Photo by Community Care
Does your experience align with the DfE’s 2024 findings, which calculated the average caseload for children’s services in England to be 15.4?
- It’s well below my caseload. (83%, 86 Votes)
- Yes, it’s in line with my caseload. (12%, 12 Votes)
- It’s below mine but not radically different. (6%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 104
Loading …Visiting people in need of support and face-to-face contact are considered integral parts of social work.
However, completing visits is a task practitioners often must carry out alone, which, in some cases, carries a degree of risk.
As experienced children’s social worker Sophie Baker explained in a recent article for Community Care: “Many of these families are experiencing crises or challenges that can evoke strong emotions, like anger or fear. These situations make safety a crucial part of our practice.”
Concerns about social workers’ safety during visits have also been raised in relation to Mental Health Act assessments and domestic abuse referrals.
So how aware are practitioners of their safety during face-to-face contact with individuals and families?
A Community Care poll with nearly 650 votes found that most social workers (85%) were very (55%) or somewhat (30%) conscious of their safety when visiting those they support.
Only 5% reported not being ‘at all’ concerned, while 10% said they were ‘a little’ conscious.
Tips on ensuring your safety during visits
To learn more about ensuring your safety and making the most of visits, read Sophie Baker’s recent piece, where she shares practical safety tips based on a scary encounter she had when newly qualified.
This was the second article in her ‘What I wish I had known…’ series, where she reflects on her approach to practice when she started out – and what she would tell her younger self now.
‘Who is protecting us?’
“I think in our profession not enough consideration is given to the worker – let’s face it, we usually work alone, and situations can change very quickly,” commented Rosie R. in the related article.
“We “choose” to work with, and protect children, though who or what body is protecting us?”
One children’s social worker described being denied support when working with a mentally unwell mother.
“There often isn’t managerial or peer support in place to allow us to feel fully safe, protected, and supported,” they said.
“In one case, I [was supporting] a mentally unwell mother who was extremely aggressive and prone to making false allegations against social workers, with the aim being to obstruct visits. I knew I needed a second worker for my own safety, as well as to be a witness.”
‘I was not prepared to compromise my safety’
The practitioner initially relied on colleagues for support during visits, but all that stopped when the team manager found out.
“[They were] very angry and upset with me, which made me feel bad for seeking support, and told me I needed to go out on my own,” said the practitioner.
“There was no discussion about how I felt, nor about possible options on managing the situation. I was not prepared to compromise my own safety and wellbeing, so I handed in my notice.”
Celebrate those who’ve inspired you
Photo by Daniel Laflor/peopleimages.com/ AdobeStock
Do you have a colleague, mentor, or social work figure you can’t help but gush about?
Our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone within social work who has inspired you – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.
Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by filling in our nominations form with a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.
*Please note that, despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry*
If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com
