Social work news

• Carer’s allowance report a vivid insight into failings of an unfit system

  16-05-2024 20:54
  
  Little wonder welfare ministers were so reluctant the publish the study they commissioned five years agoThere are plenty of reasons why welfare ministers were reluctant to publish the study they commissioned into unpaid carers’ experiences of carer’s allowance five years ago, and which has finally emerged under duress.In 2019 they had undoubtedly been chastened by criticism from MPs and auditors that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not understand how a relatively littl
  
  Read more

• Ministers knew about carer’s allowance problems three years ago, report reveals

  16-05-2024 20:46
  
  Suppressed DWP study told of hardship endured by carers forced to repay thousands after minor allowance breachesMinisters were warned three years ago that unpaid carers were being treated unfairly and forced to repay huge sums for minor benefit breaches, a long suppressed government report has revealed.A Department for Work and Pensions document presented to politicians in 2021 detailed how carers – the majority of whom were on low incomes and spending 65 hours a week caring for loved ones
  
  Read more

• Council staff offered ‘full and final’ £1,290 pay rise for 2024-25

  16-05-2024 17:44
  
  Employers have offered council staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland a “full and final” pay rise of £1,290 or 2.5%, whichever is higher, in 2024-25.
  They said that the offer, which will be topped up for those working in London and pro rated for part-time employees, was at the limits of affordability for councils. It is worth about 3-4% for social workers (see box).
  However, unions, who lodged a claim for 10% rise this year, described it as “disappointing” and
  
  Read more

• Service Lead – Social Work

  16-05-2024 17:19
  
  https://jobs.communitycare.co.uk/job/1401757583/service-lead-social-work/
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Media reporting of the family courts: a social worker’s reflections

  16-05-2024 16:35
  
  By Polly Baynes
  Since January 2024, the press have been allowed into nearly half of family courts in England and Wales to report on proceedings, following a year-long pilot in three areas. What are the implications for social workers?
  The need to limit press reporting to protect vulnerable children from the disclosure of sensitive personal information has long been recognised.
  Section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 made reporting on family proceedings involving children a contempt
  
  Read more

• Social workers reject council offer to settle dispute after more than 40 days of strike action

  16-05-2024 13:54
  
  Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.Mental health social workers have rejected a new council offer to settle a dispute that has seen them take more than 40 days of strike action.
  Their employer, Barnet Council, has offered adult social care practitioners in the borough, including the mental health staff, a recruitment and retention payment worth 5% of salary.
  However, their union, UNISON, has said they will not settle for less
  
  Read more

• Transparency data: Level 3 qualifications in scope for funding approval withdrawal

  16-05-2024 12:13 via gov.uk
  
  A list of qualifications that will have public funding removed from 1 August 2025.
  
  Read more

• Open consultation: Review of the RSHE statutory guidance

  16-05-2024 11:28 via gov.uk
  
  We’re seeking your views on changes to the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Official Statistics: National Tutoring Programme 2023 to 2024

  16-05-2024 11:20 via gov.uk
  
  Performance statistics for the National Tutoring Programme for the academic year 2023 to 2024.
  
  Read more

• National Statistics: Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn term 2023

  16-05-2024 10:30 via gov.uk
  
  Absence statistics on the levels of overall, authorised and unauthorised absence in state-funded schools.
  
  Read more

• National Statistics: Children accommodated in secure children's homes: 31 March 2024

  16-05-2024 10:30 via gov.uk
  
  Statistics on approved placements by type, sex, age, ethnicity and length of stay.
  
  Read more

• Guidance: Tutoring in education settings

  16-05-2024 10:30 via gov.uk
  
  How to plan and deliver tutoring to pupils and students.
  
  Read more

• Working with Gypsy and Traveller communities: tips for positive practice

  16-05-2024 09:45
  
  This article comprises tips taken from a Community Care Inform guide about working with Gypsy and Traveller communities. The full guide is directed primarily at children’s services practitioners but many of the key messages and principles are relevant to adults’ social workers too.
  The guide is written and updated by Friends, Families and Travellers, a national charity that works on behalf of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers.
  Subscribers can access the full content on Inform Adults and
  
  Read more

• How effective is information sharing in child protection cases?

  16-05-2024 09:45
  
  Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
  Inadequate information sharing between agencies has been an all-too-familiar finding of reviews into child deaths or other serious cases over many years.
  It was a key factor behind agencies’ failure to prevent Victoria Climbié’s murder in 2000, as Herbert Laming, who chaired the inquiry into the eight-year-old’s death, recalled in a recent interview with Community C
  
  Read more

• Press release: Age limits introduced to protect children in RSHE

  16-05-2024 01:01 via gov.uk
  
  New age ratings to be introduced on Relationships, Sex and Health Education content in schools to ensure it is appropriately and sensitively taught.
  
  Read more

• Press release: £85 million pledged to tackle antibiotic emergency

  16-05-2024 01:01 via gov.uk
  
  Funding of £85 million will be announced at a global event to support the international community in tackling the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_socialwork on Twitter!