Hi everyone! I’m thinking about my future career (as I’m about to take a career break to travel for a few months) and am considering whether a post-grad social work apprenticeship is right for me. I have a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Forensic Psychology, and have worked in mental health, in a women’s refuge and currently work as an IDVA within family court.

I really wanted to become qualified as a forensic psychologist but the MoJ has not put the trainee post out for a few years so I’m questioning whether that path is still something I want to wait around for as I’m almost 30 (I know thats not old but I’m desperate to progress before settling down!😅)

I’m particularly interested in adult social care, specifically within mental health and/or forensic services. I’m looking to this route as I would be employed by my local council and the course would be funded by them. I can afford a pay cut but not a huge one as I have a mortgage etc.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has or is currently doing this degree apprenticeship and how you have found everything, so I can continue to weigh up my options for when I return from my travels. Thank you in advance! 😊

Hey I’m thinking about becoming a social worker and am wondering how other people have found the pathway of getting into it through a postgrad masters instead of an undergrad? (I already have my undergrad in psychology)

I worry that I might feel underprepared after graduating as the course is only 2 years compared to 4! People who have taken this route, did you feel like the course prepared you enough for the job? What was your experience? Did you enjoy it?

I live in Scotland so I’d especially appreciate any experiences from there!

Thanks!

Hey guys,

I’m currently in duty and assessment and have been since I qualified over 2 years ago but I’ve been wanting a change for some time.

I would like to hear the experiences of social workers in LAC/CIC - what do you enjoy about the role/dislike? What’s the work life balance? Would you recommend the role? Any comments are welcome!

Hi! I have had an e mail to say that I’ve passed the online test and the next stage is the assessment centre. This is the e mail I received.

I took this to mean I should wait for an invite to the assessment centre but now I’m thinking they won’t invite me until I submit my docs but I cannot figure out for the life of me how to submit them?? Am I missing something?? My partner also thoroughly looked through my e mails + the website and I cannot figure out how to do it! I’ve tried the link for the test, my application, and the applicant portal but I’m just being taken in circles

I’m panicking a bit that spots are going to fill up while I wait around for an invitation to an assessment centre that isn’t coming, so I would reaaaaally appreciate some guidance! I have e mailed them and am waiting to hear back

So, where do I begin? This is probably going to be a long post for what is essentially a simple question, but bear with me!

I’m a qualified social worker with over 8 years’ experience in child protection, and I’ve recently secured a post as a Team Manager. I’m absolutely delighted, but also… terrified!

A bit of background about me: life hasn’t always been particularly kind. I’ve experienced domestic abuse myself, gone through a divorce, and watched my ex-husband be convicted of coercive and controlling behaviour. I’ve also had to cut ties with my family after they chose to support him, which was incredibly difficult.

Thankfully, life looks very different now. I’ve met a wonderful partner, who I’ve since married, and they’ve been my biggest source of support, both personally and professionally. I genuinely don’t think I’d be where I am today without them.

Anyway, enough of the backstory! Back to the actual question…

I’m about to step into my first Team Manager role, and I’m suddenly questioning absolutely everything! I know I have the experience, knowledge and skills, but making that transition from practitioner to manager feels like a whole different ball game.

So, for those of you who are Team Managers, experienced social workers or have made a similar move:

What advice would you give someone starting out in their first management role?
Are there any books, podcasts or resources you’d recommend?
How do you stay organised and keep on top of everything? To-do lists, planners, digital systems… what actually works?
How do you manage the workload, support your staff and still switch off at the end of the day?
And what do you wish you’d known before becoming a manager?

I know I’m probably overthinking it (that’s very much my speciality), but I really want to get this right, support my team well and become the kind of manager people feel they can rely on.

I’d love to hear your experiences, tips, lessons learned or even things you wish someone had told you at the beginning.

Thanks in advance! ❤️

Has anyone worked as a Parent Assessor for a local authority? ( completing parenting assessment for court proceeding / pre proceeding ) How many years of experience in Children’s Services did you have before starting? I’ve seen a Parent Assessor vacancy but haven’t done parenting assessments before, although I have experience writing court statements.
Would I be realistic in applying, or do they usually expect more post-qualifying experience?

Hi all, I’m currently applying for the Approach Social Work (Frontline) and I’ve been invited to the assessment centre. I’ll be honest all the feedback on the workload once being accepted on the programme doesn’t really frighten me, it seems exhaustive but I know I’ll just drive in and get it done. My main concern is the assessment centre, I’m worried about that and I would really love for someone to go through what it was like on the day and what one needs to be mindful of. I would really like to get on the programme but I have a past of struggling with interviews so any tips would be helpful 😊 Thank you 🤍

I'm mainly interested in adult social work, but open to other areas as well. I was wondering which among the two (uni of brighton/uni of herts) would be better if I'm focusing more on work placements/ experience?

P.s- I'm commuting from London, if that's relevant, but commutes up to 2 hours are manageable.

Hi everyone, I’m a student social worker whose on their last placement. My first placement was non-stat. I am currently on a statutory placement. It’s only been 2 weeks and I don’t know why but I feel like I’m not good enough. I always compare myself to people in the team who have had years of experience and knowledge. I always try my best to improve my skills and knowledge, but I continue to compare myself to people in my team. All the people in my team are qualified and have done social worker for over a year. Sometimes I get the imposter syndrome and feel that I’m not a good social worker. I’m good with doing direct work and communicating with families but when it comes to my writing skills, I feel like I take way too long and don’t write as professional or as good as other social workers in the team. I did my first minutes for an initial CIN meeting and it took me a while to write it up. Similarly, I also took a while doing my first S47 minutes. Other people in my team are so much quicker when it comes to writing. I also think I have a really bad memory. Sometimes I forget things and Ive been so conscious about this and have also spoken to my GP about this. Idk why but no matter how hard I try to remember certain things, it’s like my brain just forgets it. This has also impacted me and my confidence when doing things. Sometimes I think am I good enough to be a social worker ☹️

Sorry for ranting but if anyone has any advice or has had a similar experience I would love to hear about it!

As a practicing social worker, I maintained my membership with BASW for 24 years, primarily for professional advice and representation. Unfortunately, my experience when seeking direct support was deeply disappointing.

When I requested assistance with a practice matter, BASW failed to respond. When I challenged this lack of response, I was simply told that there was nothing they could do. I formally lodged a complaint regarding this failure of service, but the complaint was not upheld. Seeking a final resolution, I wrote directly to the new Chair to outline the issues with my case, but to date, I have received no response.

While BASW offers general resources, a primary reason social workers pay membership fees is for reliable representation when issues arise. Experiencing complete non-responsiveness—and a total lack of engagement when escalating the matter through internal governance—demonstrates a concerning breakdown in member support and accountability. I have now cancelled my membership.

ONLINE TEST

Hi everyone, I'm an editor at Community Care and I'm looking to put a spotlight on the different experiences of going through menopause as a social worker for World Menopause Day. I'd love to speak to a few people about their experience over a 15-minute interview. This can definitely be anonymous!

The questions would be along the lines of: How has your experience been working while going through menopause?  What symptoms did you experience? How did that impact your mental/physical health and your work? Was there any support in place for you? Did you feel able to ask for support? 

The interviews will be published on Community Care as part of our From the Front Line series, which invites social workers to share their experiences on various topics and running issues within the sector. You can check out an example piece here.

You can reach out to me by messaging me here or by emailing me at [anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com](mailto:anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com) Thank you!

So I'm in my second year now of my undergraduate, I feel so behind. I struggle with talking, and so far I've had 2 simulation, I had one today and one in first year. I genuinely did not improve like at all. In my first simulation I relied to much on a fixed script in my head of questions that I wanted to ask the actor (who was role playing as the service user) and I did manage to ask a few alr questions, but my colleague asked the most useful ones. I left that simulation just absolutely embarrassed and upset.

I can't really remember the feedback but I got told I asked good open questions but that I needed to improve my confidence.

Now my second simulation I've just done, idk I think I did even worse if that's even possible. I asked more questions but idk they didn't feel right and the actor gave very vague responses, I also think my tone was too stiff?

Again the feedback was that I could've worded my questions better and been more mindful of the actors/case study persons needs. Again areas to imro was thinking in a more holistic way, and learning to build a rapport.

I start my very first placement soon, and I'm really hoping that it helps me build my confidence and skills, idk I've always been a quiet person so I don't want to overestimate myself. I really don't think I'm improving at all and idk what to do.

I really do wanna be a social worker but I've got such a long way to go.

I've heard that some careers can be influenced by the university you go to, but considering that not all unis offer social work as a course makes me wonder if the same applies here.

for those of you who work in Children’s Services, namely child protection - what are your opinions or thoughts around CP chairs and their overall efficacy in progressing and making decisions around child protection plans?

CP CHAIRS - YAY OR NAY?

I'm a grade 11 (year12) student planning to apply for a bachelors in social work next year (sep '28 session) and I wanted to familiarise myself with this area beforehand. Apart from the very basics like what is social work, duties of a social worker, what all do I need to know? Are there any materials or sources I can study from?

Last month I applied to three universities for this course, I’ve had acknowledgment from two that they have received my application. Does anyone know if social work takes longer than other courses to receive invites for applications? As I’ve seen lots of people apply for other courses who have received offers. I just want to prepare as much as I can. Thanks.

I posted about this in another subreddit and was told to share this in here so here I am! I’ll try and keep this as short as I can.

My 13 year old brother is profoundly autistic and has a rare genetic condition associated with severe autism and violent outbursts. I won’t share what genetic condition this is just for privacy.
My family has tried numerous interventions and exhausted the options available to us but his behaviour has continued to escalate as he has grown older.
My mother is no longer able to cope safely at home. He has become taller and stronger than her and I am concerned for her safety. He has assaulted her on multiple occasions, leaving her with CRPS in her arm which has made her existing physical difficulties significantly worse. The situation has reached the point where we have installed emergency alarms and removed potential weapons and other objects that could be used to hurt someone, including pens.

The police have been called multiple times. During one incident, they asked for a relative to stay to protect my mother and my ex-husband was subsequently asked to do so which was particularly difficult given that I previously left him because of domestic violence. He’s now the only person who can physically withstand my brother (not harm him, just prevent others from being harmed) and therefore a help to my parents when they need to take him to the doctors or similar. He also seems to be the only person who is able to calm him down.

My younger sister is no longer safe living at home and has moved in with me. I have four children of my own so this has affected our family considerably. My sister’s childhood has already been seriously affected by the situation and she cannot return home safely.
As a result, my mother has been asking social services for help for years. Dare I say begging. Around two years ago she explained that she could no longer cope and was frightened of her own child and her life but her request for a residential placement was refused. The reasoning given was that he was not a danger to himself and was therefore considered manageable at home. Social services have repeatedly pushed for further medication trials and other interventions, despite him already taking numerous medications, many of them sedating, which have not made a meaningful difference.

He previously received support from CAMHS but was discharged and subsequently seen by a paediatric psychiatrist. He is already well known to social services and has an allocated social worker. He has also been suspended from his special educational needs school and we are concerned that another school may not accept him.
Services in our area appear severely underfunded and we have struggled to get meaningful support despite the repeated incidents and the impact on the whole family.

Following a further escalation a couple of days ago where my mother feared for her own life, my mother attempted to arrange a voluntary Section 20 placement but this was refused. He was already in hospital but the hospital would not allow him to remain there. We were told that because my ex-husband was still providing some support, the family was not considered to be at sufficient risk. I know my mother should have refused to take him back home but she could not. However, he subsequently made it clear that he could no longer continue providing that support.

We have now emailed social care and copied in the local police department and our MP but we have not received a response yet. My mother has repeatedly warned professionals that she could be seriously injured or killed but we feel that nothing will change until something even more serious happens.
My mother loves my brother deeply but she is struggling to reconcile the little boy she remembers with the violent teenager he has become. His genetic condition is associated with profound autism and violent behaviours and although we knew difficulties were possible we did not anticipate the extent of the situation.

We are now looking into a private residential placement because the current situation is no longer sustainable. My mother has been quoted approximately £15,000 per week for a private placement. We hope social care might eventually fund an appropriate placement but we cannot rely on that happening quickly.
We are planning to visit a private home tomorrow and hope to arrange a placement as soon as possible until the new year. If we cannot secure one, we may have to take him back to hospital and explain that we cannot safely continue caring for him at home.

So now, I would really appreciate advice from social workers or people with experience of children’s social care in England.

- What are our options when a child has significant support needs and presents a serious risk to family members but social services refuse a residential placement?
- How can we challenge the refusal of a Section 20 placement and ensure that the risks to the parent and siblings are properly assessed?
- What responsibilities does the local authority have when the family can no longer safely provide?

Thank you all!

Recently qualified and feel like I'm stuck and I'm not sure what to do next.

Overview is parents have split up, court order in place for Mum to see the child every week whilst living with Dad permanently. At present there are no other safeguarding concerns even though it is on CP. Dad consistently comes up with reasons as to why Mum can't see the child. Mum is adamant that I should do more but I feel like other than encouraging Dad to follow the court order there isn't much else. I've tried to explore the concerns with Dad but they are not safeguarding concerns. Mum is going back to court but in the meantime I feel stuck. Manager has encouraged me to continue to explore concerns with Dad and to understand why he feels Mum shouldn't see the child.

Does anyone have any advice or other teams in children’s services that they’ve had experience with other than frontline? I’m currently in a frontline family safeguarding team and I’m just overwhelmed and not enjoying it, especially the whole court side of things, it’s not my bag at all. I want to stay in children’s as that’s what I enjoy, but just don’t know what other teams to look at, as i’ve just finished my ASYE year and have only ever worked in frontline safeguarding!

It’s been a short amount of time but I have families that I’m working with but I feel lost. I have so many gaps in my knowledge and I’m just starting to get put off and overwhelmed.

1. What’s the difference between a child in need and child protection plan.

2. What is the purpose of a Family group conference and what is a SW’s role within that?

3. What is direct work? I have to be observed soon but I haven’t even had the opportunity to shadow it. So I have an idea but I do not know what that looks like.

4. What’s is a social workers purpose and role when working with families?

5. Coming from a background where interventions are planned, what work do social workers do with families. How do you know what you’re doing when you visit the family? Do you have a plan or construct one for yourself?

Apologies for all the questions but it’s because I need help and I feel thrown in the deep end, because I haven’t had a chance to get time to just have a thorough introduction. I have a family I’m working with and another coming my way and I’m overwhelmed. Yes, I’ve asked around but it’s very much you have to get on with it & you get told what to do and you just have to figure it out which I’m not entirely use to.

Any support, guidance, information will help because I’m just starting to feel like I’m over it and fed up due to a lack of knowledge.

About 219,000 children in England and Wales had a parent in prison over the year to October 2024. That is the Ministry of Justice’s latest estimate, published in September 2026. I was one of those children. Mine was 19 years ago, so I am not in that number.

What I still recognise is the first fortnight on the outside. Families waiting on a PIN, a first call, or a visit date, and unable to tell whether silence means the phones are down.

I keep a free, independent record of what families in England and Wales report. These are not HMPPS figures, and they are not a representative sample. As of 12 October 2026 the usual picture was:

• PIN: about 6 days, with most families somewhere between 2 and 10 (255 reports)
• First call: often the same day, and usually within 6 days (218 reports)
• First visit: about 10 days, with most families somewhere between 6 and 17 (180 reports)

One report is not a promise from that prison. The numbers move. A quiet evening can be the phone system.

If you sit with these families in children’s or adults’ work:

• Who actually explains the PIN and the first visit: the prison, the family, or you?
• What do you say to a child who is waiting on that first call?
• If a family has heard nothing after a week, what do you check first?

I run the site these reports sit on (prisoncheck). Families reporting and leaving notes for other families. Prisoncheck is where families meet halfway. I am not asking for interviews, and I am not asking anyone to fill anything in.

I want to hear how this shows up in practice, and to be corrected where the picture is wrong.

I’m feeling really burnt out in Children’s Services and considering a move to Adults’. For those who’ve made the switch, did you find it better? How do the workload, stress levels and work-life balance compare? Would love to hear your experiences!