identified poverty as one of the top structural problems impacting the lives of children and families they work with
of respondents said they had seen a rise in young people being at risk of extra-familial harm
of respondents feel that they are perceived negatively by the public
The social workers we spoke to generally feel able to do their jobs, but not to the fullest extent.
We asked what the core purpose of social work is. Over two fifths (40%) of respondents said to support families and a third (33%) said to safeguard children.
Encouragingly, over 80% of respondents said they feel able to achieve what they believe the purpose of social work is to at least some extent. However, only one in ten (11%) said they can achieve it to a great extent.
Social workers reported several barriers preventing them from doing their job well. The most common was high caseloads (number of children they support), with two thirds (65%) reporting it as an issue.
In line with this, three out of five respondents said they don’t think they see each child who they are responsible for often enough.
These barriers are clearly having an impact not just on outcomes for children, but on social workers themselves.
of respondents said they can achieve their job’s purpose to a great extent
said they don’t think they see each child that they are responsible for often enough
who have been in the role for one to two years said they plan to leave in the next two to three years
Survey respondentThe public perception of social work is one of the biggest barriers to working with families. There remains a stigma to having social work involvement and there are so many myths and misconceptions held.
To reduce pressure on families and therefore children’s services, national and local government must make child safety a priority, starting with tackling child poverty and extra-familial harm.
At a local level, the support available to families needs to be improved, through better social work leadership, improved workplace culture, joined-up services and more time spent with families.
A national campaign is needed to change the perception of social work as a profession. This would increase the appeal of social work as a career, help existing social workers feel appreciated and challenge the stigma families face when they have a social worker.
Survey respondentI love knowing that I am doing everything in my power to ensure that the children I work with have a happier and safer life. I also love when I can support a family to make positive change.