Giving Children’s Social Workers and those with care experience a platform to share their stories is an important part of our regional programme. We believe this is the is the best way to show the true impact social workers have on the lives of thousands of vulnerable children and families.
As part of Social Work Week 2024, Care leavers from Yorkshire and the Humber have described how the support they received from their social workers has helped them transform their lives. In doing so, they are hoping to raise awareness about the profession and encourage others to take up the role, whilst challenging some of the misconceptions towards children’s social workers and towards those who, like them, have been in need of their help.
Here's what some of our care leavers had to say about the positive impact social workers had in their lives:
"My social workers were like a massive safety net because I knew that if I had any problems I could pick up the phone and someone could be there the next day, and this was something I felt very grateful for. "
"As I got to know John over the years, all I saw was someone who had devoted his life to helping vulnerable children and I knew this wasn’t just a job to him."
Sam - Read the full story here
“My social worker was the first adult I’d met who’d been in care and who was living a successful life, so I thought to myself, OK, maybe I can do that too. I attended the study groups she arranged for me and my school attendance went from 15%, to around 90% within a year. She also influenced my decision to study sociology and criminology, which has really helped me in my chosen career."
"I had a few foster placements and moving around was always tough, but the one constant that remained throughout my childhood, was my social workers. Whatever else was going on in my life they would always be there for me, a calming presence to steady the course and help me through... And now as I train to be a children’s social worker, I apply these core values to my own practice."
Ryan - Watch the full video here
Carly Speechley, Executive Director of Children's Services at Barnsley Council, offered some additional insight on the role of children’s social workers, some of the challenges facing the sector both regionally and nationally, and how to join the profession: