Social Work Policy Panel newsletter October 2024
Next SWPP: 3rd December 12-1pm. Book your free place
The session will be an introduction to the GIRFE ‘Team Around the Person’ Toolkit
Notes from October’s meeting: Black History Month
We heard from Susan Dobson on the development of anti-racism policy and practice in social work.
Here are some key points from the presentation:
- Anti-racism seeks to dismantle systems of disadvantage
- Terminology can be a barrier to understanding what?
- Scotland is NOT exceptional, and racism exists in our country
- Evidence of racism is rarely addressed well
- Social workers and their clients experience racism
- Presumptions about culture and stereotypes underly many incidents
- Work was ongoing on a Statement of Intent by the Scottish Government and COSLA supported by SASW’s Anti-Racism Action Group and the National Anti-racism Oversight Group for Social Work. This was published after the SWPP event here
Spurway created three useful mottos to help think about:
- the dominant identity shapes the world (e.g. seatbelts designed for men, not women);
- advantage is invisible to those that have it (e.g. ‘why is that a problem for you?’);
- we judge ourselves by our intentions (‘it was only a joke’) but we judge others by their impact (‘that joke was demeaning and hurtful’)
The group heard from people who face racism every day who told us that action beyond words and strategy is essential.
There is a new national survey on racism in social work.
The SWPP partners are grateful to Susan Dobson for the presentation and to our audience for the discussion.
Action beyond words and strategy is essential
5th December SASW Skills & Knowledge: Next Steps in Adult Self Neglect | BASW
About the Social Work Policy Panel
All students, newly qualified and experienced social workers are welcome to come along to our events.
The panel is jointly run by the Scottish Association of Social Work, the Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser, and Social Work Scotland. It was created to bring frontline workers and policy makers in Government together to address the issues affecting social work today. It is an opportunity to influence those policy makers and the future of social work with your experience and knowledge.
As a social worker, we know you’re busy and facing lots of competing pressures. That’s why we want to make the panel as influential and meaningful as possible.
Get in touch with us through the panel mailbox: SWPP@basw.co.uk
Free coaching service for all social workers and social work students in Scotland
What is the Social Work Professional Support Service (SWPSS)?
- A FREE and independent peer coaching service by and for social workers
- Facilitated by experienced and trained social work coaches who volunteer their time
- Provides you with a safe and empathetic space to think through any professional and/or personal challenges you may be facing
- Offers a confidential peer to peer listening space
- Supports self-care, wellbeing and empowerment
- Funded by the Scottish Government
The service is geared to provide coaching support whether you are a student, social work practitioner or manager. We have coaches from different fields and the whole range of experiences - choose your own coach and set up a session at a time that suits you.
Social workers have used the service to talk through their career planning and development needs, the impact of the work role on their personal life/health, placements, to gain confidence, to process the experience of being bullied/racially targeted or to manage change/turbulences in the organisations they work for.
