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Listen
Findings
Social service workers deliver essential services to some of our most vulnerable people. We found countless examples of services transforming people's lives and protecting them and their communities. We found many strengths that we need to retain and build upon.
Despite the excellent work being done on a daily basis, we should not be complacent about the scale of the challenge facing social work today. We found a profession and services under great pressure and not delivering their full potential. This has resulted in a growing mismatch between the values of social work and the experience of people who use and work in services. This poses many challenges for the future.
Strengths |
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Lots of unrecognised good practice, unacknowledged and uncelebrated. | Knowledge skills and value base highly relevant to society's changing needs. |
Practitioners working successfully in the most challenging of circumstances, making fine professional judgements about risk. | New regulatory structures and a new degree programme raising the professionalism and competence of the workforce. |
Services deal skillfully with complex problems | Commitment to develop joint services and recognition by partners of the contribution of social work. |
A mixed market of services across public, private and voluntary sectors. | Appetite for performance improvement and new inspection arrangements. |
Public opinion shows most people are generally satisfied with services they received. | Recruitment to social work much improved. |
Challenges |
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Unreasonable expectations of what services can do to sort out society's problems. | Highly skilled professionals working below their level of expertise, with little opportunity to advance their careers. |
Lack of self confidence within the social work profession about its contribution. | Professional leadership eroded by pressure to manage services and budgets, leaving workers with little sense of the values or priorities of their employers. |
Decision making ability and professional autonomy of practitioners constrained by controlling line management. | Aversion to risk in society, leading to restriction of practice and limiting life opportunities for people who use services. |
Unequal and inconsistent relationship between commissioners and providers, lacking a strategic approach. | Services and workers overwhelmed by bureaucracy and systems, gathering information that serves little purpose. |
People who use services have little influence, having to accept what's offered not what's needed. | Lack of focus on both individual and organisational learning, with little opportunity to share good practice or learn from mistakes. |
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