Any social workers around? Careers advice please!

[kumquatsarethelonelyfruit]

Hi,
New year, new life and all that! Basically I am currently a SAHM and used to be a secondary school teacher. I have a 2:1 degree in English (almost a first in terms of marks). I have worked in inner city schools for 6 years then been a SAHM for almost 6 years. I want to do a master's degree in social work so that I can work with kids as a social worker. I know my teaching will count as experience (I also have a year's voluntary work in a homeless centre from 20 years ago too) but obviously I need up to date voluntary experience to add to my application.

I am going to apply as a volunteer to Barnardo's (a specific role which only lasts 3 months) - what else do you recommend that I apply for in terms of voluntary work to get experience? I thought about EBD schools (using my teaching experience) but is that still too 'teachery'? Should I be applying to children's homes/surestart ... not really sure where to go with this but I am very keen and ready to go! Ideally I want to work with teenagers as that is where my experiences as a secondary school were taking me.

Any help/advice would be very much welcomed. Thanks in advance

Disclaimer - not a SW but work alongside them & with students. Looked into degree but didn't want to do it.

Any work with children/adults with LD/elderly etc would count afaik.

Not sure about the masters but the degree covers both adult & children.

Yes, I believe any work with people is good (not a SW but looked into doing the training in depth a while back). Check out the website of the uni/s you want to apply to, they should have more information. Reckon once you've got a bit of up-to-date experience, and subsequently an up-to-date reference, your teaching experience will go a long way towards securing you a place on the course. You've shown you can hack working with difficult kids, just not recently.

Kumquat, i've just been lucky to get a place on Step up to Social work. It's brilliant. It's aimed at people with a 2.1 degree in ANY discipline, plus experience working with children.

I've been lucky in being placed in my local authority and sent on an intensive MA in SW, will be completed in 18 months. They pay all my fees and give me 15k bursary every year until course completed. TAx free.

There were 200 places nationwide and 2700 applicants so it was competitive, but worked out as one job per ten applicants almost...so good odds. Recruitment has finished for the Feb start but may be open again next August. I'll link for you...
www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/social-work/step-up-to-social-work

I am a SW. I wouldn't describe my job as working with children really. SW is about case managing these days, a significant amount of time at the computer, chairing meetings, attending meetings. But I work for the local authority now and know the voluntary sector is slightly different. I think sw is a very misunderstood career. I would suggest talking to sw who work in the area you would like to go into. I work in child protection fir an inner city local authority.

I think the experience you have will be enough to get you onto the Masters. When are you applying? If you have time you could always do some more to be sure. You could apply for the Independent Visitor scheme which puts you in touch with a looked after child who you would visit and advocate for that would give you a good insight into what life is like for young people and the challenges they face and the 'system' in which they are placed. It would also give you the chance to flex your advocacy skills which are an essential in social work.

Social work is a very demanding career on lots of levels and it is a vocation. I love my job and wouldn't change it for anything. Everyday I get the chance to be part of something amazing.

Lots of luck let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Just re read your post and note its six years so as you say it would be a good idea to update. I know that Homestart is run with volunteers although this is working with younger families that won't matter. The MAs are generic courses and as long as you have some experience it won't matter with which group of people. At this point your aim is to get a place on the course.

Thank you slipperandpjsmum, you have given me a lot of helpful advice and it is much appreciated.

I am thinking of this also - is there a SW trade journal/website/academic journal that I could look into? Also is there somewhere which outlines career paths? - and is there a upper age limit to start the training -- I am 45 tomorrow!!

mulranno - I am nearly 41 and would be around 45 by the time I was qualified. I am apprehensive about the age thing too. The only thing I can say is that when I did my PGCE, there were a couple of mums on it who were 40+ who were amongst the first to get jobs (in grammar schools no less!) so I think with some jobs maturity and experience can be seen as advantageous.

Lots of people go into sw later. Its the kind of career where being older is a real advantage. I could never have coped in my 20s. Some unis have higher numbers of mature students than others and it may be worth asking at interview. Although on the selection days you get chance to meet applicants so that will give you some indication.

Community Care is a journal read by alot of social workers - there is a website so that might be worth looking at. It also advertises jobs so you can see the kind of jobs that are around.

In terms of career paths its not as structured as teaching or the police but the first year you are classed as an NQSW (newly qualified social worker) but this really depends on which local authority you work for and which area you go into and how protected or not you will be. From there after 2 yrs dep on your workload you will look at going up a grade. During that time you will need to be trying to get onto the Post Qualifying Childcare Module taught through universities. The next step up from there is advanced practitioner/senior social worker. Of course this may vary from authority to authority. As I mentioned earlier I work for a large inner city authority.

In the early years of your career its best to move around a little really to give you a good grounding. Look at around 2 yrs for your first job.

But again don't think age is a disadvantage. As a mature worker you walk into situations and people assume you know what you are doing - unless you prove them wrong as a younger person people assume you don't!

Please let me know if I can answer anything else.

When are you thinking of applying or have you already?

just come across the step up to social work MA initiative on this forum last week -- so will need to see when next intake is scheduled for...