New figures released by the NSPCC show that reports of neglect to its helpline have doubled over the last two years to reach record levels.
Commenting on new research from Cafcass that claims that local authorities are acting more quickly to process care applications.
Gillie Christou and Maria Ward , two social workers involved in the case of Baby Peter Connelly, have lost their appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that they were fairly sacked, prompting...
Commenting on Professor Eileen Munro’s progress report into the review of the child protection system.
BASW member Janet Foulds has written a Guardian blog "Child grooming – what social workers should know".
Read BASW’s latest Huffington Post blog Our social workers are cleaning toilets instead of protecting children.
BASW has called for a “sustained governmental commitment” to child protection following the publication of a serious case review examining the circumstances prior to the murder of five-year-old Tyler...
BASW has expressed concern at the government’s publication of adoption scorecards, which rank local authorities on how long children in their care wait to be adopted.
BASW has responded to media stories about social workers standing in the way of adopted parents being able to change the name of the children they adopt by emphasising the importance of maintaining...
My initial reaction to news that the Draft Care and Support Bill had made it into the Queen’s Speech was one of relief followed by disappointment that there was no mention of attempting to resolve...
BASW has expressed disappointment at the conclusion of the Health Professions Council (HPC) that registration of social work students by the same body that regulates qualified practitioners is not...
Read BASW’s latest Huffington Post blog which poses the question “Why do we only take notice of our teenagers when rapists are convicted?”
Elderly and disabled people are being left ‘in quiet desperation, trying to cope alone, often ending up in hospital or crisis care’.
The BASW UK AGM 2012 This will be held on Thursday 14th June 2012, at Novotel Hotel, Birmingham, B1 2HT
Social workers are being encouraged to get their nominations in for the 2012 Social Worker of the Year Awards.
With evidence gathering for the white paper on adult social care drawing to a close this week, in BASW’s latest blog for the Huffington Post, the Association urges the government to “buck the trend...
Following pressure from a number of concerned groups including BASW, the UK Border Agency has been forced to suspend a dental x-ray pilot scheme to determine the age of child asylum seekers.
BASW has welcomed the advertising of a vacancy for the position of chief social worker within the Westminster government.
BASW has highlighted the pressures facing social work teams in the wake of Torbay’s children’s services coming under the spotlight for the fact that two out of five children at risk are not being...
Commenting on Cafcass figures showing that the number of local council care applications has passed 10,000 for the first time.
The important role of independent social workers in family court proceedings won support from a high court judge at a Family Justice Review Public Summit.
The Department of Health (DoH) is inviting BASW members to comment on how better to support families who are worried that a loved one is at risk, and also those who are coping with the aftermath of a...
A Public Law Summit on the Family Justice Review (FJR) heard an upbeat assessment of the potential for an “effective, powerful College of Social Work”.
BASW has welcomed aspects of an Ofsted report into the causes of delays in the adoption system, a document that found adoptive parents to be happy with the overall service offered by professionals.
BASW has restated its reservations about the dangers of integration as the UK’s largest merger of local authority and NHS care services prepares to go live.
BASW has set out the four cornerstones for improving the effectiveness of serious case reviews, following sharp government criticisms of the serious case review (SCR) into the case of two boys who...
Social workers should resist “becoming de-politicised and part of the status quo” and must not be afraid of reclaiming community work even though it has a reputation as “too radical”, a leading...
Welcoming this morning’s announcement that dementia funding is to be more than doubled by 2015.
Social workers should be given a more integral role in supporting teams of workers who assist with natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies.
Disillusioned by the “process bound approach” of working for a local authority, a social worker has told BASW England’s World Social Work Day event how setting up as an independent social worker had...
Social workers must recognise the key role their profession can play in the ongoing fight for social justice, attendees at a Westminster launch of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social...
As social workers mark World Social Work Day today, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) issues a warning about a twin threat to both the profession in England, and to service users.
The philosophy of social pedagogy is largely alien to the UK’s care system, yet as social workers mark World Social Work Day, it is a good time to consider how much we could learn from how the...
BASW has expressed concern that senior figures in social care aren’t “prepared to rock the boat” and tackle the culture revealed by a Which? report.
Practitioners from across the public and voluntary sector gathered in the Long Gallery of Parliament Buildings, Stormont – home of the Northern Ireland Assembly – to celebrate World Social Work Day...
Early intervention with families of infant children living in high-risk child protection situations has a proven impact on outcomes and can dramatically reduce public spending on future offenders.
Most children in care believe their lives are better for being removed from their families but want more support in making the transition to adulthood, according to a report.
BASW has responded to the latest government plans to reform the adoption system in England by insisting that a child’s right to the best possible outcome should not be sacrificed in a “knee-jerk”...
Ofsted has now revealed that adoption breakdown will be factored into inspections, despite no reference to this issue when it announced that only local authorities who place children for adoption...
BASW has endorsed the views of Graham Hodkinson, director of Adult Services at Wirral Council, in which he emphasised the importance of social work in the local authority’s future performance.
BASW has called for the proper regulation of all private fostering arrangements in the wake of the convictions of Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu for the murder of 15-year-old Kristy Bamu
BASW is one of a number of organisations who submitted evidence to the commission for dignity in care draft report, which has just been published.
In a response to the Health Professions Council’s (HPC) consultation on student registration, BASW has stated that scrapping the social work student register would pose a risk to service users.
In a move claimed to ‘speed up’ the adoption process, Ofsted have announced that local authorities will only be given an outstanding rating, if they place children for adoption within 12 months.
England’s Children’s Rights Director Roger Morgan has released the annual children’s care monitor.
The Children’s Society have published a report, I Don’t Feel Human, about the shocking levels of destitution among refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children and young people in the UK.
Ahead of the government’s adoption action plan, due to be published next month, in a speech at the Isaac Newton Centre today, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, has reignited the...
Care Quality Commission (CQC) chief executive Cynthia Bower has resigned her post as a critical Department of Health report is published.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has announced that 1.6 million council workers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will have their pay frozen for the third year in a row.
Nominations are now open for members to put themselves forward for the England Committee.
The final programme in the three-part Protecting our Children series on BBC2 gave further insight into some of the difficult cases that arise so often within children and families social work.
New statistics from Cafcass reporting record numbers of children being referred to social services have sparked widespread debate in the media, even drawing in ITV’s flagship daytime show, This...
Commenting on Cafcass’ announcement that the number of children referred into care in England has hit a record high, Sue Kent, BASW professional officer, said: “It is necessary that referrals are on...
BASW professional officer Sue Kent shares her perspective on the second of the three Protecting our Children documentaries on BBC2.
A major event in Perth on 20 March offers social workers a chance to advance their professional development while joining with fellow professionals across the globe in marking World Social Work Day.
BASW has responded to the government’s decision to reject the stance of the Family Justice Review and press ahead with legislation that would enshrine the rights of both parents to have access to...
Social workers have reacted strongly to the first episode of ‘Protecting Our Children’ on BBC2, a documentary following the case of a family in Bristol subject to the intervention of the council’s...
The Social Workers’ Educational Trust is encouraging social workers to apply for one of two £1,500 grants for undertaking research into key areas of practice.
Ahead of the first episode of ‘Protecting Our Children’ on BBC2 on Monday, BASW urged local authorities to follow Bristol City Council’s example in allowing cameras to follow their social workers as...
Following lobbying from the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), an All Party Parliamentary Social Work Group has held its first meeting, a move aimed at moving social work higher up the...