New ways of working and learning can grow resilient children’s social workers. Recruitment and retention are key issues for employers in a sector where the average career span is put at eight years
Tools
Tools
Burstow, Paul (2018) New ways of working and learning can grow resilient children’s social workers. Recruitment and retention are key issues for employers in a sector where the average career span is put at eight years. The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077
Full text not yet available from this repository.Abstract
We expect a great deal from children’s social workers – they work with chaotic families, they have to look into the darkest parts of society, juggle large caseloads and hold huge amounts of emotional collateral. When things go well, their work often goes unnoticed; when things go wrong, the sky falls on their head. It is perhaps unsurprising that this story plays out in the numbers too; the vacancy rate for children’s social workers was 17% last September, according to new data published by the Department for Education. The same data suggests more than two-thirds of vacancies are covered by agency staff. A third of social workers leave the profession within two years, and the average career span is just eight years. With all this considered, workforce must be a priority for the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care. The DfE data also raises critical questions about how we improve recruitment, resilience and retention of this essential workforce, and points us to places to learn from. Last year Ofsted published its verdict on Camden children’s services where my trust, the Tavistock and Portman, works in partnership with the council and its schools. The trust supports social workers by providing expertise and training and our staff are integrated in frontline social work and early help teams.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Click on the official URL above to read this article. Published Fri 2 March 2018 |
| Subjects: | Children, Young People and Developmental Pyschology > Children and Families - Social Work Social Welfare > Social Welfare Personnel Social Welfare > Social Work |
| Department/People: | Honorary Staff |
| URI: | https://repository.tavistockandportman.ac.uk/id/eprint/1772 |
Actions (Library Staff login required)
 |
View Item |