I am delighted, as I approach the end of my first year as Chair, to wish you a merry Christmas and thank you for your incredible work during what has been a very challenging period for our profession. 2020 changed all our lives, and while the impacts on society have been severe, social workers have demonstrated compassion, adaptability and tenacity under the most trying of circumstances.
 
I also want to thank you for your support. You have placed your trust in BASW NI, and the Association will persist in working hard on your behalf throughout 2021 and beyond. Central to these efforts will be continuing to extend BASW NI’s influence, further shaping our profession, and ensuring social work is recognised for the vital role it plays locally, nationally and internationally.
 
Key to strengthening the voice of social work will be implementing the recommendations of the ground-breaking report, Shaping Social Workers’ Identity: An All-Ireland Study. Produced in partnership with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, IASW and CORU, the research presents the views of social workers across all of Ireland, providing valuable insight into how we identify as a profession throughout the many diverse roles we perform. If you haven’t yet read the report, I would warmly encourage you to do so.
 
Over the past year BASW NI’s standing as the trusted voice of social work has seen its influence increase at the political level. The Association has raised key issues of concern for our members at meetings with the Ministers for Health and Communities, as well as during oral evidence sessions with the Assembly’s Health, Education and Communities Committees.
 
Throughout 2019/20 BASW NI campaigned on the matter of the Universal Credit two-child limit and the implications of the associated ‘rape clause’ exemption in relation to Section 5 of the Criminal Law Act 1967. Our efforts to reduce bureaucracy in social work remain undeterred and the need for appropriate workforce planning remain on our agenda for 2021. We are confident your concerns are being heard by policymakers and politicians alike.
 
BASW NI has also played an important role in representing our profession on the Duty of Candour workstream, a key part of the HSC Inquiry into Hyponatraemia Related Deaths Implementation Programme. We expect to see the outcomes of this work in the coming months.
 
Our membership has continued to grow over the past year and our ongoing engagement with members has enabled us to provide training and develop a range of professional interest groups. Adapting to the challenge of COVID-19 led to the creation of our online Communities of Practice and the development of many fantastic, informative podcasts where an array of issues pertinent to our profession are discussed. I am also proud to announce our mentoring service is now available—please encourage and support each other to engage with this valuable service.
 
Merry Christmas to you and your families with every best wish for 2021.
 
Orlaith McGibbon, Chair

Ulster University academics Dr Paula McFadden and Dr Patricia Gillen are conducting research examining the quality of working life, social and emotional wellbeing and methods of coping among social workers, nurses, midwives, AHPs, and social care workers who are working in the UK during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
 
This is the second phase of a three-phase study and you can complete the phase two survey irrespective of whether you participated in phase one of the research.
 
BASW NI is encouraging members to take part in the 15-minute survey and to share the questionnaire link with your social worker and social care worker friends and colleagues, who work in the UK.
 
For further information about the research, please contact Dr Paula McFadden on p.mcfadden@ulster.ac.uk or Dr Patricia Gillen on p.gillen@ulster.ac.uk 

Following a recent PiP partnership workshop, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council has invited BASW NI members to contribute to a discussion on each of the routes to achievement; the challenges, the benefits and how the current PiP Framework could be improved to suit the individual needs of social workers in practice.

This will be a one-off event and will take place online in January.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Martina Jordan, BASW NI Professional Officer.

Meeting details to follow.

On Wednesday 9 December, BASW NI National Director, Carolyn Ewart, and Andy McClenaghan, BASW NI Public Affairs and Communications Officer, gave oral evidence to the NI Assembly Committee for Education concerning restrictive practice, seclusion and restraint in schools.

The session provided an opportunity to outline the impacts on children and families as a result of restraint and seclusion, detail alternative approaches and highlight examples of where guidance in relation to restraint and seclusion exists elsewhere.
 
The session was recorded and can watched online.

The Department of Justice is consulting on proposals for creating new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Protection Orders aimed at enhancing the protection available to victims of domestic abuse. The consultation document can be accessed on the Department of Justice website.

The deadline to respond to the consultation is 12 February 2021. If you would like to cntribute to BASW NI's response please contact Andy McClenaghan, BASW NI Public Affairs and Communications Offier.