With 61% of social work practitioners surveyed in the latest Guardian Social Lives research considering career development and training opportunities to be a high priority when looking for a new role, it is clear that the social work community is eager to learn.
It’s perhaps reflective of a profession geared towards improvement to meet the shifting needs of today’s society, as well as a characteristic of the trade; social workers by nature having a professional curiosity. The challenge for employers is to step up and provide a learning environment with the right development opportunities for their teams.
Alice Smith is service manager at Cafcass, which collected three awards during 2015 for its commitment and approach to staff learning and development. Smith is working to meet her own and the wider staff’s development needs. Opportunities to contribute to diverse projects have helped her build the required skills as she’s advanced to manage a social work team.
Smith started at Cafcass in February 2013 as a family court adviser (FCA) in divorce and separation cases, and then swiftly moved on to become an enhanced practitioner (EP) in December that year. No longer working directly with families, Smith’s role as EP instead involved working closely alongside frontline practitioners to support them with their casework: helping FCAs manage their workloads, quality assuring their court reports and supporting her team to carry out the best work possible.
And how were the right development opportunities identified to support Smith in this transition? She explains: “My performance learning reviews are really useful as they give me the chance to sit down with my line manager and discuss the areas of work I find interesting. Together we’ve looked at upcoming projects which could help me learn and develop my skills as I moved roles. I’ve also taken part in Cafcass’ Emerging Talent Programme, which focuses on developing performance and provides a range of learning opportunities to staff. I completed a strengthscope questionnaire as part of the programme which identified my key strengths as teaching and leadership. Acknowledging my skills encouraged me to get stuck in with leading activities and training.”
And get stuck in she did, stepping up to the task of presenting at conferences and leading workshops for Cafcass and local authority social workers, and magistrates. Smith recently co-led first hearing dispute resolution appointment workshops for her team, supporting FCAs working on court duty to manage their caseload and improve the quality of their work up to first hearing.
“I took the team through some of the ways they could make sure they were effectively prepared for court hearings – passing on my own learning from previous experience. I emphasised the importance of ensuring that they have a strong working knowledge of their cases.” In a second session, Smith advised FCAs on working effectively in the court room. She explains: “FCAs have to be on the ball when they’re in court – it can be a steep learning curve but lots of practitioners really thrive in that environment. We encouraged practitioners to be proportionate with their work, liaise appropriately with the court and make thorough safeguarding assessments.”
Good report writing is another important skill when it comes to making the best recommendations for children, and one which Smith and others at Cafcass have been emphasising. With the help of a senior manager, she led section seven report writing workshops for interested social workers from local authorities in Greater London who were keen to brush up on their report writing skills.
“Our main aim was to emphasise to practitioners that their reports must be analytical, rather than narrative, which is easily achievable thorough planning and continuous assessment of a family. We encouraged them to plug into their evidenced-based skills to give clear explanation of their assessment and how they reached their conclusions and recommendations.”
Smith was pleased with the turnout of more than 120 local authority practitioners to the workshops. “It was great to see that level of interest and to be a part of improving practice beyond Cafcass. Peer learning is so useful in building your social work skills, whether that be discussion of practice issues during joint training or in group supervision sessions where you can use others as a sounding board.
“I also enjoyed participating in an internal conference for 92 enhanced practitioners across Cafcass. I delivered a presentation on the EP role and highlighted our focus on improving practice and, ultimately, the service we provide to children and families caught up in court proceedings.” Through close support of practitioners and driving improvements both in her team and further afield, Smith has been able to develop her leadership, teaching and communication skills, and was recently promoted to the role of service manager.
“If you’re passionate and want to develop your skills, Cafcass can offer you plenty of opportunities to do so. Put yourself out there and go the extra mile in our changing social work environment – you will learn a lot.”
Content on this page is produced and controlled by Cafcass, sponsor of the Guardian Social Care Network children’s services hub.
