuals. In tandem, we’re seeing positive developments in specific service areas such as mental health, learning disabilities and palliative care. This is all in service to the provision of a responsive, appropriate integrated approach to people’s needs as individuals, families and whole communities. Getting the values, behaviours and practice cultures right are the biggest challenges, more so than organisational arrangements and budgets, which can often take precedence. I visited Plymouth recently and was impressed with how values and culture underpin their integrated approach to their community. This is helping to ensure social care plays a vital role in securing the best health and wellbeing outcomes for local people.

“I visited Plymouth recently and was impressed with how values and culture underpin their integrated approach to their community.” Further reading •

Find out more about the Three Conversations Model on Lyn Romeo’s blog; lynromeo.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/26/ three-conversations-multiple-benefits/

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Resources to improve, develop and sustain social work across the mental health sector; gov.uk/government/ publications/social-work-improving-adult-mental-health

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Interview: Lyn Romeo

Good relationships, trust and confidence are vitally important. Redbridge Council, for example, has a collaborative partnership where all partners recognise and value professional practice over systems and procedures.

How are tensions being addressed in mental health services?

Lyn at the Think Ahead institute in July 2016

Through the Department of Health (DH), I have supported and published the ‘Social Work for Better Mental Health’ initiative, which sets out the contribution social work can make to mental health care and support. A number of trusts and local authorities are making use of these resources to improve their arrangements. Whilst different models are emerging, positioning good social work with a core focus on relational work and social interventions remains the priority. I am confident that the drive to improve mental health services over the next period will result in better recognition and support for social work in this very important area.

How important is co-production? I am heartened to see a refocus on good relational social work practice within local authorities, where it’s all about working with peoples’ strengths and assets within communities. Increasingly, social workers use what’s going well in people’s lives and look to build on these strengths first before reaching for traditional service solutions, which may not always be the best option. Of course, people still need the appropriate care and support to ensure they can have a good quality of life and I do not want to underplay the significant challenges that social workers are facing. However, places such as West Berkshire and Essex, where asset-based approaches are being used (including the ‘three conversations’ model), people are being supported to achieve the outcomes they want without just relying on formal services.

Could you tell us more about named social workers for people with learning disabilities?

Supported by the innovation unit, six local authority sites are now developing and testing approaches to deploying named social workers to support people with learning disabilities. We want these pilots to help shape what good social work looks like; where individuals are able to lead inclusive lives and have the least restrictive care arrangements. The social worker must be the professional who can challenge risk adverse approaches across systems and ensure that the person’s voice is heard, so that we understand what matters to them and explore what’s possible in promoting their independence.

How is the proposed regulatory body progressing? I have been involved in discussions and gave advice to shape developments of the new regulator for social work, which will be known as Social Work England. I am pleased that there is support for a dedicated regulator as this recognises social work’s importance and uniqueness. It is important social work remains a unified profession and that the proposed regulatory arrangements support the common values, ethics and professional standards across all settings, and with all groups. It also gives us an opportunity to develop standards and accreditation of post qualification professional standards in specialist areas at advanced levels, which will improve practice as well as the status of the profession. There have been some changes to the proposed legislation; namely ensuring that it will be a non-departmental public body, putting it at arm’s length from government. The body will not be established until Parliament agrees the legislation, but once this happens, work will proceed to take things forward.

What are your long-term aspirations for the profession? That social work practice continues to achieve higher levels of quality and effectiveness; that it develops in collaboration with individuals, children, families and communities. I want to see social work gain the wider recognition it deserves, as a vital profession that supports, protects and enables people to have the best possible lives.

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Focus on Havering

One conversation at a time

Dave Tapsell, Head of Systemic Practice at the London Borough of Havering, discusses the council’s ‘Face to Face’ approach.

Dave Tapsell

he Face to Face systemic approach turns traditional practice somewhat on its head. It ‘fits the system to the family rather than asking the family to fit to the system’, enabling them to experience interventions that work in collaboration with them, rather than being aimed at them. Change has to happen at all levels within our service and not just between service users and frontline practitioners. To achieve this, we have our sights firmly set on becoming a centre of excellence for social work practice, which addresses learning, development and support across the entire career path of our social work and support staff. We are working with The Institute of Family Therapy on a pathway that is right for our service; one that develops and supports newly qualified ASYE staff, frontline staff new to the profession, and experienced skilled social workers. Essentially, we are bringing the whole service on this journey as we develop our work through the systemic lens. Systemic practice is the main focus of our accredited family therapy training for all our frontline staff, and is integral to our management team leadership

“We are aiming to change practice and outcomes positively, one conversation at a time.” Kate Dempsey, Principal Social Worker programme and senior staff supervision. This gives all of our staff the capacity and time to explore how meetings, conferences, reviews and panels can be as positive and useful as possible to the needs of the families they are working with. Our newly established clinical family therapy team, whose practice I oversee, offers systemic interventions, case conversations, joint assessments and staff support. Already, practitioners are responding positively to having more opportunity to reflect on their work through case conversations. It is a useful reminder that process is important but it’s the practice in the room we do that enables change to happen and reduces risk. As Kate Dempsey, our Principal Social Worker said, “we are aiming to change practice and outcomes positively, one conversation at a time”.

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Tax reforms

Impending

IR35 tax reforms If you are a locum social worker, you’ll need to know more about HMRC’s proposed tax changes.

ocum social workers, as well as other public sector contractors operating through their own limited company (PSC), are highly likely to be affected by HMRC’s upcoming ‘Off-payroll working in the public sector; IR35 reform’, which featured in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

Current proposals The IR35 Reform is expected to come into force in April 2017. This will place the responsibility of IR35 determination on recruitment agencies or public sector employers. Should a recruitment agency or public sector body classify a locum’s contract as “caught” by the IR35 legislation and therefore deemed as an employee for tax purposes they will have to ensure full PAYE and National Insurance (NI) is deducted, as they would for a worker in a permanent role.

inaccurately will lie squarely with either the recruitment agency or the public sector employer.

Want to find out more? Sanctuary Social Care, through a series of blogs hosted on sanctuarysocialcare.com/ blog, will be bringing news of the changes to the social work community as more information is released by HMRC.

Replay the webinar We held an online discussion on the IR35 tax reform, to view the replay, visit sanctuarypersonnel.com/webinar.

What does this mean for locum social workers? This means all public sector workers operating through their own limited or umbrella company will no longer be responsible for identifying the IR35 status of their contract. For locum social workers operating as such, either the recruitment agency or public sector employer will be responsible for identifying when IR35 applies, calculating tax and NI deductions and paying these to HMRC through a new portal expected to launch in beta-phase over the coming weeks.

Need help? Sanctuary is partnering with Boox as consultants to help our locums through the upcoming changes.

Financial liability for any IR35 status assessed

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Adoption

Nurturing child

parent attachments in adoption Guest writer Joanne Alper, Director of Services at Adoptionplus, discusses Dyadic Developmental Practice.

W Joanne Alper

hen children have suffered neglect and abuse in their birth family and the additional stress of moving into new families, we as social workers want to ensure that when they are finally placed with their permanent family, we have done all we can to support the situation so that it can be as happy, healthy and positive as possible.

It can be really frightening for children to trust their new parents, understand a new way of having a relationship and to believe that they are worthy of love and kindness. In these situations, children can create barriers to prevent closeness, and from their perspective, keep themselves safe from future pain. In turn, these barriers can feel like rejection and can result in parents putting up their own defences. Baylin and Hughes describe this as ‘Blocked Care’. The importance of the reciprocal relationship is central to Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP). The therapeutic worker helps the family to develop healthy patterns of relating and communicating so that they all feel safe and connected. Involving the parent in this therapeutic work is a critical part of its success. Children can be helped to deal with their

“Parents talked of it being the first intervention they had where they felt really safe, accepted and not judged.” experience of trauma and loss, increase their abilities to regulate emotional states, improve reflective functioning and their ability to socialise with adults and peers. This is achieved by helping parents with day-to-day parenting based on the principles of PACE: Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. At Adoptionplus, our multi-disciplinary team have used DDP for a number of years and have found it to be an effective and helpful intervention. The standardised measures we use to evaluate our therapeutic interventions, and the feedback we have received from parents and children supports this approach. This positive experience led to us trialing a new DDP group intervention developed by Dr Kim Golding called the Nurturing Attachments Group programme. We utilised a DfE innovation grant to trial the programme in four locations around the UK and worked with Professor Julie Selwyn from Bristol University to evaluate the model. The findings, published in July 2016 were really positive. One parent reported “[the course] has been life changing for me on every sort of level I’d say, you know with my adopted child, with

Sanctuary Social Work News ~ 24

Adoption

“Parents talked of it being the first intervention they had where they felt really safe, accepted and not judged.”

my birth child, with my relationships”. What was most powerful when speaking to the parents involved, was just how important the therapeutic worker’s ability to model a PACE attitude was to the experience of the parents. Parents talked of it being the first intervention they had where they felt really safe, accepted and not judged. Interestingly, some of the parents said they had read books about PACE, but didn’t really understand it fully until they experienced it for themselves. And it was the Acceptance aspect of PACE that appeared to have the biggest impact on those parents. In turn many of them spoke about being able to accept their child and their situation. For us as an agency, this was really informative as we recognised that it was not just the parenting programme that had been helpful, but the skills of the therapeutic workers leading the groups that significantly contributed to its success. This has implications for rolling out this programme and other DDP approaches as it is clear that effective provision requires skilled and experienced DDP practitioners. To develop these practitioners, organisations need to invest in training, clinical supervision and ultimately accreditation or certification in this approach. Not only does it create effective practitioners, we believe it can also help with motivation and creating a healthy work culture. As social workers, the majority of us are working hard and doing our best to make

a positive difference to people’s lives where we can. When it comes to having a better understanding of what works and improving service provision, we’d take Curiosity and Empathy any day of the week, as opposed to criticism and blame. As part of the next step on our DDP journey, in addition to our ongoing provision of the Nurturing Attachment Group Programme, we are also establishing the first DDP certified social work team in the UK. We are keen to understand the benefits a DDP therapeutic social work approach and are working with the University of East Anglia to assist with this.