Making social work ‘work’ for children and families

Social workers play one of the most important roles in our society. But children’s social work is under enormous strain. Demands of bureaucracy, high caseloads, and turnover of staff limit the ability of social workers to remain child-focussed, which is vital to ensure the safety of vulnerable children.

How can your donation help?

Your donation will enable lasting change to happen in the social work system to benefit children and families. Donate here.

Improving social work practice and bringing innovation into the profession

Our Fellowship (alumni) is the network of social workers who have been trained by Frontline and are our most powerful driver for change. The Fellowship is a significant resource for sharing knowledge and skills, and spreading innovation. Fellows are addressing social disadvantage through their role as social workers or in aligned organisations.

Developing outstanding individuals to be leaders in social work

• Coaching programme for newly qualified social workers – Experienced and professional coaches give social workers the support and tools to navigate their way through a complex system at a crucial stage in their career. Not only does coaching directly improve support for children and families, it contributes to higher retention on the Frontline programme.

• Firstline programme for social work managers (10% philanthropically funded) – We are working towards a child-centred system, driven by outstanding social work managers. This important group on our Firstline programme are positively disrupting the social work system from within, driving change, and ensuring that the voice of the child is heard. Managers inspire and energise their teams in difficult circumstances, and have a profound impact on the way social work is delivered to children and families.

• Leadership series for the Frontline network – We expose our audience to leading thinkers inside and outside of social work through events, blogs and podcasts. Our aim is to inspire our network to apply leadership in any situation, regardless of their role. The leadership series brings together a broad social community, sparking debate and conversation.

Raising the status of the profession

Although its status is showing signs of improvement, social work is still not viewed as an attractive career choice. Through press activity, public affairs and regional outreach, we are challenging the traditional view of social work and bringing top graduates and career changers into the profession.

Charity independence

Philanthropic income allows us to remain independent as a charity and organisation. This is important to deliver our wider mission to drive lasting change in the social work system. Our fundraising return on investment is 10:1. For each £1 spent on fundraising, £10 goes on our work to transform the profession for children and families.

Government funding

Given the national priority placed on the recruitment of social workers, we work closely with the government to fund training of talented individuals to be social workers and to bring more people into the profession. Find out more about our Frontline and Firstline programmes.