Social Work Leadership Approaches | BASW England North & West Yorkshire Branch

Timetable for the day

9.30 - 10am arrival

10am Welcome

10.15 - Dr Charlotte Scott & Dr Lace Jackson: Breaking the Circuit: Critically Reflecting on Models of Leadership within Social Work

Lunch

1pm - Hannah Jobling: Shades of Bias

2pm - Jack Skinner: Leadership styles

3pm - Short reflection with Hiede Coates, and go home by 4pm!

Refreshments: Note that tea/coffee is provided, but please bring your own lunch. You can order savoury food at ‘Cookies’, the nearest cafe, and various other cafes at the University.

Getting to the venue Room: B/T/005 The John Currey Room, Biology T Block, Campus West, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD Interactive Map: https://www.york.ac.uk/map/#locidb-t-005

There are regular buses from the train station to the campus - if you ask to get off at the university library stop, the driver will be able to tell you when to get off.

There is on campus carparking (charged); give yourself time to find both a carparking space and the room. There are many carparks - Siwards Way is the largest.

*Please note this is an In-Person event.

Morning:

Charlotte and Lace will explore how distinct approaches to leadership in social work practice can disrupt conventional norms, ‘breaking the circuit’, whilst aligning to professional values and ethics, and pro-actively promoting social justice, cohesion, equity and diversity. Recommendations will be made to bring about meaningful change in social work’s approach to leadership, valuing the unique contribution the profession can have to an understanding of emancipatory leadership approaches.

Lace will present key concepts developed in her research exploring leadership from a Global Majority perspective. This original study finds that even though Global Majority Leaders can thrive by drawing on cultural capital and relational leadership enactments, they still face profound barriers in their experience and practice of leadership within UK-based organisations and how the perspectives of Global Majority leaders in the UK are often downplayed or ignored in the broader organisation, leadership, and identity literature.

Charlotte will present the ways in which her initial engagement with Lace’s research shifted her positioning around an understanding of leadership within social work, as Lace also offers a challenge to the prevalence of Compassionate Leadership, inviting us to take a critical stance when engaging in the growing discourse around this area of practice. Charlottes own research relates to leadership within the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) role; she will also consider the ways in which all practitioners can be empowered to take on leadership roles. Charlottes research found that AMHPs recognise and mitigate the power inherent in their role by developing an approach that holds rights-based practice at the centre of their practice, making relationship-based connections whilst working reflexively to adapt and navigate the challenges of the role.

Charlotte and Lace argue that Social Work leadership has the potential for wider impact by offering a model underpinned by the principles of social justice, allyship and rights-based practice. They explore how we understand operationalised marginalisation, and provide space to develop meaningful plans of action to reduce this and for you to develop within your organisations.

Afternoon:

Hannah will present ‘Shades of Bias’ - a reflective case study toolkit designed to help social workers and professionals document, analyze, and challenge racism, discrimination, and oppression in practice. Developed by BASW England and partners, this resource helps individuals process personal experiences, improve organizational cultures, and address both overt and subtle, systemic bias.

Jack will explore leadership styles; the methods, behaviours, and approaches a leader uses to guide, motivate, and manage teams, often shaped by personality, experience, and organizational culture.

Biographies

Dr Lace Jackson Lace’s positionality as a Global Majority woman from Jamaican Caribbean heritage has shaped her current research focus on leadership and identity. An Advanced Social Worker, Lace has substantial experience in social work and leadership practice over 30 years in various roles within children’s and education safeguarding, leading social care learning and development functions, and as an executive and research institute director within the charity sector. Having completed her PhD exploring the personal and professional challenges of Global Majority Leaders in the UK, Lace is committed to the sphere of practice and works as a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Bedfordshire and as a central academic at the Open University.

Dr Charlotte Scott Charlotte is a white British woman, and has been a social worker for over 20 years, starting her role in social care as a housing support officer in a charity supporting homeless people. She has worked in roles in a range in adult social care settings, primarily in a Community Mental Health Team as an AMHP and Best Interests assessor, and as a Principal Social Worker. She is a practice educator and in recent years completed a PhD exploring how decisions are made during Mental Health Act assessments. She works as a regional academic in Social Work at The Open University, is a Social Work England partner, and associate with Research in Practice Dr Hannah Jobling is a senior lecturer in social work at the University of York. She has researched and written on a range of topics, including mental health policy and practice, youth well-being and place-based inequaliites, the role of community in supporting vulnerable groups, the shifting nature of social work across time and place, and narrative-based approaches to promoting anti-racist social work practice.

Jack Skinner is a Local Authority Social Work Service Manager in Bradford’s Adult Disability Service, as well as a Practice Educator, Best Interest Assessor and chair of the West Yorkshire BASW branch. His career has been dedicated to supporting adults with disabilities through both voluntary and professional roles. He is committed to rights-based practice and to strengthening social work within the complex systems it operates in. Alongside his leadership work in social care, Jack recently completed a MBA, further developing his interest in leadership in complex environments. Working in social care has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life, grounding his passion for human rights, equality and social justice. Jack particularly values his role as a Practice Educator and the opportunity to see how each new generation of practitioners shapes the future of social work.