How has the last year been in children’s social care?

West Midlands social care professionals from 14 councils will join forces with Social Care Today for three social media events to kick-start a discussion. 

Children’s social care staff from across the UK are being urged to reflect back on a ‘challenging and difficult’ year as a first step to putting lessons into practice.

West Midlands social care professionals from 14 councils will join forces with Social Care Today for three social media events to kick-start a discussion. 

In addition, a survey is being run by the councils to capture how people think the last year has been and how children’s social care can improve. 

The survey can be completed by children’s social care staff:

For those In the West Midlands click here to complete the survey

For those outside the West Midlands – click here to complete the survey

Lee Pardy-McLaughlin OBE, principal social worker at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: ‘It’s been a really tough challenging and difficult year for everyone because of Covid-19.

‘Children’s social care is no exception. As we pass the anniversary of the first lockdown, we thought it a good idea to pause and see how people have fared, What went well, what went not so well. 

‘We’d like to hear from people so we can look at how things have been and how we can improve things.  

‘This is a genuine opportunity for people to come together to reflect on what has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone.  There have been highs and lows and we think it’s worth pausing to look at how things have been and how things can improve.’

Children’s social care staff at all levels who have worked through the pandemic have been urged to come forward to take part in the survey and social media events.

On Twitter, the discussion takes place hosted by Social Care Today on April 14 at 1pm to 2pm under the hashtag #sctchildrenschat

On Facebook Live, hosted on the Social Care Today Facebook page on April 14 at 8pm.

On LinkedIn, a discussion is being hosted by Social Care Today on their LinkedIn page in the coming days featuring a blog post from a children’s social care professional.

West Midlands social care teams supporting the campaign include Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Coventry, Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Solihull.

Photo Credit – WM Employers