The decision for the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) to take on some of the College of Social Work’s core roles and resources brings hope at the end of a troubling summer for social work.
The college was established only four years ago following the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force, an organisation created by government to consider how social work could be strengthened. The college was seen as key to this ambition.
But, faced with financial difficulties, it was announced in July that the college was to close. There was shock in the profession, and fear that everything that had been built over the past four years would be lost. The college was still relatively in its infancy, and was building credibility and beginning to create valuable resources for social work. Its faculties, covering different areas of social work, attracted the commitment of respected professional leaders.
The professional capabilities framework, which set out what was expected of social workers at each stage of their career, was relevant to all professionals in the sector. And publications such as the Social Work Matters magazine, as well as the college’s media spokespersons, were allowing a wider range of social workers to comment, contribute and be social work champions.
This is why it is such good news that the positive college developments will be transferred to BASW before the college closes. And it is surprising, as the college and BASW have had a rocky history.
When the college was being set up, there were discussions about whether BASW should itself provide the foundations for the new college. These broke down, and BASW started calling itself BASW – The College of Social Work. There was animosity and a loss of trust between the organisations, which helped neither and did nothing for social work as a whole.
Four years on, the fact that BASW and the college have worked together to ensure that useful resources are not lost marks a new maturity for the profession. This has no doubt been helped by the fact that, now the college is closing, there is no longer any reason for competition between the two. The focus instead is what is best for social work.
What is especially positive is how the social work community, through BASW, the college and the Social Workers Assembly, has come together to argue that the social work profession should be led, developed and championed by social workers, not dictated to or determined by government. In a context where social work is being opened up to privatisation, and there are calls for a split between adults and children’s social work education, this is especially important.
So in a time of adversity and austerity something stronger is building for the social work profession. But the challenge to privatisation and fragmentation needs to be both strong and speedy.
Ray Jones is professor of social work at Kingston University and St George’s, University of London. A former director of social services, his most recent book The Story of Baby P: Setting the Record Straight was published by Policy Press in 2014
