BASW Independents Local Networks provide an excellent opportunity to build professional links with other self-employed social workers in your area. These meetings are currently virtual and held on MS Teams.
This group meets quarterly on the 3rd Thursday of the month.
BASW Independents Local Networks provide an excellent opportunity to build professional links with other self-employed social workers in your area. These meetings are currently virtual and held on MS Teams.
This group meets on the 3rd Friday of every month. BASW Independents Local Networks provide a space to create and nurture valuable professional links with other self-employed social workers in your region.
These informal meetings are fully member-led and supported centrally by BASW, with the opportunity to share hot topics and collaborate on wider activities.
The idea for this group has organically grown from the BASW Independent Social Worker online FaceBook group, where people have been reaching out within the forum to share information, seek advice and guidance. Showing the need for a platform to discuss the positives and the issues impacting the fostering world. The responses have been very heartfelt and demonstrate the necessity of having a community support group, with a common theme of fostering assessments and the evolution of this work.
The BASW Southwest Regional Branch would like to welcome you to this session presented by Tommy Henderson-Reay from the Digitising Social Care Programme.
This training course to help social workers better understand the trials and tribulations of stepfamilies. The course is aimed at exploring the key differences, thinking about how and why stepchildren are harmed and what social workers can do to support these families. Offering insights into spotting early warning signs to prevent abuse, neglect and child deaths.
BASW Independents Local Networks provide an excellent opportunity to build professional links with other self-employed social workers in your area. These meetings are currently virtual and held on MS Teams.
This group meets on the 3rd Friday of every month. BASW Independents Local Networks provide a space to create and nurture valuable professional links with other self-employed social workers in your region.
These informal meetings are fully member-led and supported centrally by BASW, with the opportunity to share hot topics and collaborate on wider activities.
This is an exciting opportunity to hear first-hand from Teresa Hills Director of Operations Luton Borough Council children’s service on the experience as a Family First Partnership Pathfinder, exploring how, as part of this government programme, Luton is creating the opportunity to be relational in culture and practice and what difference this is making to the loves of children, families and social workers.
Find out about:
• The learning and impact from the Luton journey so far.
Research findings and practice experience provide compelling evidence that animal abuse in the context of domestic abuse is a tactic of coercive control and an act of animal cruelty (Arkow, 2014; Barrett et al, 2017; DeGue et al, 2009; Fitzgerald et al, 2019; Newberry, 2017; Richards, 2009, Wakeham, 2025). Although the link between domestic abuse and animal abuse is uncontested, it is an issue that is often not translated into practice.
In this session led by Soyeb Aswat, we will explore different approaches to working with people experiencing a mental health crisis, which consider their spiritual needs, alongside traditional western social or medical intervention models.
During this session we will hear from a social worker based in a GP practice and learn how being in a universal service such as a GP practice leads to people feeling more able to ask for support or be identified as needing input at a much earlier stage.
We will explore the benefits and challenges related to this service model and consider opportunities this may present in an MDT context.
There will be time for Q and A and general discussion.
Delivered by BASW’s accredited training partner DCC-i via MS Teams. Recording with Care Training for Students/NQSWs supports the Following National Requirements:
England: PCF7 – Interventions and Skills, Adult PQS6 – Effective Assessment and Outcome-Based Support Planning, , Childrens PQS7 – Analysis, Decision-Making, Planning and Review.
Scotland: CLE2 – Communication, engagement and relationship-based practice/ CLE3 – Critical Thinking, Professional Judgement and Decision-Making
The idea for this group has organically grown from the BASW Independent Social Worker online FaceBook group, where people have been reaching out within the forum to share information, seek advice and guidance. Showing the need for a platform to discuss the positives and the issues impacting the fostering world. The responses have been very heartfelt and demonstrate the necessity of having a community support group, with a common theme of fostering assessments and the evolution of this work.
Next meeting of the CSW SIG is on 10th February 2026, starting at 6.30pm.
Internationally, Community-based Social Work (CSW) is definitely NOT dead in the water.
Nations facing country-wide disasters know they need to support whole communities. It is time for a revival of our collective understanding about what CSW is and what it can achieve.
If you have an interest in CSW or have ever used CSW skills, join colleagues at this meeting and be part of the BASW Special Interest Group (SIG).