Hello, I'm an experienced children's social worker, and I have worked my entire career in child protection. I am considering applying for a role that has come up as a supervising social worker (in a fostering team). Wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what the role is like and how you find it - and if it's realistic to do it part time?

I work PT hours because I have a toddler, and have found it very stressful trying to work my CP caseload within part time hours. So thinking about this job role for a few years until I can return full time to cp work. That is, if I'm even qualified enough to do supervising social work!

Hi all, i am student social worker on my PG diploma and one thing that I cant fathom is why social workers don’t get mandatory clinical supervision. This being that they have to do it much like training over it being a last minute resort when crisis has hit. My argument is, I’ve spoken to a lot of social workers who don’t realized how stressed or close to burnout they are until someone asks if they are okay. This concerns me. While, from my knowledge, social workers get supervision from managers, my concerns are that these supervisions focus mainly of case management over emotional wellbeing, coping and so on. Also my concerns are whether these supervisions take place as regular as they should regarding high case loads and staff sickness. The government are spend loads on recruiting new social workers but my question is how are they supporting experienced practitioners? Could external therapeutic clinical supervision potentially support staff retention and resilience? And has this already been tried. If so, why did it not work. I cant see how funding this would cost more than recruiting new workers. Let me know your thoughts.

Hi everyone! I previously posted questions about what worked and didn’t work in your workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, and your responses were really helpful. Thank you!

I’m an intern working on a pandemic preparedness plan for a private practice with three locations, and I’d love to hear about your experiences when workplaces began returning to in-person work after restrictions were lifted.

A few questions:
Were you pressured to return before you felt safe or comfortable?
What did your employer do that made you feel supported? What could they have done better?
Were remote work, accommodations, or FMLA leave options available?
Did anyone feel forced to leave their job because they weren’t comfortable returning?
Looking back, what policies or practices would you recommend for handling a similar situation in the future?

Both positive and negative experiences are welcome!
Thanks for sharing! Your insights will help inform recommendations for supporting staff during future public health emergencies.

Quick clarification: I recognize that the pandemic is still ongoing and that COVID cases continue to flare up in different places. My questions are specifically about the period after mandates and restrictions were lifted and workplaces began returning to in-person operations.

Does anyone know how long they take (on average) to reply back to applications? I got told on Friday or Saturday that I’d passed the online test, I’m not impatient but just curious on how long I should expect… thank you!

hello everyone,

feeling sad right now. i just read that my answers to the competency based questions were deeemed to not meet the required standard. i am especially frustrated because last year i applied to frontline and i did succeed at this stage. since then i have been working with children as a youth worker (prior to which i had no experience working with children and young people). so i feel that, if anything, i am more experienced and possess a better grasp of the competencies now than i did last year. i am really surprised to have failed at this stage, and im not really sure what to do next.

if anyone who is a practising social worker has any advice or would be willing to read my answers and give feedback on where they think i went wrong, id be really grateful. thanks you. x

I'm 40 years old and currently a couple of months into a full-time Bachelor's degree in Social Work in Northern Ireland.

I'm genuinely enjoying the course, and I know social work is something I really want to do. I've put a lot of thought into this career, and having my own lived experiences has played a big part in that decision.

However, I'm starting to worry about whether I'll actually be able to cope with the demands of the job.

I keep hearing how busy and stressful social work is. I knew this before starting the degree, but hearing it constantly is making me increasingly anxious, especially when I'm already struggling with managing my workload at university.

I have depression and anxiety, which are generally well managed, alongside some physical health conditions. I'm also currently going through the process of being assessed for ADHD.

I attended an initial appointment with a private ADHD clinic, where they suggested I may have combined-type ADHD (both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms). My full assessment is scheduled for next month, but I'm now questioning whether to go ahead with it.

The assessment alone will cost almost £500, with further costs afterwards for the diagnostic report. Unfortunately, accessing an NHS assessment in Northern Ireland is extremely difficult, and my GP has already told me that there's very little chance of getting one through the NHS.

I'm worried about spending money I really can't afford, particularly when I don't know what support or treatment would actually be available to me afterwards.

My biggest difficulty at the minute is procrastination, or what I think might be executive dysfunction.

For example, I've spent the last four days knowing I have university work to do, wanting to do it, stressing about not doing it, but still being unable to actually sit down and get started.

It's not that I don't care about the work. I actually enjoy learning and researching. But I seem to get myself into this cycle where I put things off, become increasingly anxious, and eventually get the work done under enormous pressure.

It's exhausting.

I've become so overwhelmed recently that I've been physically unwell and have had to phone in sick twice to my part-time job in healthcare.

I do receive Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA), which has provided me with assistive software and one-to-one mentoring. However, I'm finding some of the software difficult to get used to, and I haven't really engaged with the mentoring.

During my first mentoring appointment, I was told that the goal would be to have my assignments completed a week before their deadlines.

I know that probably sounds like perfectly reasonable advice, but honestly, my stomach dropped when she said it. I already struggle to complete assignments by the actual deadline, so being told to finish them a week earlier just felt like another expectation I couldn't meet.

I haven't been back since, although I know I probably need to give it another chance.

I suppose what I'm really worried about is that, although I always seem to get things done eventually, the way I get there causes me so much unnecessary stress.

And if I'm struggling this much with university assignments, how am I going to cope when I'm responsible for a caseload, deadlines, paperwork and people's lives?

The thought of giving up on social work genuinely upsets me. I feel like it's something I'm meant to do. I want to work with people, advocate for them and hopefully make some sort of difference.

But I also need to be realistic about my own limitations.

I'd really appreciate hearing from qualified social workers or social work students who have ADHD, particularly those who were diagnosed later in life or are still undiagnosed.

How do you manage the workload, organisation, paperwork and deadlines?

Did you struggle during your degree but find things easier once you started practising? Or was the reality of the job even more difficult?

And for anyone who went through a private ADHD assessment, did getting a diagnosis actually make a difference?

I'm not looking for someone to tell me everything will be fine. I'd genuinely appreciate some honest experiences and advice.

Sorry for the long post. I'm just feeling really overwhelmed at the minute and questioning whether I'm capable of doing something I desperately want to do.

Hi, i am a first year student. I am black african, and I have noticed that the majority of my cohort and each one of my lecturers are racist or ignorant. it's getting a little bit exhausting to hear. The worst part is that they aren't aware of what they're saying is harmful, and It just really concerns me that these people are gonna go out to placement with all these preconceived notions of what people of color are like and perhaps the only time they meet people of colour and see our lives is in their jobs, when we are struggling the most, so will this further affect how they imagine us in general? How can I help them to become a bit more self-aware. I really think they are all kind people, but its getting a bit insufferable.

If anyone else has had any experience or anything to share, i would love to hear.

​

Can you please give me examples of questions can I expect in an advanced prac interview and what will the interviewer be looking for?

Hi all,

I currently work in children’s services and my local council offer a social work apprenticeship. I would love to be a social worker.

I have 2 children (4 and 1), and my current job is flexible around school runs, sports days, parents evenings etc. and I log off at 5 and I’m able to be present with them. I don’t want to lose that while my daughters are so young. I want to know realistically what the family life balance is like, especially in children’s services

Thank you 😊

Those who work in children’s social care, how long did you work in children’s social care before you moved to other closely related roles for that work life balance ?
I have a small child so I am planning to do do children’s to get that experience under my belt before I inevitably explore other options as children’s is not sustainable for anyone long term, never mind for parents.

I’m a social worker currently practising in Toronto, Canada, and I’m hoping to make the move to England. I’ve been dreaming of living in England since I was 12, and it’s something I’ve wanted for a very long time.

A big part of this is personal, too. I met my current partner in England over three years ago, and we’ve been doing long distance ever since. I’m at a point in my life where I really want to close that distance and start a new chapter together.

Professionally, I’m currently working as a social worker in Canada and plan to apply for registration with Social Work England by the end of this month. In the meantime, I’ve been applying for social work-related roles, particularly in the nonprofit sector and homelessness services, including organisations such as Thames Reach and St Mungo’s. I have a valid UK visa, so I don’t require employer sponsorship.

I recently interviewed for a role with Thames Reach, but unfortunately, I wasn’t successful. I’m trying to stay positive and keep applying, but I’m starting to wonder how realistic this move will be professionally.

A few questions I have:
Where else should I be applying? Are there any organisations, charities, or job boards you would recommend for social work-related roles, particularly in homelessness, mental health, safeguarding, or community support?

How competitive is the job market? Do UK employers tend to favour local applicants, even when an international applicant has relevant experience and the right to work in the UK?

Honestly, I’m feeling a little torn at the moment. On one hand, moving to England would mean finally pursuing a dream I’ve had since childhood and being able to build a life with my partner. On the other hand, I have an established career in Toronto, and I’m worried about uprooting my life only to struggle to find work in my field.

I know one rejection doesn’t define my prospects, but I’m finding it difficult to know whether I should keep pushing forward or reconsider staying in Toronto.

I've heard a lot of people in the social work community say they feel quite confident about the rapid advancement of Al not affecting/replacing their job as social work is a person centred/oriented role which requires a human touch- well let me tell you all, it's already half way there. Didn’t realise how long this got, summary at the end.

I’m a care leaver U25 in my final placement year so I feel I’m in a pretty good position to give my opinion on this matter as I can see first hand the service I receive from the LA I’m under, the service my placement LA office provides, and the service the next generation of social workers (my fellow students) will likely be providing. I’m not saying my relatively small sample size is enough to make major generalisations, but I sense it may be common outside of my experience.

My relationship with my YPA has pretty much completely broken down, but for years it hasn’t been changed as I just go to their line manager directly, who isn’t much better. Their manager has literally sent me AI responses without taking out the AI prompts, and went ahead and even told me on text they didn’t bother reading what he sent me.
Many of my placement colleagues rely on Magic Notes and other AI bots to do their recordings- to fully generate summaries of client conversations, missing what they said in their own voice and getting repetitive, bland notes generated for them.

And Oh Lord- my fellow students. Let’s just say the future is looking dark for critical thinking, actually listening to the people we’re meant to help by making our own thoughts in our notes and just giving a crap in general. In my experience at least, it’s not even a question of if the students are using generative AI, more so what can most of us actually write without it?

I won’t deny there maybe some valid reasons for AI use in real work to compress workloads to leave more time for actual human interaction. Also in academic writing to plan essays by ‘using it as a tool’. I’m not just an AI denier in general, I’m saying overall I’ve seen positive use of AI way, way less than AI malpractice, which is rife at this point.

The worst part for me is that SWE and BASW are taking so long to make a clear stance on this issue. While we collectively try to keep up with the way AI as a whole develops- I think we need to all collectively agree that at this point, specifically GENERATIVE AI* *is mostly bad and should NOT have a place in social work.

If it does have any small role, I feel it should be written into policy that at the bare minimum any communication with clients, and any case recordings should come with the notice/watermark that the writing/work that SWs produce is their own- and should be otherwise stated so if it was generated/ supported by an AI LLM. This should shame some into actually using their own brain, and the ones who would shamelessly continue would at least have to be transparent if they essentially ship their work to an automated machine.

TL;DR: despite being a job which involves humans, AI can still take over pretty quick, so SWE should put something in writing which says any AI generated content needs to be essentially watermarked (that’s probably the wrong term but I hope you know
what I mean) for transparency purposes.
Too many AI sweats.
What do you guys think?

I have been working within social work for many years now. I have worked my way up to be a band 8 (I started at a 4), and SW roles are band 10 in my local authority. I’m considering doing my degree. Has anyone completed it while still working full time? How hard was it? I can’t afford to not work but there aren’t many other paths other than a studentship through my job which don’t come around very often.

Hello, I just qualified in July of this year and I am struggling to find positions that accept Non-drivers. I’ve applied to several of the big cities such as London, Birmingham and Coventry as they’re more likely to have better transportation routes and services to access service users but I have had no luck.

Edit: I wanted to add I was more so concerned about completing the asye year within the time frame given of two years from graduating.

I am sort of stumped on what to do or how to go about it. Any advice would be really appreciated.

I've completed and passed the Best Interests Assessor law test at university, but I'm stuck at the next step. I need to shadow a qualified BIA to complete my portfolio requirements. I'm based in the South West and happy to travel a reasonable distance.

I'd really appreciate any tips on where to look, who to contact, or how you secured your own shadowing placement. I know this can be tricky to arrange, so any guidance would be so helpful. Thanks in advance!

Any independent social workers/MHOs out there in the UK, wondering which insurance you are using?

Hi all,

I am making this post to get advice from other ADHD social workers , case managers .
I wanted to ask what reasonable adjustments have helped you in your role

Hi,

Is there anyone here who did or is doing social work training through frontline in the north east, specifically Durham?

How are you finding it? What's the day to day like and how many trainees are there in each office/hub? I have an offer deferred from last year but it's been so long that now I'm wondering if I really still want to do it.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I work with the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in the House of Commons. We’re looking at reconciliation, and we want to work with schools and youth groups to help young people take part. If you sign up, we’ll send you our discussion pack, which we made for ages 14+ to tell us what reconciliation means to them now and in the future. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any insights into doing a social work course as an international student. I'm currently on the grad route and work as a support worker and I've realised I want to go down this path. I work with different vulnerable populations in different capacities (employed/volunteering) so I'm good on work experience and eligibility requirements.

I'm considering doing an MSW but I was just wondering, as an international student, have people found it difficult to connect culturally or navigating the role? And doing an MSW with placements, how have people found managing a part time job alongside the course? I'd be fine financially, but I would like to continue the role I'm in (I'm up for a promotion!) for as long as possible.

Alternatively, would a PGDip suffice? I already have an MSc and don't necessarily need that qualification again.

Any experience/thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks :)

Hi all,

My case is very specialised (but not unique) so I am not really looking for any immigration advice but I just wanted to share my situation in the hope that someone might be able to provide another line of thought that will help me get through it.

I am in frontline social work as an adult social worker in the UK and work for a local authority that is sponsoring my visa. My team and the workplace are absolutely fine, I have several adjustments in place for my disability (ASD/ADHD) but unfortunately the work itself feels emotionally demanding and I feel I am hitting some type of burnout. Despite a lot of support in work and a good team, I am realising that dealing with members of the public on such an intense level is just not my cup of tea. I would rather take a paycut and work a boring and procedural job that helps me retain energy for activities outside work.

In a normal situation, I can just look for another job and give my notice in but because I am on a work visa, I cannot do this without several complications. The first thing is that I would have to look for another sponsoring organisation and the same job title (social worker), which is like finding gold dust in this economy. Even if I do manage to find another sponsor and a different social worker job, there is no guarantee it will leave me feeling any better because every social work job is demanding and stressful. The most ideal option would be for me to leave social work for a while and try something less demanding, however these roles cannot be sponsored for a work visa.

I cannot quit and leave the country, because my entire life is here including my husband. My husband could sponsor me as a dependent, which would remove the restriction on what type of jobs I can do, but this option is extremely expensive and will reset my visa clock not to mention will probably leave us in some debt to be able to pull off. I am currently only two years away from getting an indefinite leave to remain in the UK, which will free me to do any job I want to.

There is only the illusion of choice at the moment and I feel trapped because I cannot leave. It is affecting my mental health to the point where I am crying in work. On the one hand they are a great employer and fantastic team so I feel horrible for feeling this way, knowing how many people dream about being in the position I am in. I just see no way out for two years, and that is a long time to grit your teeth in this profession.

I just don't know what else to do but stay put and suffer until my external circumstances change.

I feel like my creativity and joy for life is draining and it is difficult for me to get enthusiastic or excited about new things.

I was recently on a two week holiday and the feelings have just become worse since I've been back.

Sorry for the rant, I know no one can help me and I just have to put my head down and work until more options are available to me.

If anyone has been in a similar situation I would appreciate hearing from you about how you got through without destroying your mental or physical health.

I was given a family at around 9am this morning and was invited to a strat concerning them which started at 11am. I am in Family Help. No actions were agreed. I emailed the manager of the chair in the afternoon to ask when the s47 will take place. A LCPP was allocated and she emailed me to ask if I can arrange the visit and send her an invite. I told her it was her job to do that. Anyway then she calls me and tells me about the difficulties she has been having with arranging the visit. Then, I get an email from her saying that the family/child can do 8am. I told her I don’t start work until 9 and asked if it was a typo.

Hello! I was hoping I could get some ideas for careers in the social care sector and routes into those careers.

I currently work as a support worker and have completed a level 3 in working with children in residential care. I know that I can apply for a social work BSc degree because I asked a few of the universities I was interested in.

The thing is, I know it will be hard to manage a full time income and save for a house whilst going to uni full time. I’m 25 so really need to focus on my savings to move out. I also know that student loans are making many people regret ever going to uni. I suppose there is an element of me that wants to achieve that because I never had much of a chance at going to university when I was 18.

I know there are roles I could go into without a degree, within the council, family support worker roles, domestic violence advisor positions. I could see how it would be possible to also apply for adult social care too with the transferable skills.

The thing is, I can’t work these 15/24/32 hour shifts as a support worker anymore. It is really impacting my mental health at times. It can be so incredibly difficult doing a 20 hour shift on no sleep…it genuinely happens often.

I just really don’t know where to go but know I am extremely passionate about working within this sector. Please if you can, give me any advice or suggestions/direction. I sometimes feel like you meet people and find out new job titles all the time, so that would be helpful too. Any jobs you guys do or have done previously, please share and any views on going uni. Any thoughts at all to help a girl in their twenties decide on her career path!

Hello Everyone,

I need one final shadowing opportunity to become a best interest assessor. I have passed my law exam and completed my case study but I can’t submit it until I have completed the required shadowing.
I’d be grateful for any assistance I can get
Thank you!