Any social workers around?

[topoftheworld1]

I'm just considering my career options. Am a single mum of 2.

I'm just wondering if there are many part-time roles around? Are hours flexible at all?

Thanks so much in advance!

Only p/t social workers I know have come back from mat leave. And hours are kind of flexible but it’s is long and often unpredictable, you need a LOT of support at home as a social worker and reliable childcare. Many workers with young children find it difficult without a dad/ granny to help behind the scenes.
Sorry if this doesn’t sound encouraging but I can’t stress how hard a job it is without support.

I'm not a SW, but I work with them.

Agree that in some areas, such as criminal justice or children and families a lot of flexibility and support is required. However other areas, such as Learning Disability, seem more amenable to regular hours. I've seen part time posts advertised.

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it!

Do you think this varies across areas of work though? As in are the long hours more of an issue in say child protection than some areas of adult social work?

Thanks Sylvanian

Vast majority of entry roles will involve a level of safeguarding work with either adults or children which involce caseholding and a level of unpredictability which can be really hard to manage as a parent. Roles that are less pressured and less likely to need long hours or offer part time hours are very sought after so yiu generally need to do at least couple of years in the front line first, to gain experience

Is a fab job though and would definitely recommend. I'm 10 years in and no plans to change from frontline safeguarding

Im 8 years qualified but only just about to have my first child. I think it depends on the age of your children. You also need a good support network around you. Ive only ever worked in child protection and court work but think it would be very difficult to do that part time. Cant comment on other roles

Adult social work in my experience is more flexible and with more predictable hours.

In both adults and kids, the p/t roles in my authority tend to be non- contact roles (i.e. answering phones & doing phone based assessments/ fact finding) or in mental health.

I love my job. I get toil, so though my working day us 8.30-4.30 (and I do leave at 4.30 90% of the time) I get in at 7.30/8 and build up toil which I can take almost any time I like but tend to use if DC is I'll, to go to stay and play at nursery or to take to a theatre show etc or just have a me day!

I've worked in CP and generic adults and adults is less stressful but more rewarding in my opinion.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, that's all really helpful.

Mortified mama - do you mind me asking what area you work in now? You mention generic adults, wasn't sure what that means.

Still not sure which area I would like to work in so any inside knowledge is useful!

Thanks again

Most authorities split their adult social care in to groups of specialties. Ours is learning disabilities, mental health, sensory, hospital discharge, neuro-rehab (severe aquired brain injury or strokes in the under 60s) and 'generic'. Generic covers mild LD, mild mental health (mild means not severe enough to meet criteria for the specialist teams) and all adults with physical disabilities and dementia. The vast (80%+) majority of my caseload is older adults with either dementia or post stroke. I also see people with cerebral palsy, post polio disease, aquired physical injury (e.g quadraplegia), MS etc.

I do everything from initial assessment (e.g. "mum had a fall and cant shower herself anymore, what do I do?"), setting up care packages, supporting carers, supporting and placing in care homes, safeguarding, advice and information etc.

I absolutely love my job. Before working in adults I thought I'd hate it. I thought I couldn't cure dementia so what difference could I make? But the support and relief I give to service users, carers and families is amazing. Yes it can be hard, harrowing at times. I see neglect, abuse and sadness frequently, but I can and do make a difference. I've had to go to court. The law is complex and intricate.

Mental capacity is the biggest factor in my job- people can choose to make bad decisions!

My biggest bugbear is the ineffectiveness of safeguarding. In reality, unless it's a crime, there is very little we can do.

I used to work in schools as a social worker and it wasn't hard to find a job that was only 3 or 4 days a week. Part time research roles too were abundant.

Thank you mortified mama, that's all unbelievably helpful. I have always been drawn to children's services but have recently been leaning more towards adults. I didn't know there was such a thing as generic adults, I assumed every social worker had a very specific set area. I did some work experience with a local neighborhood office, working with older adults & really enjoyed it.

Knitted jest - is there any chance you could explain a little about your social work job in schools? Was it safeguarding or SEN? Dont know anything about research within social work? That also sounds right up my street.

Where is the best place for me to keep an eye on social work jobs, just to give me a better idea of what's available - local councils?

Thank you all for allowing me to pick your brains, very much appreciated! Being a single mum I really want to secure a decent future for me & kids.

Most Local Authorities have a rolling advert out for social work staff as a % are likely to be agency workers and the authority will be wanting to fill those posts with permenant staff. Our LA has a seperate social work recruitment section with quite in depth info about benefits etc to working there.

Have you got your social work degree/ ma? As most people i know tend to findout the general area through the placements which are part of the degree. If not you may want find out where your uni tends to place students and then explore those authorities first, as placements are often a good insight for both you and employers

I've been a social worker for 5 years. I now work out of hours in an Emergency Duty Team so I do work across children and adults. Worked in child protection prior to this, which does not lend itself to part time. However, my current role does.

The social workers who have worked cases for me (I am a DSL in a school) all carry out home visits after school/early evenings, so they can see the whole family.