experiences can generate change in their actions, outlooks and approaches. However, it might be argued that we have not been so rigorous when it comes to applying these same principles to social work as a profession. How can we begin to assess the needs of social work as a ‘professional whole’? As a practising social worker and a media
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volunteer for The College of Social Work, I was recently asked to provide a short talk about The College to a group of social care and health professionals in Torbay. I started off by taking some of the
categories that I commonly use to assess the people I work with and considered how I might use these to have a structured discussion around the needs of social work as a profession. What follows is a summary of the feedback I received from participants under each of the headings used.
Identity The major aim for most respondents was that social work should be viewed positively, and their supportive role recognised. It was essential for many that social workers were knowledgeable, but that they were also good at sharing knowledge with others. Values that came up repeatedly included
professionalism, person-centredness, integrity and individualism. Above all, there was a strong belief in the role of social work in promoting social justice, but many felt this was under-represented. Social workers also suggested that principles such as valuing diversity and maintaining confi dentiality strengthen social work’s professional identity.
Relationships A number of respondents felt that it was essential to form strong relationships with other professionals, because this enabled them to better advocate for service users in
Ben Martin is a social worker in adult social care at Cornwall Council
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ocial workers are more than familiar with the concept of assessing need. Similarly, refl ection is a key part of developing social work practice, so that social workers’ diverse
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diff erent settings. It was noted that positive relationships with other social workers and managers allows social workers to avoid feeling isolated or victimised. Several people noted the need to be
allowed time to build strong rapport and develop trust with service users. The majority of participants agreed that shared training across professions would demonstrate social work’s commitment to forging positive relationships by remaining open and inclusive.
Social workers had little
professional infl uence in government and were not always effective at drawing in potential partners including those in the voluntary sector
Communication Most people felt that it was very important to listen and be listened to as a profession. One person stated that if an organisation is expected to work in a person-centred way it needs to treat its staff in a person-centred way. The opinion was that social workers needed to have better means by which to communicate directly with the public and that success stories went unrecognised often because of misunderstandings about the idea of data protection. Another comment was that social workers had little professional infl uence in government, and were not always eff ective at drawing in potential partners including those in the voluntary sector. Others concluded that the
use of exclusive language was a barrier to eff ective professional communication and advocated more service user involvement in shaping our roles. It was a primary concern that social work
as a profession engages more with the media and challenges directly the way they talk about social work.
Education, training and skills Many social workers stated that we need to learn from the past and put in place eff ective systems to prevent history repeating itself. Some thought that there was a need for more proactive work by coalface workers to identify areas for development in education for social work.