Hi Sophie, I have tried to email you on the above address you provided to another user but states undelivered. Please would have time to have a discussion with me about independent social work. I am in adult services thou

I have been a social worker for 31 years and for the past 12 years, I have been an independent practice teacher (or practice educator) and we have not had a pay rise for about 4 years and two years ago our daily placement fee was cut by 33%. What price social work education eh?

However, the job satisfaction is immense and and yes Brendan I am “a shining light for social workers” so my students tell me.

This is the direct outcome of political rhetoric, the idea that something must be done, every time something bad happens. It results in measuring outcomes so that there can be no more failings, failings which are ascribed to the individual SW, but which are systemic.

The result is that social workers have to be improved, by replacing the current underperforming cohort with fast track graduates – I have no problem with there being multiple access points to SW or to Frontline, just the narrative which implies it is the optimum way to produce SW.

To acknowledge the systemic issues, including those compounded by cuts and austerity, would be for politicians to also have to face the fact that they created those issues. Easier to blame the public servant, when the very nature of public service has been translated into fat cat pension hungry slothful workers, rather than those who are happy to be of services to the public.

Not quite sure what you mean by your comment Brendan. There is a difference between agency SW and independent SW. Agency SW are affected by IR35 and are employed by LAs, as well as other agencies. Independent SW are independent of the LA, they would be commissioned to write an independent parenting assessment for example, for a case in care proceedings, because they are independent of the LA.

That’s great, Sophie, I will be in touch!

At the end of the day, we all have to make decisions that we deem fit to our livestyles because if you lose the essence of who you are as a person because of work commitments, in my view this is a loss not only to your families but to the profession itself.

Next time this author should do an article about how much money they are charging councils for their services and the staff who have had to be laid off to fund their writing or reports from cosy home offices!!