Approach offer holder portal
Congratulations on securing an offer for Approach Social Work! This page will serve as a central location for resources to assist you in navigating through our pre-programme checks. In the run up to the programme, this is the space where we will continue adding the resources and tools you need to prepare for your journey into social work, so watch this space.
Our mission
Frontline is a charity with a mission to make life better for children at risk of harm, by improving the services that support them.
Hundreds of thousands of children experience or are at risk from abuse and neglect at home, sexual and criminal exploitation outside the home, and other harms. For these children, the right support and protection can make all the difference.
That’s why we develop excellent practice and leadership in social work and other children’s services. And we are cultivating innovative new approaches to child protection and driving positive systems change for children.
The Approach Social Work bulletin
The Approach Social Work bulletin is the regular update from Frontline – with important information about your pre-employment checks, local authority placement and the summer institute.
It is imperative that you read each edition as this will contain important information and actions that you won’t be able to start the programme without completing.
Preparing for social work – webinars
To support you to prepare for the programme and social work in general, we’re running a short series of webinars throughout the spring. You’ll need to catch up on these before July, and you’ll find the session recordings added here.
A typical week on Approach Social Work
Starting your social work journey and becoming a participant on Approach Social Work is often a big life change, and it can be hard to imagine what life will be like in year one. Now’s your chance to see what a typical week on the programme can look like and how varied each day can be.
Information guides
We’ll link here any information or guidance that you’ll need to navigate our pre-programmes checks so that you can access information in one central place.
Family rooms at the residential – information doc
Participant shadowing guidance
Year one participant hardship fund guidance
Withdrawal and deferral guidance
Bursary and finance information
Additional FAQs
We’ll try and upload the answers to popular FAQs we’re hearing from you,
Q: Do social workers often have to take on a case midway through? What would be the reasons for that, and is that more challenging?
A: In local authorities there are different arrangements for the way in which teams are configured to provide a service to children and families; this means that it is unusual for a family to work only with one worker from the beginning to the end of involvement.
Social workers may also take over supporting families partway through a plan due to staff sickness, turnover, or routine reallocation. Picking up an allocation to work with a family where work is ongoing can be challenging for social workers, but more so for families who have to start over again, building trust with someone new and explaining their circumstances. It can however provide an opportunity for a fresh start for both parties, so is not always a negative step.
– Helen, Principal Practice Tutor
Q: How much input in court proceedings do social workers have beyond submitting reports or evidence? Do social workers step back once a court case begins or do they stay involved throughout the process?
A: Social workers provide a statutory role working with children and families in a range of circumstances. This means that there are times that social workers provide evidence for court, both in public and private proceedings. Once you are qualified, if you have been asked to provide evidence to court in the form of a written statement, or are the child’s allocated social worker responsible for writing the court care plan, you may also be required to attend court and to give oral evidence.
Local authorities have different arrangements for where the bulk of the court work takes place, depending on how teams are arranged. This may mean that children are allocated a social worker in the children in care team once care proceedings are issued, in other areas the assessment teams will work with families through proceedings, or there may be a specific court team.
In your first year of the Approach programme, there may be opportunities to shadow experienced workers in court or to be involved in some co-working where the court has ordered an assessment is completed. This will support your learning and development as you move into the ASYE (Assessed and Supported Year of Employment).
– Helen, Principal Practice Tutor
Q: What are the flexible working policies like in local authorities?
A: Local authorities have varied working from home policies, so it will depend on where your placement is. On the programme, in year one you’re a student on placement at the local authority and still learning the role, so you’ll need to be office based so that you have a rich learning environment surrounded by experienced social workers, and so that the local authority can ensure you’re practicing in a safe manner. In years two and three some of our local authority partners allow flexibility in working from home, depending on the operational requirements of the service and the organisational policies.
Q: How many teams do you work within in your first year before qualification?
A: In the first year of the programme, you’ll stay with the same team for the whole year and the majority of our placements are in long-term safeguarding teams. In the second and third year, you’ll move into a newly qualified social worker role, and the exact team you’ll be in will depend on where your local authority has roles available. Most of our partners will try to take into account your preferences and interest when assigning you to posts, but most of our participants stay in long term teams. In larger local authorities, you may also move offices in the second and third years, depending on where you’re based and where they most need social workers.
Q: Is it common to face negative attitudes towards social work from families/others in general?
A: It’s no secret that social work isn’t always presented in the most positive light and you will sometimes have to think about and address this in your work with families. Often families can be nervous or fearful about the involvement of social workers or be unsure of why we are involved and what our intentions are. Often, having a thoughtful and careful conversation about the families’ previous experiences with social workers or their worries about having social workers involved can resolve some of the families’ worries and begin to address any negative ideas they have about social workers. Being clear about our role and what might happen in the future in our work with a family also ensures that families really understand why we’re in their lives and makes sure that we have a shared understanding of the work that we need to do together.
When you start your social work journey, you will be joined by your CSW on all of your early visits to families and they will be able to model these kinds of conversations then slowly support you to take the lead in having them yourself. Ultimately, whenever we meet a family, we have an opportunity to practice in a way that undermines negative stereotypes of social workers by treating families with care, dignity and respect.
– Natasha, Practice Tutor
Q: What happens if you feel unsafe during a home visit? What precautions can social workers take to prevent being in those situations?
A: Firstly, in your placement, you will never been sent out to a family on your own straight away. Your initial home visits will be done jointly your CSW or with an experienced social worker. Through observing and receiving this support, your confidence in home visits will build and you’ll learn more about how to navigate situations. However, there are rare occasions where you may feel unsafe. Your CSW and team should have a system to ensure people know where you are and that you are able to check-in after home visits. It may be called ‘the lone worker’ policy. Within this, there should be guidance for if you feel unsafe on a home visit.
In my experience, I’ve thought about where I sit in a room, maybe close to an exit door. Or I’ve said to the family “I just need to step outside to call my manager”. Or within the home visit, you can call a manager or colleague and ask them a coded question like “can you check if I left my paperwork in the purple folder”. Most teams have a coded question like this that will alert people to you feeling unsafe/in danger. Despite all of this, I must stress that these are not frequent occurrences and I would say trust in the relational skills you will develop on the programme as the main tool for navigating difficult situations.
– Eugene, Practice Tutor