Ruth Allen, BASW CEO, reflects on the year and looks forward to 2021.

"Throughout the last nine months I have often been in awe at the fortitude, positivity and creativity from social workers in the UK and across the world.

"It has been a privilege to be involved in developing more and different support to social workers and students, to adapt as an organisation and try really hard to stay attuned to what is most important.

"If we learn nothing else from this pandemic, I hope we have all learnt the importance of looking after ourselves in the midst of acting for others."

Let's Talk Social Work Podcast

In the second of our two episodes produced to celebrate Human Rights Day, Lord Alf Dubs joins Andy McClenaghan to discuss his work campaigning for the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers, and in particular, the rights of unaccompanied asylum-seeking Children.

Among the issues discussed is how to productively engage with individuals who are hostile to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers, in order to encourage outlooks characterised by compassion rather than fear.

An urgent legal letter has been sent to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, requesting that individuals with learning disabilities be granted priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine on an equal basis with other highly vulnerable adults. 

BASW England has joined other civil society organisations in calling for this change to be made. Whilst individuals with severe and profound learning disabilities are on the priority vaccine list, autistic children and adults do not fit into this category nor do people with moderate learning disabilities, which is why the Government needs to recognise a range of different needs – not just clinical ones.

New research commissioned by BASW England and the Department of Health and Social Care reveals a significant increase in people accessing mental health services during the first lockdown.

The Impact of Covid-19 on AMHP services survey is the first to provide significant information on the role of Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHP) during the pandemic and the changing pressures on the service.

By Rebekah Pierre, BASW England Professional Officer#

We live in a world full of noise - yet as a society, we lack the ability to truly listen. 

This is especially true when it comes to those whose needs differ from our own - such as the deaf community, which remains one of the most marginalised groups in the UK despite making up around 9 million of the population.

As social workers, we may believe we are exceptions to the rule when it comes to our treatment of the deaf community; after all, anti-discriminatory practice is enshrined into our values and ethics. 

But the reality is, deaf awareness training is not mandatory in social work practice. Which begs the question - how can we inspire change if we are not listening?

Find out more about BASW's Deaf Awareness in Child Protection Social Work webinar on 7 January 2021

By Kerri Prince, BASWs Public and Political Affairs Lead

"There has been some public debate about whether the Christmas relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions is a good idea and arguments in favour of stricter measures – but it doesn’t look like Boris Johnson will change course. Instead, it looks like there may be a third England lockdown after Christmas, with Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland free to choose which course they wish to take."

Support a homeless shelter this Winter

Please do support fundraising for homeless shelters across the UK by sharing festive wishes with a specially designed Clare in the Community eCard by Harry Venning

Thursday, 7 January 2021 - 12:30pm to 1:45pm

Members - Free Non-Members - £12 (inc VAT)

BASW is proud to partner with Sign Health to deliver this webinar. It is designed to provide deaf awareness training to social workers, and will cover how to promote best practice when working with deaf children and families, including how strengths and risks can present differently, common barriers to fair participation in child protection processes, how to address communication needs . An overview of deaf culture and dynamics in deaf-hearing relationships will also be discussed. This will be followed by an open Q&A session.

Thursday, 28 January 2021 - 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Members - Free Non-Members - £12 (inc VAT)

Sian Eynon-Jones, Social Worker and PhD Candidate in Swansea University will be sharing her research on the subject of vicarious trauma in the social work profession alongside Allison Hulmes, National Director, BASW Cymru.

The webinar aims to give you an introduction to vicarious trauma, explaining its underlying theory, how it manifests and its relevance to social work. Sian will share some of her initial findings whilst linking them to the theory and also the organisational responses of what may help social workers.

Thursday, 11 February 2021 - 9:30am to 12:30pm

BASW student & NQSW special offer price of £10 + VAT (£12) || Non member student & NQSW £49 + VAT (£58.80)

***Session for Practice Assessors only***

This 3-hour session is designed for Practice Assessors (PA’s) of Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSW’s) nationwide undertaking their initial post-qualifying year in practice.

The session outlines the requirements of Practice Assessors in terms of assessing the progress of their NQSW via observations of practice, written work, service user and professional feedback.

We Are Human Too is a collection of self-advocacy groups campaigning to stop the abuse of people with learning disabilities and autistic people in hospitals.

The group, which was founded following the Whorlton Hall abuse scandal, has released a video explaining why action is on this issue is needed now.