BASW has described comments made by Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw that social workers need to send out “tough messages” about taking responsibility to parents “who behave badly” as an...
BASW England's report for the February PSW
Social workers working with children or adults with learning difficulties, autism and challenging behaviour are being asked to contact BASW about their experiences, both good and bad.
Following the untimely death of Paul Goggins MP, BASW Chief Executive Bridget Robb has paid tribute to Paul for his contribution to social work.
The ambitions of the Social Work Task Force set up to reform social work in England in the wake of Peter Connolly’s death have been hampered by austerity cuts.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) is the charity which promotes and supports Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD). 27 January is the day for everyone to remember the millions of people killed in the...
The “scapegoating” of Sharon Shoesmith is symbolic of the political interference suffered by social workers across the UK, BASW’s Chief Executive Bridget Robb said. Ms Robb claimed there was a “knee-...
As Birmingham City Council unveiled its strategy to improve services for children and young people, BASW called on the Government and its team of advisors sent in to the local authority to support...
As Human Rights Day is celebrated all over the world today, BASW Professional Officer Nushra Mansuri pays tribute to Nelson Mandela. She writes …
BASW England report – January 2014 ... message from Maris Stratulis (new BASW England Manager), Media Coverage, Alcohol and Other Drugs Special Interest Group Event and Membership Involvement ...
BASW Professional Officer Sue Kent welcomes the news that looked after children can stay with their foster carers up to the age of 21 years rather than be forced to become independent at the age of...
The ability of social workers to keep children safe from harm has diminished, not improved, in the five years since the convictions in the case of Baby Peter Connelly in Haringey, the All Party...
Bridget Robb's response to media reports of an Italian woman who underwent a caesarean procedure while under sectioned under the Mental Health Act and whose baby remains in the care of Essex County...
BASW’s Chief Executive Bridget Robb praised social workers for not turning away from the people “many would rather forget”. Speaking at the 2013 Social Work of the Year Awards, Ms Robb said...
Responding to media reports that the children's services department in Birmingham City Council could be taken over by the Department for Education (DfE), Bridget Robb, Chief Executive of the British...
Writing for politics.co.uk, BASW Chief Executive Bridget Robb assesses a week of 'Govian spin' and the Department for Education's hijacking of the press conference into the Hamzah Khan Serious Case...
BASW has responded to the Government's strong criticism of the serious case review into the death of four-year-old Bradford boy Hamzah Khan by insisting that confusion over the purpose of such...
Winterbourne View social worker Brian Clarke has been struck off the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Register for his part in failing to act on repeated alerts about the treatment of...
BASW response to Gove's speech at the NSPCC on social work training.
BASW Chief Executive Bridget Robb offers her view on the current model of homecare commissioning.
In a speech to the National Children and Adults Services Conference (NCAS) in Harrogate last week, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said residential care should be is “a last rather than a first option”...
As West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield rules that neglect contributed to five out of 19 deaths at Orchid View care centre, and that the then Southern Cross run home was riddled with "...
As a joint BBC/ Community Care magazine investigation reveals a disturbing lack of beds available for people with mental health needs, BASW has likened the situation to a "crisis on the level of Mid-...
Responding to the publication of Ofsted’s first Social Care Annual Report following the end of the first full three-year cycle of inspections across local authorities in England, Bridget Robb, the...
As new research from charity Leonard Cheshire Disability shows the public agree that the practice of restricting care visits to elderly and disabled people to just 15 minutes is unacceptable, BASW...
Commenting on the conviction and today’s sentencing of Amanda Hutton for the manslaughter of her son Hamzah Khan, Bridget Robb, Chief Executive of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW)...
An “honest appraisal” of child protection is needed in Birmingham if the city is to tackle a “culture of failure” that has existed to long, BASW’s chief executive Bridget Robb said.
BASW has given a firm welcome to today’s strong support for the profession from the Prime Minister David Cameron in his speech to the Conservative party conference. Speaking in Manchester Mr Cameron...
As Ofsted publishes a new single inspection framework, BASW has raised questions about the potential negative impact changing the terminology used to describe current council ratings could have on...
Following the announcement by Health Minister Edwin Poots that there will be an inquiry into reportedly widespread child sexual exploitation in Northern Ireland, NIASW has raised concerns about the...
Local authorities need to free social workers from their rigid organisational structures if the profession is to achieve its full potential, BASW Chief Executive Bridget Robb told a Labour party...
Independent columnist and author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, Owen Jones, told a BASW fringe meeting at the Labour party conference that social workers have a major role to play...
One could be forgiven for thinking that social work is only about working with children and families. The Daniel Pelka serious case review (SCR) understandably monopolised headlines and as always...
As the Daniel Pelka Serious Case Review (SCR) is published, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has expressed concern that all child protection workers are not being given a chance to...
Frontline, the fast-track training scheme for ‘high-flying’ graduates is to accept applications for its first cohort of 100 candidates from 30 September. The date was revealed at a major launch event...
A recent BBC interview in which "Esther W", a member of the "W" family at the centre of the 1991 Orkney abuse scandal said she blames herself for not revealing the identity of her abuser shows the...
A landmark legal ruling allowing a father to publish a video online of social workers and police removing his child under an emergency protection order has prompted the British Association of Social...
The Mental Capacity Act offers vital safeguards for people unable to make decisions for themselves but its implementation is patchy and some professionals continue to show “blatant disregard” for the...
Social workers who have had enough of dangerous working conditions and threats to their unique role have contributed to a record increase in membership of their professional association. Membership...
BASW is supporting the Social Worker of the Year Awards 2013 in England, which this year will feature a judging panel that includes the two new Chief Social Workers and Professor Eileen Munro.
Sue Kent, BASW Professional Officer,looks at research findings from the National Children's Bureau (NCB) and The Nuffield Foundation suggesting that Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) are...
BASW England report – September 2013 ... missing children, Daniel Pelka, IROs, Duty of Candour, Mental Capacity Act, NOPT Conference and Ruth Cartwright bids farewell ...
BASW has welcomed Peter Hay's honesty for telling Birmingham councillors an “honest culture” within the council’s child protection services is needed.
The decision to appoint Donald Forrester as Lead Professor for a new Frontline Academy as the Frontline HEI provider is clearly an important further step for this developing initiative. BASW will...
On the day that Magdelena Luczak, the mother of Daniel Pelka and her partner Mariusz Krezolek were both given life sentences at Birmingham Crown Court, BASW has urged that this tragic case not be...
Social workers are in desperate need of specialist training in how to spot the warning signs that a child is being targeted for sexual abuse online, a survey by the British Association of Social...
After a government-commissioned report said that children’s services in Doncaster should no longer be run by the council, BASW has cautioned that the initiative must not mirror current structures if...
In June, Nushra Mansuri attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Children, featuring the launch of a report called Are Children and Young People...
Commenting on Louise Casey’s speech to the Local Government Association about social workers “colluding with families”, Ruth Cartwright, England Manager for the British Association of Social Workers...
Managers are increasingly focusing on social workers with good admin and IT skills rather than their ability to do assessments, the Mayor of Derby warned at the opening of BASW's AGM.
The Mayor of the City of Derby, Councillor Fareed Hussain, will be speaking at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the city of the British Association of Social Workers, the UK's largest professional...
Responding to the publication of the Comprehensive Spending Review for 2015/16, BASW said
Ahead of Wednesday’s Comprehensive Spending Review, social workers warned their ability to protect families will be compromised and civil unrest could ensue if further cutbacks to social services are...
As the Care Quality Commission (CQC) hits the headlines for failing to properly inspect maternity and children’s services at NHS Morecambe Bay, and for suppressing a critical report, Ruth Cartwright...
One important aspect of the Social Work Reform Board’s work was the development of Employer Standards, which laid out how employers should support and deal with their social work staff. At one point...
BASW's Interim Chief Executive Bridget Robb challenges findings of a report claiming the future of the social work profession is "bleak".
Sensationalist and stereotyped reporting of sex offenders will not help us to comprehend their behaviour - instead it actually makes it harder to protect children, argues BASW's press officer in the...
Social worker Janet Foulds writes on the release of the PACT/ CEOP report Taken,which calls for a revamp of ‘stranger-danger’ warnings in the wake of findings which show that in 42 per cent of police...
Sadly child sexual exploitation is in the news wherever we look at the moment, whether in relation to criminal trials concerning the murder of young girls, the prosecution of gangs of men (Oxford...