Hi, I'm Georgiana_Scope! I'm a student social worker and want to hear your views!

Georgiana_Alumni

Hi all,

I have just joined Scope as a student social worker and want to hear your views on all things Scope and also what are your opinions about social work and social workers. Good or bad, I'd love to hear your views. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes 

janer1967

Hi and welcome 

I don't have much experience of social workers just of one occasion when I was rushed to hospital in a coma state and my 10 year old was with me 

My brother was contacted by hospital and he came to get him but hospital informed social services 

Tbh I had to deal with them when I came round and they were very intrusive 

I get they had his welfare in mind they did follow up enquiries with his school and gp who confirmed they had no issues 

Suggestions made he wasn't fed but I'd they actually had seen him you can see he wasn't under fed 

When we got to hospital he hadn't had breakfast due to what had been ab emergency situation 

Was a lot to deal with on top of trying to recover and worrying about my son while I was in hospital and the fear of social services being involved 

It all got sorted and no further follow up

Ross_Alumni

Thanks for asking your question @Georgiana_Scope  

Garza

My experience with social workers has been quite limited but in those experiences I have found social workers to come with a pre determined idea of what you need with your disability rather than asking what they may be able to do for you, I hope to be able to limit my contact with them for as long as possible 

I do agree with @Username_removed that there are bound to be good and bad as will all professions and the public know very little about what goes on behind the scenes

Lisatho11987777

I dont agree with social services when it comes to children and familys and how they deal with things if they put support in when it's needed instead of waiting for people to fail I am very passionate about this and I have campaigned and supported children and familys in crisis 

forgoodnesssake

One of the issues that we found with Children's services social workers was that in general they came from a child protection background/perspective with little knowledge of the impact of disability and so there was always a sense (and sometimes a stated view) that the parents were the problem.  We did once, briefly have a children's sw who had a lot of disability experience and knowledge and he was like a different species altogether...but of course he didn't stay long.  In my, and others, experience lumping together children with disabilities (and their families) and children "at risk" is not helpful, either to the families or probably to the SWs as well.

Georgiana_Alumni

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Your view is very interesting I would love to hear in what way the social worker you referred to was different - in what way was he like a different species? I hear you are saying that some social workers had risk on the agenda and you didn't feel you belonged in that category, What way can a social worker improve their self image and be more relatable. Thanks in advance have a great day!

Georgiana_Alumni

@Username_removed

Yes I see what you mean about 'political football' it seems social workers are always in the news.  It was certainly something  I had to consider when I moved into the area of study. I'm from a journalism background you see. What would make an ideal social worker for you and how can I support people better in my role as a student social worker for Scope? Have a great day. PS I noticed you say on your profile you don't want to be tagged I'm new to all this so sorry if I have done this inadvertently 

Georgiana_Alumni

@woodbine
Thank you very much for your reply and taking the time with this discussion. I must say I really tire of the phrase 'lessons will be learnt' as it seems to the public at least that serious case reviews don't always get the right results. I am studying serious case reviews at the moment and looking at highly emotive cases like Victoria Climbie and Baby P and as far as I understand they are supposed to lead to information on what to do in future but not  cast blame therefore I think its hard on social workers sometimes as they are blamed for everything and there is little information about who effectively is to blame. One of the pitfalls I think is when information isn't shared early on between organisations. What would make a successful social worker for you?

Georgiana_Alumni

@lisathomas50
WOW I'd love to hear more about your campaigning. What sort of things do you do? That's fantastic. I understand your feelings. What would you like to see social workers do and be involved in?

forgoodnesssake

The SW I refer to had grown up around disability and had a good knowledge of the social model, had done some specific training in disability issues and just "got" what many of the issue are for families with disabled children, rather than us having to explain and justify every single thing (which we had to do for at least one other, truly awful sw)

I think another key thing to remember is that very often parents/carers of disabled children refer themselves to social services because they desperately need help/support/information.  That is often (not always I accept) very different to families who are referred to SS because there are concerns about child welfare etc.

Lisatho11987777

@Georgiana_Scope I campaign for children and familys to keep their children at home and parents with disabilities who have children 

There should be more help and support if familys are struggling not wait until they fail  yes there are some people who shouldn't have their children but there are alot who just need help and support 

Disability  mental health , postnatal depression, struggling for other reasons doesn't give social services exclusive rights to take their children more support is needed also as @woodbine said social workers should have life experiences  

The problem is some people have a fear of asking social services for help because they are afraid of what will happen 

Women who suffer domestic abuse social services don't support they would rather take their children than help them move away from their abuser and when women do their best to get away social services penalise them for doing that 

Would I trust a social worker no I wouldn't  I have known women go under ground as its called the under ground network women hiding with their children  I csn go on I have campaigned for 20years 

The secrets of the children and familys court is criminal  children that don't need to be taken are being taken I am as I say passionate about it 

There are also more cases now where children were adopted don't  know who their siblings are  and end up in relationships  years later 

To learn about experiences go on line there is plenty on there 

chiarieds

Playing Devil's advocate here. I trained as a physio in the late 1970s, & wanted to work with disabled children, especially those with cerebral palsy. In my last 3 month long placement I was in a regional Child Development Centre with 2 older physios who taught me a lot. When I re-iterated that I definitely wanted to work with children, they both said wait until you have children of your own, then try such work. I didn't listen, & hope I helped some children anyway. Were they right; well of course having children of your own gives you a way better understanding. However, to ask the same of any social worker, or therapist, to 'get some life experience' first, as has been suggested, may not always be viable. After years of studying, once qualified, I'm sure many hope to get a job.

On the other hand, altho it was a long time ago (& seeing the same problems with the NHS I saw so long ago still appearing to prevail), my one & only experience with a Social worker was poor. As a student (my tutors had noted my interest in working with disabled children so helped me secure appropriate placements) I spent 6 weeks in a school for disabled children. Most had spina bifida, but there was one 5 year old I remember that had cerebral palsy. Probably because my interest in him was noted, I was asked to accompany a Social Worker to his home. I expected to see what she might offer....she spent more time commentating to me about the pictures & ornaments in his parent's lounge whilst his Mum went to get him from his bedroom. She didn't ask his Mum what help she might need, & didn't talk to this very bright little boy at all.

It seems we have all replied rather negatively, but whilst I'm sure we all want appropriate safeguarding to happen, I hope I may ask do you study disability? This seems to be what others have mentioned, that they hoped there would be some understanding from a Social worker about disabilities too.

As far as the above comments go about Family courts there does seem to be a balance needed between 'transparency,' & 'confidentiality.'  See: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7306/CBP-7306.pdf  tho I'm sure there are other reputable sources. Can you highlight any Lisa?

As someone who was adopted as a 6 month old baby, surely the chance of them ending up in a relationship with a sibling would be infinitesimally small?  Do you have links to this Lisa? Several years ago I found I had twin half-siblings, & a younger half-sister. Not too difficult to do.

Sorry for the long reply @Georgiana_Scope but you strike me as someone who wants to know more, & hopefully make a difference, as I did, so appreciate you joining the community in order to help in doing so.

Lisatho11987777

@chiarieds there was a programme on telly not long ago about a brother and sister who met many years after they were adopted they had four children together on the fifth child something happened and the child needed a blood transfusion thats when it was found that the parents were siblings social services took the children into care there was supposed to be a second part but it was banned 

Children are suposed to be adopted away from where they lived or known to stop the risk of this happening but some children are being adopted and kept in local areas it has been going on for years  and has always been kept quite because of the secrecy of children and familys plenty online about these things also about forced adoption 

As for sibbling relationships unless something hapend where  some sort of test had to be done it could go unknown for  there is a book called sibling relationships unless that has been banned and explains the bond that siblings feel even when they haven't met each other for many years and how sibbling relationships happen I learnt alit from a social worker I knew very well who did want to help change things but most social workers like that are out numbered 

I agree that there has to be confidentiality  but there is no transparency in children and family law in court papers aren't allowed to report neither is tv if a parent is involved in a childcare case they aren't allowed to speak to anyone but social workers solicitor barrister or professional people that are involved in the case  it is against the law 

Parents are fighting back now or trying to there is lots of information you just have to find it  but i would say training to be a social  worker all this type of thing will be part of the training I hope that one day social services will change for the better 

Lisatho11987777

Barbra gonyo is a good case mother and son @chiarieds this type of thing was picked up in 1980s 

Georgiana_Alumni

@lisathomas50
Sounds like you do some really good and effective work. 

Georgiana_Alumni

@lisathomas50
The programme you speak about sounds very interesting and I will look up the Barbara Gonyo case thank you

MarkM88

I do remember watching a programme on TV. It was one of those undercover/investigative types, think it must of been panarama or dispatches. It was horrendous to watch and that initially give me the preconception of social workers as a negative role in society. 

I nor family or anyone I knew to the best of my knowledge had dealings with a social worker. 

However that did change when a family member had dealings with social workers and they helped so much and had a positive impact that ensured the future was better. 

Unfortunately I can’t go into details on a public forum, sorry. 

Georgiana_Alumni

@woodbine
Thank you for your reply, I suppose when we say life experience it can mean different things to different people, Someone might be older with vast life experience but not have children for example, would you say that they are not experienced to work as a children's social worker for instance. Does the social worker require lived experience of the area they are working in? I think the problem is there is a shortage of social workers overall and even more a shortage of specialisms it must be really frustrating to be given a social worker that does not have any specific training in the matter they are dealing with. Thanks for sharing some of your story it's all good for my learning. Social work is a second career for me and as a mature student I do have quite a bit of life experience but I won't have specialist experience in the area I'm interested in until I start working in the field . 

Georgiana_Alumni

@chiarieds
Thank you very much for your interesting story. As a student we do cover disability but as I am doing my placement with Scope I am lucky enough to get more training on it than my peers. I am interested in your comments about life experience. As a mature student I do have quite vast life experience of different issues including disability but have an interest in various areas of social work including youth offending for example and don't have any experience there! I wonder if I might be able to offer a fresh perspective to this new area and not be jaded but others might think I need more specific training? I think with most degrees and masters courses you are provided with a general overview of social work and then it is paid employment that provides actual specific experience. I have really enjoyed learning about the plights of disabled people and can identify with them but I still have a lot to learn and welcome the challenge

Georgiana_Alumni

@MarkN88
Thank you for taking the time to comment and provide a snapshot of your experience and I'm glad it was favorable, It certainly gives me a boost to think that there are positive perceptions out there. I do think the panorama style documentaries can show a very negative view of social work and as they are seen by millions do have a lot of influence on perception it would be nice to see more balanced views and perhaps hear about some of the success stories that don't make the news. Have a great day