Case Studies - Children's Social Work Matters

Improving Young Lives in Hull: Award-winning Children’s Social Worker Shares Her Story

Anna O’Brien, Children’s Social Worker, Hull City Council Anna O’Brien joined Hull City Council as a social work student before qualifying with a first class honours degree in 2020. The start of her career coincided with the first wave of the global pandemic, during which Anna rose to the many challenges posed by the lockdowns. […]

Social workers play a key role in preventing child exploitation

Lisa Finch, Team Manager (Vulnerable, Exploited, Missing and Trafficked Team) Hull Council’s VEMT (Vulnerable, Exploited, Missing and Trafficked) Team play a crucial role in supporting young victims of exploitation, and in working preventatively to tackle issues like modern slavery, human trafficking and criminal exploitation across the city. Lisa’s role as Team Manager means that she […]

A Mum’s Story: “How My Children’s Social Worker Helped Me Transform My Life”

A local mum has opened up about how her children’s social worker has helped her to overcome some of the biggest hurdles of her life. Having been previously known to social services throughout her childhood and into adulthood, Emma (not her real name) was able to turn her life around after becoming a mum herself […]

How Practice Educators help new social workers to develop essential skills

Liz Freeman, Practice Educator, Hull City Council As a Practice Educator with Hull City Council, Liz plays a key role in supporting social workers and helping them to develop their skillsets. Her responsibilities mostly focus on newly qualified or student social workers, helping them to navigate the challenges of their placements or ASYE requirements. […]

Adoption teams help children to understand their past and build for the future

Sarah Axon, Adoption Social Worker, One Adoption North & Humber Sarah works for One Adoption North & Humber, an adoption agency which serves five of the local authorities in our region: Hull, East Riding, North East Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and York. Her original qualification was in sports science, but working with and supporting children […]

BME experiences are helping to level the playing field in social work

Ruth McDonald, Social Worker, Sheffield Ruth’s journey into social work involved tackling some of the institutional and cultural barriers which can prevent BME people from pursuing jobs in the field. This has allowed her to play a major role in Sheffield City Council’s work to reduce institutional inequality and discrimination alongside her social work role. […]

Everybody deserves the opportunities and support to be what they want to be

Joanna Beal, Advanced Practitioner, Rotherham Joanna has recently switched from agency work to a permanent Advanced Practitioner role with the Locality Team in Rotherham. As an Advanced Practitioner, Joanna will be more involved in the strategic side of social work practice, helping to upskill her colleagues, supporting newly qualified social workers, and taking on more […]

Continuity makes all the difference to children and families

Liz Stenton, Head of Children & Family Social Care, Barnsley Council Liz is the Head of Service for Children & Family Social Care at Barnsley Council. Her role involves supporting and managing a wide range of safeguarding social work teams in the local authority. Liz’s extensive career in social work has involved working for several […]

Child protection practice on the front line

Jane is an Advanced Practitioner at Doncaster Children’s Services Trust. This story is part of the programme of events, to highlight the profession of social work within the organisation. As we approach one year of practicing social work in a pandemic, I feel compelled to document my experience. My intention is not to speak […]