To ask what people think a social worker's job role is?

[filee777]

I am intrigued. I know this is in AIBU and its not really that sort of question but I want diverse and interesting opinions.

So what do you think a social worker does? What do you think a social work should do?

I don't think £26k is a very high salary for the level of responsibility a SW has.

My belief is that social workers are there to help people who could be deemed to be 'at risk' or 'vulnerable'.

I think it's admirable career to embark on.

Good luck on your journey, OP. There is a lot to learn, I'm sure.

Fillee - as well as experiencing social workers in RL through having a severely disabled child I also worked in academia with them. I mentioned above I had a couple of good ones, but as an aside my default position to dealing with social services is to tell then I will hold them personally & departmentally responsible for anything that goes wrong (which might tell you what you need to know about my experiences with then).

In my research work I spent some time talking to SW who teach student SW's. You mentioned above that you 'want to help people' (or something like that). The tutor I spoke to said students always say that and her reply is 'well get out of social work & go & work for a charity then'. Yes sometimes SW's help people (our 2 good ones helped us), but a lot of SW is not about helping people at all. And in the cases where you are meant to be helping the system may make that very hard.

Yy candy of course.

But surely it's not any help to be up to date on regulations of old, dissolved bodies? Not in your first week, anyway.

100 days placement y1 and 100 days placement y2, that is a legal requirement.

Some masters students have this broken down slightly differently but it's going towards a standard 100 each year.

Yy what candy says the proficiency needs to evidenced throughout other wise no progression through fitness to practice.

Funding has been removed this year for first year placements. They don't exist anymore.

Candy means the current ones

Oh and it was actually a SW who gave me the best advise about getting the help we need from SS. He said 'you have to remember SS is mainly a protection agency, they are supposedly there to help support you with your disabled child, but actually they don't really give a shit how easy or difficult your life is. They just want to know whether you with bash your child. So you have to make it clear to them that you are reaching the end of your tether'.

I think he had a point. When ds1 was assessed the forms & terminology used to assess the support he/we needed with his disability was exactly the same as the ones used with children at risk. Very different reasons for needing SS support. The same set of tick boxes.

That's very interesting saintly

I ment placement 1 and placement 2 100 days each. Those are in y2 and y3. Sorry

He standards from the HCPC and the proficiency from TCSW also include pre entry requisites. Therefore there is an expectation that those entering or considering entry do have a knowledge of the regulatory body.m

Then I agree candy. Cheers Fut for clarifying, brain is mush. Not sure how to explain myself now because mush brain has forgotten what I was trying to say in the first place.

I'll try to summarise: certainly in your first week of your degree - it doesn't matter if you know the names or acronyms of defunct regulatory bodies.

There. I think

There used to be a 40 day placement in the first year but not anymore. There also used to be a bursary.

How absurd to rag on the OP for not knowing about the hcpc. I only found that out during my first term at university and she has barely started.

I think this thread exemplifies many of the issues in social work now. People are so jaded and fed up of attacks on their profession, role and integrity that they feel impatient or frustrated with people who are going into social work but don't have a proper knowledge of what it's about. Of course first year BA students don't know what social work is about - but they will find out. Sadly some will make many fuck ups while finding that out.
No offence meant to the OP but I see this as a problem with BA courses. I think there should be a greater requirement to have experience in social care before applying, the way there is for MA courses. I think that trying to fit that knowledge in during your 3 year training is unrealistic.

I absolutely agree old

That is exactly what I said in previous pages.

Thanks ehric!

I think SWs take a lot of shit, filee. I think it's a bit unfair to tarnish them all with "they don't give a shit" though, because there's people who don't give a shit in every job.

But as a service user dealing with a shit SW, it just feels more personal because they're meant to be responsible for helping you in a time of vulnerability or crisis. I think even a saint would be branded a total waste of space by their charge if that charge was having a truly terrible time - because a SW can, in a single person, represent everything that's gone wrong.

But ultimately you are there to help, and I'm sure the majority of service users know this. And I'm sure you will do brilliantly on your course.

Why am I on a 'high horse'?

I think your attitude towards your more vocal classmates has narked me.

You assume that some of them won't pass the course, assume that they know nothing, and discuss them with other class mates because 'they are annoying you all by dominating the lectures'

I haven't got time to go back over all your posts and copy and paste everything you have said but it alludes to that ^^ and that you think you are better than them.

You would be very wise to avoid getting into cliques, discussing other people and making judgements on others. This can breed the kind of attitude that is really not compatible with quality social work practice.

If there are people who rub people up the wrong way they will quietly alienate themselves through there own behaviour.

If you can't see that you are looking down on other students then there is little hope for you being any good at the job, or even qualifying.

There was a women like you on my course, she and her little gaggle eye rolled their way through lectures and criticised others. She presented well otherwise, and was the course rep. Sadly she didnt make it past first placement.

Sorry.

Wow period that is a whole lot of assumptions you have made about me.

I have not 'rolled my eyes' at anyone, nor have I assumed people won't pass, I have said there is a high drop out rate and that I think some people will be quieter when the first essay results coming rolling in.

Yes, when i am in a lecture, talking about something relevant and important, i would rather listen to people who have something to say than those who blindly defend social work or simply shout the loudest whilst saying not a lot (for example shouting out 'I really think we all need chocolate in every lecture' when the tutor is asking us what we feel we can get from them)

I feel that way, I'm not going to pretend I don't feel that way, Its certainly not going to make me a bad social worker, if anything biting my tongue in the wake of such idiocy will help my development and that is what i will take it as.

I am not on a 'high horse' I am sure everyone in the class has much to add, its just hard for us to add it when one person is making stupid, irrelevant comments because they want to appear 'funny and cool' rather than just commenting on the topic at hand.

Someone posted something on facebook the other day that said 'There is always someone in the office who everyone thinks is a pain in the arse, if there isn't one in your office that person is YOU'

I also haven't been 'bitching' about classmates with other classmates, something came up (unrelated and fairly pointless to go into) which made another classmate contact me and say 'dont worry about them, they will pipe down when the essays come back'

thats all.

So please, dont make random assumptions about me based on nothing at all, ask me to clarify and I will but assuming you know me based upon a few lines on a screen is very silly. I am actually very humbled by the enormity of social work and i know and embrace the change that is going to happen in me. It will be tough, i know it will because of issues i have going on but i will do my very best.

This thread is quite interesting and a clear example of how words on a screen can be interpreted every which way. filee I wish you the best in your course.

I work with LAC Social Workers: endless paperwork/record keeping/case noting/supervision/meetings/visits/LAC Reviews. I must be lucky as the SWs I work with all want the best for the children/families on their caseload.

Cross post with you there OP! Hide the thread and enjoy your weekend and everything you have ahead :)

I think its a really interesting thread too, its been good to hear peoples experiences (good and bad)

Thanks book all the best to you x

Good Luck Filee

I mustve miss interpreted your posts.

I'm sure you'll be great

Thanks period all the best x

From what little I know and have learnt, sometimes it is the system itself that appears to be at fault. Or the law?
So going back to your op, what do people think a social worker's job role is, I would say, part of it is to uphold the law, and dare I say, hopefully question the system if it works against the child or adult that needs some help.
And even more, I agree with whistleblowing. I dont know if that is frowned upon or worse, in social work. [Not sure, op, whether that should be put in your essay or not in your first week. Dont want you kicked off the course].