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 know two social workers. They are well paid in terms of the money they earn, very underpaid if you understand what a good social worker does and experiences.

I think a good social worker is able to care enough to push for what is needed to help, while at the same time being able to detach in order to see the bigger picture and offer appropriate support.

candy I agree with you, I have done nothing but read since i started the course and had access to the library.

One of the girls actually discussed the Daniel Pelka (though she couldnt remember his last name) case on Wednesday, she said 'Oh everyone says the social workers failed him' and I said 'well social workers DID fail him, he died' and she continued to defend bad practice. I have a feeling that i am going to do a lot of biting my tongue this year with that one!

But I totally agree, i want to be a social worker because i feel it is a constantly changing and evolving job role, both policy wise and practice wise. I want to be a part of that for the better.

And yes i am a social worker and could cry about the amount of unpaid overtime i do. I stay in the job because i enjoy it and its rewarding but having been qualified for almost nine years and only getting approx £1400 a month for four days a week does not feel well paid.

No amount of money can compare to the emotional and mental impact sw has on you, especially in children and families. You will have to work late every night and weekend. If its not for one of your cases it is to help your colleauges. You will be so emotionally drained youwill not want to speak or see anyone. Most of all you will feel frustrated. Frustrated that you want to do more to support children but you have no authority. Also you will be frustrated with bureaucracy and lack of time. This is in relation to working in child protection not sure what adults are like.

agent there is a high turnover in sw. However you are right there are some people who stay in their role for many years. IMO some people have better coping mechanisms than others.

I get a grand and do up to 50 hours a week. I am responsible for everything, unless delegated out. At least once you are a qualified social worker you are on a pay scale etc.

We were regulated by the general social care council now it is i think a body called the hpc who also regulate the nursing profession. We have to pay for this. I have also lost my car user allowance and get a very low mileage rate and in my role i cover an entire county.

I have come into contact with quite a few social workers in the area of adoption.

• all without question have been very dedicated and have worked to the best interests of the child.
• many are not very organised about paperwork, or good at IT.

I think SWs for child protection have an extremely difficult job. They have to walk a tightrope. An error of judgement one way can leave a child to be neglected or abused. An error of judgement another way can see a child being removed from their birth parents when maybe it is not necessary.
Furthermore birth families can say what they like in the press 'SWs took my child away all because XXXX' and the SWs do not have the right to put their side 'actually not XXXX, but YYY and ZZZZ'.

Adoptive Mum.

Social workers are regulated by the GSCC

Or the General Social Care Council

I would say HCA or home carer or domestic carer or residential carer has the same feelings of helplessness on half the wage.

I meant bright-eyed in a good, positive way, the opposite of 'jaded' or dragged down by work and pressure. I was a bright-eyed new teacher once (!)
I find it worrying, as I said. In the same way I find it worrying that schools employ 'cover supervisors' who end up taking regular lessons.
I thought you'd find the info useful, filee.

From the few I know it seems very stressful and a lot of councils seem to impose unreasonable targets that can only be reached by not doing the job thoroughly :(

Teen there is certainly a push right now in social work education to improve the critical analysis of social workers and their IT capabilities, it has been noted as being a problem. Obviously social workers who are in the system are more difficult to train differently but there is certainly an aspect of education now that covers the issues you have raised.

We have to do an IT qualification alongside our social work course and critical analysis is absolutely vital. This is because of massive issues that the courts have had with working with reports that are simply not fit for purpose.

Jasminerose you get £15k for how many hours a week? I dont know any social worker or support worker who consider themselves to be well paid. It is the emotional impact as well as the bureaucracy , distressing situations and frustration that takes it toll.

I apologise for assuming you meant negatively where. I thought 'bright eye'd' was more immature and innocent than unjaded!

I am certainly already quite cynical, in my interview i had to bite my tongue when he said 'why do you want to be a social worker' to stop myself saying 'because i have met some really shit ones'!

I have found everyones experiences useful, by challenging them I am not trying to belittle them, just understand more fully what everyone means.

The starting salary for a social worker should be around 24/26k it certainly is round here, 15k seems very, very low.

I've just googled it, it says regulatory bodies for social workers are HCPC for England, CCW for Wales and SSSC for Scotland, are you somewhere else OP?

No I'm in the UK, I just started the course on Monday, I was just reciting what is written in my book, though it might have changed (a number of times) since 2004 ;) I'm sure its the same company with different headed paper...

It was the GSCC but that was absorbed by the HPC which became the HCPC last year.

I do at least 40 but up to 50. You have to live for my type of job if you want to do it properly as there are so many social work cases, children with english as a second language, speech and language difficulties, reports on neglect, sexual abuse and physical abuse. Work with professionals such as Sencos, health visitors, social services, the courts, lawyers, family support workers, educational psychologists etc.

I have to write court reports for social services, as well as all paperwork for Ofsted. As well as run the team caring and educating 50 children for up to 50 hours a week.

What do you do now jasmineriose ?

I am not a social worker yet but Im a setting manager in a very deprived area in a private capacity.

are you stuyding for your degree jasmine?

Starting salary here is 21k. No yearly progression& you need to apply to go on to the next grade which is only if a job is available( so you may change teams/locations etc)

I have a 2.1 degree in Early Years. Im am doing my masters degree in Social Work next September.

I am a SW and have been for around 8/9 years. I work in child protection and i am in no way a work shy do-gooder. I take a great pride in being professional in my job. I work bloody hard on extremely difficult cases. I love my job but it definitely takes its toll emotionally and mentally.

I agree that many SW are not good at paper work; probably because there is too much of it and because good SW would rather be out in the field doing what they do best than sitting in an office.

Wow jasmine thats great, all the best to you, sounds like you would be a real asset to any team with education like that.