At Eastern Regions, our social workers are dedicated to safeguarding the welfare and wellbeing of children and their families. A career in social care is incredibly rewarding and impactful, whilst being undeniably challenging at times.
Everybody’s journey into Children’s Social Care is different, but everybody joins with the passion to make a positive difference to the futures of children within their region.
We spoke to Liam and Steve about why they decided to work within Children’s Social Care at Suffolk County Council and what their journeys were like into the roles they have today.
Steve, Service Manager: Back in 2010, I had just left university after completing an English literature degree, which I loved. However, at that time, I had no idea where I wanted to go. I had a vague sense of wanting to work in the public sector and a desire to pursue a role that gave back to the community. Additionally, I knew that working with children might allow me to make a difference. Like many social workers, I considered teaching, but a few months working in a school made it clear that it wasn’t for me!
Liam, Senior Social Worker: I had never really considered a career in children’s social care until I found myself already working in that sector. I usually describe my entry into social work as almost ‘falling into it’. My first role in social care was as a temp at the social care contact centre for Suffolk Adult and Children’s Services in late 2012. I had just graduated with an undergraduate degree in History and was seeking suitable employment, however, there were very few job opportunities at that time. I applied for what was advertised as a role in a call centre, not initially knowing that the position was actually related to social care. Once I began working within social care however, I realized that this was something I really enjoyed and after gaining enough relevant experience, I successfully applied for an internal social worker training scheme.
Steve: At around 2012, Suffolk County Council was running a Graduate Trainee scheme. They still run the same scheme now, and it has been incredibly successful at recruiting a huge number of social workers who have stayed with us and gone on to different roles within Suffolk. The scheme supported me through a year-long placement with the council and then through my university placements. I live in Norfolk, so in many ways, Suffolk was not my natural home, but the commitment they showed to supporting me from day one has meant that I have stayed with them ever since.
Liam: I chose to work in Suffolk because I have always lived here and feel a strong connection to the local area. Having worked in a variety of different roles within Suffolk Children and Young People’s Services, I feel my career up until now has helped me develop a good understanding of both the internal structures and processes of Suffolk CYPS, but also of the services that are available for families in the county. I feel I am therefore able to utilise this knowledge in my daily practice and offer the best possible support to the families I work with.
Steve: After my training was complete, I started as a Newly Qualified Social Worker in a frontline assessment team. This was right at the start of what is now called the ASYE programme. Suffolk’s commitment to this programme and the capped caseloads and support that comes with it started around the time I joined and has stayed ever since. The fact that so many of our managers have now grown up with this programme means that it is something that we all take so seriously. I worked as a social worker for several years, working at first with 0-11, and then following a restructuring with children up to 18.
In 2016, I moved into a Consultant Social Worker role, which was a brilliant developmental role as it allowed me to continue in practice but gain experience supervising staff and being part of the management team. Then, in 2017, I moved into my first team manager role here in Suffolk.
In 2020, during the middle of the first lockdown, I applied for the Service Manager post in Central and South Suffolk. This represented a big change for me as all my career I had worked in Lowestoft. I was successful and took the opportunity to move to a different area, and learnt loads from a different team of social workers and managers from whom I had worked with before. Since then, following the Lowestoft Service Manager returning to America, I have returned to Lowestoft to resume the Service Manager role here.
The other brilliant thing that I have had the chance to do is join our outstanding Emergency Duty Service team. This team operates overnight and at weekends, and it has expanded my skill set so much, as as well as dealing with children’s cases, we also pick up emergency adult social care calls, returning me to so many of the things I learnt about adult social work at university.
Liam: After I had worked in several different roles within Children and Young People’s Services, Suffolk County Council funded my social work training between 2017 and 2019. Since qualifying I have been supported to complete my initial ASYE assessed year and subsequently taken on lots of further training and development opportunities which help to not only support the families I work with, but other members of the team with their cases too. There are regular practitioner workshops offered to social workers in the locality which I try and attend as frequently as possible.
Having worked in the same team for several years now, I have developed some really positive relationships with many of the young people I support. It’s one of the most rewarding aspects of my role. I was able to continue working with many of the children and young people I met during my time as a student in the team and have become the allocated social worker for many of the children and young people I already worked with. It’s enabled me to be able to really get to know many of the young people I support, and in turn support them to improve their own understanding of why they are in care.
As a child in care social worker, my role generally consists of supporting children and young people to remain in their placements through regular visits and review meetings. A lot of my work is long-term, so it is very much relationship-based. I generally work with children and young people up until they reach the age of sixteen, which is when they transfer to the Suffolk Leaving Care service. Most of the children I work with are the subject of a Care Order or Interim Care Order, however I also work with children and families on Child in Need and Child Protection plans too.
When supporting children in care the role of a social worker is quite unique, in that the Local Authority tend to hold parental responsibility for many of the children and young people I work with. That being said, it is a lot more than just making decisions about people. It’s crucial that the children and young people are a part of this process and are involved in the decision-making process wherever possible. It’s also very important to try and support children and young people to develop an understanding of their journey whilst in care and why they came to be in care through life story work.
Steve: Social work feels like constant learning and development as barely a day goes by without having to deal with something new. The world of social work has changed so much even in the 10 years since I qualified. The breadth of what our teams deal with has changed – we know face challenges around dealing with children’s mental health, and special educational needs in a way which we didn’t 10 years ago. I am constantly having to learn about these aspects of my role every day.
As a social worker in Suffolk, I was supported from day one to develop aspects of my role. As a practitioner, this was through doing things such as ABE Training, where I learnt about the process of interviewing children who had witnessed or been victims of crimes, or Practice Educator training, whereby I learnt how to share my skills with students, something I have continued to do to this day. Suffolk have kept up their commitment to their Signs of Safety model, rolling out training for all staff. The Signs of Safety+ model is now rolling out, with all social workers and managers having the opportunity to take part in 5 days training around this, demonstrating the council’s commitment to continued learning and development.
Liam: I first applied for one of the internal social work training schemes whilst working in the Munti-Agency Safeguarding Hub, but was unsuccessful due to my lack of experience working directly with children and families. I then applied for a Family Support Practitioner role in one of the Ipswich Early Help teams. I was successful in my application, and took on a case-holding role, but was also required to work closely with social workers to support the families they were working with too. I really enjoyed this role, and was able to support lots of families in the local area.
From there, I re-applied for an internal social work training scheme and was sponsored by Suffolk County Council to study for an MA in Social Work, which I successfully completed in 2019. Whilst studying, my final 100-day placement was in a Child in Care team in Ipswich. The placement went really well, and I was fortunate to be offered a permanent position in the team once I qualified in 2019. I completed my ASYE in the team and have chosen to remain working for Suffolk County Council ever since.
Recently, I have completed ABE interview training, PAMS assessment training. Suffolk County Council are currently offering to fund social workers to undertake further post-qualifying modules at the University of East Anglia. I have completed several modules on various subjects and am close to gaining a further MA in Advanced Social Work, and am currently undertaking a Practice Educator module which will enable me to support student social workers whilst they are on placements. Suffolk County Council also offer social workers three days’ paid leave specifically to support with continuing professional development, which are proving to be extremely helpful with my additional studies.
Steve: I have worked for Suffolk for many years, and its commitment to flexible working and being a supportive employer means that I would aspire to continue to work and progress in my role here. I aspire to keeping in touch with practice and making sure that wherever my role takes me I continue to have regular contact with children and their families and carers. I aspire to make sure that whatever I do I continue to help to promote social work, and what a brilliant, exciting career it is.
Liam: Prior to my successful application to study for my MA in Social Work I was considering studying for an MA in Human Rights, which is a subject I have always been particularly interested in since studying for my undergraduate degree. There is a specific social work team in Suffolk that supports unaccompanied asylum-seeking children which I would potentially like to consider joining at some point in my career.
I also recently undertook a secondment as a Consultant Social Worker position in my current team. I really enjoyed this opportunity and would like to apply for a permanent position when one becomes available in the future, with a view to potentially progressing to management.
Steve: My biggest piece of advice would be to say yes to any challenge, and throw yourself in feet first. You really learn by doing in social work, and so it is important to suck up any opportunity that gets presented to you. There will be tough days and days where it feels like you are banging your head against a brick wall, so make sure to celebrate the successes. One of the brilliant things about social work is the autonomous nature of the role, but this means that being organised is an essential skill. And never forget the value of relationships – whether this is with your team, the families you work with, or the professionals around you, if you commit and invest in these relationships you will stand yourself in good stead.
Liam: I think the best advice anyone could have given me when I first started working in children’s services would have been to throw yourself at every opportunity that is offered to you. I think learning through experience is the best way to develop your own skillset. If you’re keen to develop and progress, there will be so many different opportunities that present themselves in this career path. The best advice I could give would therefore be to embrace these opportunities whenever you can.
If you’d like to find out more about other’s experiences of working in Children’s Social Care, read our blogs or take a look at our jobs to see what opportunities could be available to you.
