In the second episode of our new ‘Social work around the world‘ miniseries, we continue the conversation with Yohai Hakak, senior social work lecturer at Brunel University, London, who shares some fascinating insights about his time as a mental health social worker in Israel.

In case you missed it, you can listen to episode one – about Hakak’s research into migration by social workers – here.

In episode two, Hakak, who was born and raised in Israel, discusses the differences between social work in Israel and in England. He talks about his work at a psychiatric hospital in Jerusalem, as well as discussing his PhD, which was focused on Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.

He describes how certain communities, such as Mizrahi Jews, Palestinians and Ultra-Orthodox Jews, are often marginalised in Israel and how those groups made up most of his patients.

As well as this, Hakak discusses a journal article he wrote about social services’ involvement in interfaith relationships in Israel.

A must listen!

A new podcast miniseries focusing on social workers from around the world launches this week.

The number of overseas social workers in the UK has grown significantly in recent years. According to Social Work England data, the number of international practitioners applying to register to practise in England went up by 175% from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

This new podcast miniseries, part of season three of The Social Work Community Podcast, focuses on the differences in social work between the UK and other countries, as well as the challenges social workers have faced emigrating.

It kicks off with Community Care’s careers editor, Sharmeen Ziauddin, speaking to senior social work lecturer at Brunel University Yohai Hakak, who is conducting a research project looking at the migration of social workers to and from the UK*.

Hakak is also part of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Diaspora Social Workers special interest group.

Watch the teaser on Instagram. 

He explains why he is carrying out this research and gives an insight into a few of the many differences in social work between England and other parts of the world.

Are migrating social workers being perceived as experts who can enrich local practice with new approaches and perspectives? Or are they seen as a necessary compromise, and are mainly judged by the length of time they require to adjust to local practice contexts? (Hakak et al, 2023).

These are some of the questions that the podcast aims to answer.

What else is coming up?

The second episode continues with Hakak talking about his experience of practising as a mental health social worker in Israel.

Hakak describes how the marginalisation of particular communities, such as Mizrahi Jews, Ultra-Orthodox Jews and Palestinians, can influence their mental health.

Both episodes are out this week.

Future episodes will feature social workers from Australia, America, India and many more countries.

*The Brunel University study on social work migration is ongoing; if you want to take part, visit this page.

In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah speaks to two social workers who started their careers in a different profession altogether.

Monisola Osibogun and Pam Shodeinde are both social workers in children’s services who both began their working lives in law.

We find out why they made the move, what core skills they’ve been able to take from their former profession into social work and what keeps them in the sector.

Listen to “Career transitions: From law to social work – the experiences of two practitioners” on Spreaker.

Read the transcript of the interview here.

About the podcast

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.

Kirsty and fellow host, careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.

The first season went down a storm and was nominated in the 2024 British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.

We have since launched season two, during which we have covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.

Although the podcast is available on major podcast platforms, Social Work Community members will get special early access to each episode.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.

Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following :

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

We are back with another live episode of the Social Work Community Podcast – this time from Wiltshire adult social care. The session took place at Community Care Live 2024.

In this episode you will hear from Abbie-Jo Lawrence, who not only works for local disabled people’s organisation Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living (Wiltshire CIL) but also uses Wiltshire adult social care’s services.

This session is about how people with care and support needs and practitioners can work together, through co-production, to enable disabled people in Wiltshire to be able to live the life they want.

In this session, Abbie-Jo and colleagues from Wiltshire Council and Wiltshire CIL talk about practical ways to enable this to happen, such as by changing assessment forms and language. They explain how working together has improved the lives of adults with disabilities.

You will also hear the Q&A segment at the end.

Listening to this episode will benefit anyone who works in adult social care. And don’t forget, this podcast episode also counts as CPD.

The workshop was hosted by Kaylie Chapman, principal social worker at Wiltshire Council adult social care.

Taking part were:

• Dan Wilkins – head of transformation and quality assurance
• Leila Dickson – assistant team manager in the advice and contact team
• Abbie-Jo Lawrence – pioneer from Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living
• Rachael Hanwell – SEND resource facilitator at Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living

Listen to “From Community Care Live: How to co-create inclusive environments in adult social care” on Spreaker.

Read the transcription here.

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives. You will hear directly from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.

Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

Welcome to The Social Work Community Podcast’s mini-series, ‘Ask the experts’, where we put your careers questions to three social work experts.

In this episode, Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a social worker who has lost enthusiasm and motivation in the area she works in.

This episode is hosted by Ruth Hardy-Mullings, head of content at Community Care.

If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, send us an email at careersadvice@markallengroup.com.

Read past questions from social workers and our experts’ responses here.

Here is a clip from the podcast where Ruth reads out the letter from the social worker.

Listen to whole episode on The Social Work Community.

It’s that time of year! And to celebrate, we recorded a Christmas special for The Social Work Community Podcast.

The social work sector and the face of Community Care have both changed a lot over the past 50 years. As it is Community Care’s 50th birthday year, we got some of the longest-standing members of the our team together for this one-off special.

For this episode, I sat down with three colleagues, who, together, have been at Community Care for a whopping 80-plus years!

All three were fairly resistant to the idea of recording an episode, but with some sweet-talking I managed to persuade Mithran Samuel, editor of Community Care, Natalie Valios, senior content editor on Inform Adults, and Nicky Davies, head of partnerships and events, to come to our London office one morning for a chat.

About the guests

Mithran started at Community Care 20 years ago as chief reporter, and has since moved up the ranks to his current role as editor. Mithran writes the majority of news stories on the site as well as bearing overall responsibility for the Community Care websute.

Natalie started over 30 years ago, in 1993, as a sub-editor, and worked in different editorial roles. She left Community Care in 2009 for a brief hiatus and then came back –  she simply could not stay away!

Nicky joined in the late 80s in a sales job and has since progressed to her current role, overseeing a rewarding career of 36 years.

Listen now for a real “behind the scenes” episode:

Listen to “Christmas special ” on Spreaker.

Read the transcript here.

Sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.

Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

In this thought-provoking and emotive episode of The Social Work Community, recorded at this year’s Community Care Live, you will hear about the importance of a parent’s journey while considering their own child’s life story.

You will hear first-hand the experiences some parents have had and how practitioners can gain a better understanding of the impact positive life stories can have on both parents and children.

Social worker Rachel Thomas and Pause practitioner Julia Williams, both from Wiltshire Council, narrate Laura’s story to a live audience. Laura, who gave up her baby up for adoption, went through a tough time and her story shows how she was supported by professionals every step of the way.

Callum, a father and someone who spent some of his childhood in care, talks about how his key worker, Ceri Evans, through the Dads Matter Too project, helped him overcome his personal challenges and become the dad he wanted to be.

Listen to “The legacy and impact of life story from a parent’s perspective” on Spreaker.

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives. You will hear directly from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.

Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

Welcome to The Social Work Community Podcast’s new mini-series, ‘Ask the experts’, where we put your careers questions to three social work experts.

In this episode, Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a practitioner asking for advice on how to secure an interview for an assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) role.

This episode is hosted by Ruth Hardy-Mullings, head of content at Community Care.

If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, send us an email at careersadvice@markallengroup.com.

You can follow all the ‘Ask the experts’ questions and responses on The Social Work Community.

Read past questions from social workers and our experts’ responses here.

Here is a clip from the podcast where one of our experts, Claire Barcham, gives her advice:

Listen to whole episode on The Social Work Community.

What are the pros and cons of working as a locum versus being a permanent social worker?

In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah asks two social workers from either side of the divide about what has driven their career choices.

Kayleigh Rose Evans has spent her career working in permanent roles, while Le’Siran Edwards has largely worked in agency roles.

Alongside her social work practice, Kayleigh works as an independent trainer and also shares reflections on social work through her YouTube channel, @KayleighRoseEvans.

And Le’Siran has 25 years’ experience working with children and families, and over a decade in children’s social work. She has spent the past 10 years building up her coaching service, Social Work Coaching Hub, and stepped away from locum work last year to focus on it full time. She also runs her own podcast, Dear Social Worker Pod.

Since this podcast was produced, there have been changes to rules curbing English councils’ use of agency social workers in children’s services. You can read more about the changes here.

Listen to “Locum v Perm – what works for you?” on Spreaker.

Locum v perm

Read the transcript here

About the podcast

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.

Kirsty and fellow host, careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.

Our first season went down a storm and was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.

We recently launched season two and have so far covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.

Although the podcast is available on major podcast platforms, Social Work Community members will get special early access to each episode.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.

Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following :

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

This episode of the Social Work Community podcast was produced in collaboration with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

In early 2022, BCP Council’s children’s services were rated inadequate by Ofsted following an inspection in late 2021.

Since then, there have been five monitoring visits, which found improvements in many areas.

In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, BCP Council social workers tell careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin that morale is up and increased permanency of staff is making a real difference, not only to them, but to children and young people too.

There are five guests on this podcast. Firstly, Steph, an assistant team manager in a children and families first team, explains what made her switch from agency to a permanent position at BCP Council. Ruairi, a team manager, talks about what has made him stay with BCP Council for a number of years.

Monique shares what brought her back to BCP Council after a stint in London, while Cyra explains why practitioners are leaving locum work to take up permanent roles within BCP Council.

And Jamie, who joined the authority’s children’s services on the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) programme after a career change, shares why doing social work within BCP Council has exceeded his expectations.

Listen now:
Listen to “Would you work for an inadequate-rated children’s services?” on Spreaker.
Read the transcription here.

About the podcast

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.

Our first season was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.

Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following :

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.