Survey for diaspora social workers working in the UK

BASW is keen to understand both the needs of individual social workers from overseas and of the networks and support groups that already exist

Many social workers in the UK studied and qualified abroad before coming to work in the UK. Just as the NHS is reliant on staff from overseas, many social work organisations are heavily reliant on social workers who qualified overseas and have now come to work in the UK.

They bring energy, insight and fresh perspectives. Social workers from overseas come from a variety of countries in a variety of continents especially Africa, Europe, the Far East, India, and North America. But working in a new country can be a challenge. Some overseas social workers have formed support groups, based on their country of origin. Some of these groups are small and local, others are larger and cover large areas of the UK.

BASW is keen to understand both the needs of individual social workers from overseas and of the networks and support groups that already exist. BASW certainly doesn’t want to ’take over’ these groups, but just as BASW aims to support social workers in their practice, BASW is keen to support overseas social workers in their practice where possible. To help us to do this BASW has developed a survey.

Take the survey

If you are a social worker from overseas it would be incredibly helpful if you could complete it. The development of the questionnaire has been led by Priya David (a member of our International Committee) and Anstance Fometu. Both are BASW members. BASW will use the questionnaire to produce ‘top level’ findings, i.e. we will not make available any information which allows individuals to be identified. If you prefer, you can complete the questionnaire and remain anonymous, but please remember if we are to develop resources, we won’t then be able to contact you about them. You are receiving this bulletin because you are a BASW member, but many overseas social workers are not BASW members and if you felt able to share the questionnaire link with those colleagues, we would be pleased to hear from them too.

The closing date of the questionnaire is 23.59 on Monday 5 April. Following the closure of the questionnaire, Priya and Anstance will be leading a Zoom meeting where social workers from overseas will be able to discuss their experiences. Further details on this opportunity, and an invitation to join the meeting, will be sent out shortly.