034 President of Russian Union of Social Workers
Antonina Dashkina, President of Russian Union of Social Workers and Social Pedagogues, Vice President of INGO Conference, Council of Europe. We explore social work in Russia and the differences between Russia and the UK – most notably Russians view social work with a glass half full attitude rather than the negative attitude the UK appears to have of our profession. Antonina has an incredible wealth of knowledge and provides a fascinating insight into international social work. We touch on the political situation between Russia and Ukraine and she explains to us the impacts on Russian social work and her talks with her Ukrainian equivalent.
Antonina obtained a degree in English at the Moscow State Pedagogical University, became a community worker in the 1980s and subsequently a Doctor of Social Work. She worked in the faculty of Pedagogical Sciences and became a lecturer on international social services at Moscow Pedagogical University. She has wide international experience and has worked on programmes administered from the UK since 1992. She co-founded the Russian European Trust in 1993.
Secondly I was interviewed on BBC Points West regarding the case where parents were sentenced to 2 years in jail for neglect by omission of their five children. I have included my interview for those who missed it. It is a very interesting case and I’d very much like to know your professional opinions.
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033 BASW UK Conference and AGM
I attended the BASW UK conference and AGM and spoke at a workshop entitled ’embracing a media we love to hate’. It was an excellent day with up to 300 delegates helping to create a lively atmosphere and so I thought it a good idea to reflect on the content of the day. The full lineup of speakers can be found here and follow #SWspeaksAGM for updates from BASW and delegates of their thoughts from the day.
RT Hon Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division made the clear point, which I fully support, that social workers should feel respected in family courts and be recognised as expert witnesses. He touched on many subjects which I’ll talk about , such as drug and alcohol courts and some movement in that setting towards an inquisitorial system.
Edward Timpson, Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, discussed his family experiences of adoption, social work and social care. He stated his admiration for social workers but controversially said that he could not rule down that child protection services would or would not be moved to the private sector and this angered many people in the audience.
Owen Jones, the Guardian columnist, was extremely passionate and motivational about the media and the unfair way it destroys the morale of social workers and how this damages our support. This is a message I have been putting out for years. We need to give positive stories about our work to help social workers gain trust with new cases when on the doorstep the next day.
I’ve tried to include important points from the day to help you in your practice or studies. I hope it’s useful.
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032 The work of the NSPCC
This Podcast features Jon Brown as my guest. We talk of developments in child protection, the work of the NSPCC and the future strategy and digital importance in safeguarding children. Since April 2010 he has been in post as Head of Strategy and Development with the NSPCC helping to take forward the new organisational strategy in relation to sexual abuse. Jon is responsible for the design and commissioning of service, policy and research development. In January 2012 he also took responsibility for leading the NSPCCs work with disabled children.
Jon is a qualified Social Worker with a Masters in Social Policy from the LSE. During his career as a Probation Officer and Social Worker he has been responsible for setting up and managing a range of sexual abuse services ranging from therapeutic services for child victims, services for children and young people with sexually harmful behaviour and services for adult sex offenders and he reflects on the work of the NSPCC.
Between 2003-07 Jon was Chair of NOTA, the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers and remains on the National Executive Committee. He is also a Trustee of the Loudoun Trust which exists to promote evidence based research and practice in the field of sexual aggression against children, he is a Board member of eNACSO (European NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online) and he is a peer reviewer for the Economic and Social Research Council.
Prior to taking up this role with the NSPCC Jon was Operational Director of Children’s Services with Action for Children.
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031 Freelance Parenting
Freelance broadcaster Faye Dicker founded Freelance Mum. Freelance Mum began life in June 2013 when Faye recognised the need to connect like minded women. A freelancer for years, yet mum for much less – she realised she had a foot in both camps & neither in one. No longer on the baby circuit or in a fixed work place, she was inspired to found FM and create a community to provide inspiration & support for other freelancing mums.
Faye has her own podcast for mothers who are trying to balance a work life and having children. Finding herself in an isolated world of freelance work and juggling motherhood, Faye decided to create a community to help new mothers still have their ‘watercooler’ moments whether it be a business or a baby question – a community that helps those who need it.
Faye explains the need to be clever as a freelance mum and the challenges that working has with a child who is ever developing and as their routine changes so does childcare requirements. We discuss some issues that early parents have, especially mothers who return to work very early, and the challenges that it provides.
We delved further into the roles of women in their careers and how this is balanced with their desire for parenting – a universal issue.
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I’d like to talk about social media and the responsibilities of the bigger players and their role to protect the vulnerable.
Not long ago I was co-host of a conference looking at children in the media and Facebook and Google sent representatives to address the conference. During the course of the Facebook presentation we were told that there were 80 million fake Facebook accounts by their reckoning and many thousands of accounts where parents had falsified the age of their child in order to allow then to have an account. Now Facebook were recently made aware in no uncertain terms by a large section of the community of its displeasure when they suggested scrapping any age limit at all to have an account. We all know what happens when you have a combination of under 13′s and poor parental supervision – the dangers of exploitation of grooming and exploitation are increased.
I formulated a proposal then, and stand by it now, that if some of the funds allocated by these international companies to pay for security and prevention of child abuse were targeted in a more specific way we might get somewhere faster. My suggestion is that the large companies fund schools to provide time for either an existing member of staff or a part time person to act as guarantor of the age of the child applying for an account. Schools are the perfect place to say whether a child is a specific age or not. At least then if we were virtually guaranteed that all account holder were over 13 some of the worries would be eased.
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030 Reflecting on important issues from last 30 episodes
I highlight the future interviews scheduled for the programme including Dame Tessa Jowell.
– Privatising child protection services – I reflect on the Children’s Minister Edward Timpson’s latest comments on the current issue about the misrepresentation in the media of government plans.
– Community Care have publicised the revised and relaunched standards for social work employers in England. I doubt that improvements have been made and so comment on the tensions between expectations and reality. There have been comments from Unison and BASW about supporting the standards for social workers which I have really welcomed.
– I reflect on my favourite podcasts from the last 30 episodes:
Firstly ‘This is my childhood; there will be no other’ was a fantastic conference David Niven Associates and BASPCAN held together on early childhood and the ‘toxic trio’. I put together an hour long special of highlights from the speakers which are invaluable for all working with families in episode 26.
Secondly Jim Gamble in episode 28 (a strong advocate of international multi-agency partnerships, Jim was the founding Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and founder of INEQE). He talked passionately and knowledgably about the use of social media in children’s childhoods and how social care staff can protect them – primarily through embracing it and making it safe.
– I discuss my personal views on peadophilia and child protection, as it is my passion to ensure the safeguarding of children. I’ve had many experiences of witnessing the capture of peadophiles and seeing the sheer quantity of seized material, also I share my experiences of people trying to sell me their children on the beaches of Sri Lanka. There have been recent advances in police activity in child protection, those working in the area have known many ways to do this for decades and so it is bitter sweet – how many children would have had their abuse prevented if they had listened to our lobbying?
Thank you ever so much for listening to episode 30, I hope you enjoy this reflective episode. Thank you for your feedback on Linked In and twitter, do keep it coming in and please do comment on iTunes – it all helps with thee ratings and I want to feature your views and know what you want to hear in future episodes.
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029 The Global Agenda for Social Work
David Jones talks about the origins of The Global Agenda for Social Work and the work it is completing during our interview.
A common theme throughout our discussion is promoting the voices of front line staff and how we can spread good news stories. By doing so we can provide a greater understanding of social work in the public eye so that when there are scandalous stories hopefully the general public will be more aware of the rarity they occur. David advocates more freedom for social workers to tell their stories – however keeping confidentiality.
He makes some very interesting points – as students, NQSW’s or experienced practitioners, do you agree or disagree with what he his saying?
David also talks of his personal experiences in social work and offers his advice from the experiences he has gained.
David is a registered social worker, qualifying in 1974. He was appointed in 2010 as the Independent Chair of Leicester Safeguarding Children and Adults Boards. His varied career and substantial experience have focused on social work and social services in general, children’s services and child protection. He helped launch the Association of Independent LSCB Chairs and is currently the Vice Chair.
David has worked internationally as Chair, Adviser and Consultant to several groups, policy committees, advisory boards and councils. He retired after 4 years as honorary President of the International Federation of Social Workers in 2010 and continues to play a leading role coordinating The Global Agenda for Social Work. He was a visiting research fellow at Monmouth University, New Jersey during early 2014, editing the first report of The Global Agenda for Social Work. He is a member of the Policy, Ethics and Human Rights Committee of the British Association of Social Workers.
David has held several national roles in government departments and agencies, working with Parliament, Minsters and government officials, retiring from the post of Deputy Director (Children) and Professional Adviser in the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) in 2010. He was awarded his doctorate in social work in 2009 for research into the evaluation and inspection of social work. He is an accomplished speaker and communicator, reflecting his diverse national and international roles and experience. He has edited and contributed to many publications, including Understanding Child Abuse (Macmillan, 1987) and Management in Social Work (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2006).
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028 Child Protection Expert Jim Gamble Interview
Jim – “I have never ever met anybody in the safeguarding community who didn’t care about the people they were going in to protect”
Jim Gamble brings over thirty years experience from the world of protective services and a strong reputation for successful delivery in counter terrorism, organized and hi-tech crime prevention and child protection.
A strong advocate of international multi-agency partnerships, Jim was the founding Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, the Association of Chief Police Officers lead on Child Protection and Child Trafficking and the founder and initial Chair of the Virtual Global Task Force, an international collaboration to make children safer online. His primary focus has been on developing effective multi-sector partnerships that make people safer.
Jim was awarded the QPM for his services to policing.
In our interview Jim (@JimGamble_INEQE) discussed INEQE, a business focussing on making peoples lives safer, specifically child protection, through training and technology on a global scale.
He explained the Safer Secure Schools and Colleges Programme – how students and teachers are being educated on the benefits and harms of social media engagement, as well as equipping them with OFSTED level requirements to help them create safer online engagements. He explains the need for educating children on the mechanics of social media use rather than prevention of access as this enables the benefits of social media to be utilised by children rather than encouraging hidden damaging behaviours.
Jim states that cyber bullying should be credited as a criminal offence if it has health and social risks to children’s lives. This conversation flows into the use of technology in identifying victims of child abuse and how we can protect those who are abused and can save them from their exploitation. We need to continue to advance technology to identify abusers and resources to rescue those who need to be.
Jim argues ‘we need to be asking ourselves in social care every time we engage with a child “did I hear them and have I helped them?”‘, and that social workers need to understand the online profiles the children they work with create as well as their home lives. This will dramatically aid social workers to protect children and families to a greater extent, as long as technology is embraced and not just seen as a a dangerous tool.
Links Jim discusses which help prevent bullying and aid child protection:
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027 Media Representation & Research in Practice
I’ve included an interview from The Media Show on the BBC for you. We discuss adoption and surrounding topics as well as, in my view, the hugely important subject of media representation of social care. We need to stop confusing confidentiality with secrecy and promote the outstanding work that social care staff achieve.
I had some fantastic feedback from listeners via twitter and so if you missed it you can hear it here. Please do give me your thoughts on it, we can really get some discussion going @DaveNiven or via SpeakPipe on socialworldpodcast.com and I can feature you on next weeks episode.
This weeks interview is with Dez Holmes. Dez is the Director of Research in Practice, having previously been the Assistant Director. Prior to this, Dez was the Programme Manager for the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes (C4EO) responsible for Capacity Building. Before this she was employed by a Local Authority and worked across directorates (Children & Young People’s Services and Neighbourhoods) in managing and coordinating integrated early intervention services to families. Dez established and chaired multi-agency Locality Panels as part of this and previously managed multi-agency prevention programmes (YISPs), winning a European Regional Development Fund award for services to children. She has worked as a lecturer (Social Work MSc) and has several years experience of training and workforce development .
Dez’s frontline experience is largely within youth offending services. Her research experience is focussed on Participative Action Research with vulnerable groups. Dez sits on a range of Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) policy committees, is on a number of research advisory boards, and is the chair of a CIC specialising in multimedia activities for profoundly disabled children. For the past three years Dez has sat on the judging panel for the Social Worker of the Year Awards.
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026 Early Intervention Conference
In conjunction with British Association of the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (BASPCAN) David Niven Associates (DNA) hosted This is my childhood; there will be no other.
The conference tackled early intervention of the ‘toxic trio’ of domestic violence, substance misuse and mental health issues and how they impact children and families – and as professionals, how we can help.
We had some fantastic feedback, included below, of the speakers and content. I therefore felt the need to share with those professionals who couldn’t make the conference some of the fantastic information from the day.
Each speaker developed and built upon each others topics, I have therefore compiled subject areas which highlight the more prominent topics of the day. Programme order:
- 00:00 – Introductions
- 10:15 – The necessity of early intervention
- 14:15 – The pre-natal environment
- 22:00 – Brain development
- 25:35 – Toxic stress and the ACE programme
- 35:40 – Trauma and attachment
- 40:20 – Sure Start
- 45:50 – The FAST programme
- 59:50 – Political and global developments
Keynote delivered by Rt Hon Dame Tessa Jowell MP – Dame Tessa has represented the London constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood as a Member of Parliament since 1992. She served on the opposition front bench until 1997 when she was appointed o the Government, becoming the first ever Minister of Public Health and implimenting the widely acclaimed Sure Start Programmeto support childhood and early infancy. Subsequent to stepping down as the Shadow Olympics Minister in 2012, Tessa was appointed to lead a global campaign to ensure an integrated approach to the early childhood years in the post Millennium Development Goals framework.
Jane Evans – a Freelance & Associate Trainer, Trauma Parenting Specialist, Author, Blogger, Speaker and Consultant. Jane focuses on attachment in early years, children and parenting effected by trauma – either post domestic violence or with adoptive parents, foster or kinship carers.
Professor Lynn McDonald – joined Middlesex University in 2008. Previously she was a Reader at Brunel University School of Social Work, a researcher for 10 years at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Centre for Education Research, and for 12 years an Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She volunteered with the British Psychological Society for three years to produce a report on social inclusion with child mental health through evidence based parenting programmes.
Feedback:
- Excellent
- Amazing
- Inspirational
- Extremely valuable and vital information
- Really motivating helping me remember why I do the job I do
- It left me wanting to go away and make wholesale changes to how I do social work
- Lynn McDonald was excellent and inspirational
- Excellent content and thought provoking, practice-influencing
- Excellent, lots of useful material
- Meerkat, monkey and elephant will never forget that
- Engaging, passionate, creative and accessible presentation with invaluable skill sharing
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025 Privatising Child Protection
Initially I debate the current topic in the UK – should social services, especially child protection, be moved to the private sector? Julian Le Grand has created a storm by saying that services are inadequate and this would be drastically improved by privatisation. Having specialised in child protection throughout my career I give my honest opinions in response to his debate, as well as looking at responses from others too. I go on to discuss the sheer quality of social services in the UK and how this can be further improved without drastically changing the whole sector.
This is my childhood; there will be no other – a conference held by David Niven Associates and British Association of the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect – focussed on early intervention, safeguarding, professional development and much more. The conference was held on 4th April, ahead of this Dame Tessa Jowell and Jane Evans, two speakers at the event, discussed their key topics with the BBC. I’ve included their interview here ahead of recordings from the event in the next episode.
Do get in touch via media@socialworldpodcast.com and @DaveNiven – I want to feature you on the show.
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024 Play & Early Years; World Autism Day
The guest this week is Sandra Trotman Meadows – the Chief Executive Officer of PEYTU, a Bristol based charity providing training and consultancy to the Children & Young People’s workforce. The interview focusses on early years and the influences of the voluntary and charity sector and the importance of early years professionals – and possibly naming them as early years educators. We discuss the changes and impacts in the children’s workforce and the play sector, Sandra’s experiences, her frustrations such as the perceived negative image of those working with children, the needs of children and much much more.
Sandra is a former Voluntary Sector Advocate to the Bristol Safeguarding Children Board and Chair of the BSCB Training Sub Committee. She has also served on the Children & Young People’s Outcomes Board and Bristol’s Strategic Workforce Group. She is currently a Governor at the City of Bristol College and a representative on Bristol’s Women’s Commission. Through her paid and voluntary work, she has lobbied locally and nationally on behalf of the children’s workforce and supports the drive towards increased professionalism and the recognition of skills and qualifications.
I also discuss World Autism Day and the issues surrounding children and families coping with autism.
Thank you to:
Mike and Isabella Russell who hosted the first UK Podcasters meet up – an excellent event in London and I am looking forward to being a part of the movement towards podcasting in the UK.
Jonathan Singer for inviting me onto the Social Work Podcast to discuss the similarities and differences in social work practices in the US and UK, a really interesting discussion.
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023 Safeguarding Disabled Children
The Development Manager for Disabled Children’s Services at the Ann Craft Trust (ACT) Sarah Goff and I discuss the role of ACT in safeguarding disabled children and vulnerable adults, and specifically Sarah’s position in the organisation. We discuss the higher vulnerability of disabled children to abuse and the preventative measures which can be taken. She offers her advise to carers and parents of children with disabilities.
For over 21 years the Ann Craft Trust (ACT) has championed the rights of disabled people and pushed forward the UK’s understanding of safeguarding. Today ACT supports the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors from across the UK to protect disabled children and vulnerable adults. Their campaigning focuses on injustices in the legal system, measures to prevent abuse and on making sure that those who are employed to work with disabled children and vulnerable adults are suitable to do so.
Secondly I discuss with you the digital advances which are impacting social work and develop the arguments for and against integrating technology into homes and services. Do also read further about the digital age of social work.
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022 Compass Jobs Fair for Social Work
Excellent day at Compass Jobs Fair which exists to help support and develop the social work and social care workforce.
I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of fascinating people with inspiring stories, I have included their interviews to share with you:
1 – Russell Smith the Director of CarePair which provides a service to match carers with users. He also runs Dad In A Shed which develops the latest accessibility accessories and disability aid, entertainment and technology products.
2 – Charlotte Quinney who is soon to complete her MSW and Mat Bennett soon to complete his BA share their thoughts on their aspirations for their careers in social work.
3 – Alex Sylverster the Associate Director of Affinity Workforce a new recruitment agency for social workers explains the role of his company for social workers.
4 – Sarah Hammond the Assistant Director of Special Children’s Services for Kent County Council discusses the experiences of social work as a whole at Kent County Council.
5 – Mark Pearson the Managing Director of Compass. He discusses the Compass Jobs Fair, social work and the job market.
Secondly I include a BBC Leicester interview where we were discussing the important role of World Social Work Day.
Thank you to all my guests on the Social World Podcast. If you would like to appear on the podcast do get in touch at media@socialworldpodcast.com or leave a SpeakePipe message on the website.
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021 Care Leaver David Akinsanya’s Journey
David Akinsanya is a successful campaigner for Looked After children.
The reason for his work is due to his complex and troubled story. David was brought up in care and consequently experienced many troubling events. My interview with David discusses these events and how they have influenced David’s following career and life story.
David transpires a positive and emotive message to those in care, who have left care or those who work with children in care. He emphasises the significant impact of his social worker Jenni Randall – he feels that without her he would be in a very different position in life.
David and Jenni now offer training for David Niven Associates titled ‘Working with looked after children: an experiential perspective‘ for those working with children in care. A crucial thread running through the day is the importance of listening to the voice of the child. For information on this training contact David Niven Associates on info@dnivenassociates.co.uk or 0845 833 0859.
David has addressed conferences for Barnardos, BAAF, Hertfordshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and many others. He has made films with young people for Southend, Essex, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire Police as well as with voluntary organisations around the UK.
Since 2007 David has worked with BBC, Sky News, Channel 4 and other broadcasters as a presenter/reporter. He is a regular reporter on BBC’s Inside Out and is often called upon to comment on social issues on both BBC and Sky News. Amongst many other appearances, David presented the award winning series “Find Me a Family” on Channel 4 in 2009 and reported on The One Show and various Radio 4 programmes. David has also worked as an AP/Producer on: Black Britain, Thin Green Line, Real Estates, Radio 5 and 4 Current Affairs Docs, The Investigators (Thames for ITV), Sex Talk (Channel 4), Sky News Features and The Sky Book Show.
Most recently he was included in Debrett’s 2014 influential list.
See also: Interview with Jenni Randall Young people in care
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020 Parenting news stories; Daniel Pelka reflection
Faye Dicker of Freelance Bristol Mum and I discuss some of the headlines that have made the papers this week. Included are the risks and effects of older fathers, pushy parenting, drinking alcohol during pregnancy and obesity on the lives of children. These topics raise a lot of debate and differences of opinion, do you agree with our responses to the stories?
Faye Dicker was a BBC Radio Bristol presenter but since having her daughter Jemima changed career path into freelance work. Since then she has set up ‘Freelance Bristol Mum’ to help network busy mums working from home.
Secondly it was the 2 year anniversary of Daniel Pelka’s death this week and so I had been invited to give many radio interviews on the subject. I have included my interview with Coventry and Worcester where I discuss the impacts and progression the case has had on social work and social workers.
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019 Chief Social Worker for adults; Martin Narey report
Interview with Chief Social Worker for adults, Lyn Romeo. She discusses her role and how the work of adult social workers supports vulnerable adults to live their lives in the way they want to with great success. However she feels this good work has been lost in the public eye and hopes in the future the positive stories and fantastic differences which are made to peoples lives can be transpired in the media.
We discuss much more, including her advice for social workers, the benefits of social media, the struggles social workers encounter and how the best possible differences to families can be made.
Lyn took up her post as Chief Social Worker for Adults in September 2013. She works collaboratively with the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families and together they work from the Office of the Chief Social Worker to:
- support and challenge the profession to ensure that children and adults get the best possible help from social workers
- provide independent expert advice to ministers on social work reform, and the contribution of social work and social workers to policy implementation more generally
- provide leadership and work with key leaders in the profession and wider sector to drive forward the improvement and reform programme for social work
- challenge weak practice to achieve decisive improvements in the quality of social work
- provide leadership to the network of principal social workers
Secondly I have included a BBC interview on the Martin Narey report. The report about social work education quite rightly identifies areas of training and preparation for new social workers that needs to be improved. It should be seen as is an evolutionary step in social work maturity where continuing improvement is a positive force.
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018 Childhood trauma; child abuser Ian Watkins
An interview with an old friend of the programme Jane Evans who is speaking at ‘This is my childhood’ conference. We discuss trauma in childhood, parenting styles, domestic violence, mental health and substance misuse. These areas are all vitally important and Jane speaks from the front line about some of the issues she is dealing with on a day to day basis.
She also discusses her book ‘How are you feeling today baby bear?‘ which is being launched on Friday 21st February.
Secondly I’ve included a BBC interview I gave to draw attention to the BBC documentary I appeared in regarding the horrific child abuser Ian Watkins of the rock band Lost Prophets.
How are you feeling today baby bear?
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017 Celebrity Abuse and Children Accessing Social Media
BBC Radio interview where, as an independent child protection expert, I am asked to discuss my opinions following the acquittal of celebrities in abuse cases.
Secondly, I look at social media with regards to the role and responsibilities of Professional Social Work and the inherent issues that arise with regards to safeguarding children.
Using the results of my own research I examine the ethical and operational considerations for Social Workers, and other front-line childcare professionals, when using social media both in work settings and personally.
I share my findings of answers to the following questions:
Q1: Online safety should be entirely down to parents?
Q2: Many more resources should be created by social networking sites to protect the vulnerable?
Q3: There should be no age limit to having a social networking account?
Q4: Only law enforcement should be allowed to investigate social networking accounts for evidence?
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016 The Crime of Stalking
Stalking in the UK
Deona Hooper informs me of Social Work Helper and its role in aiding social workers to be represented more fairly in the media.
I discuss stalking, it’s impact and training for police, social workers, medics and teachers as well as the voluntary sector. Stalking became a criminal offence in England and Wales on the 25th November 2012. About 1 in 25 women under 60 are victims of stalking every year according to the Home Office. Stalking is closely related to domestic violence and abuse. The most common stalkers are male partners or ex partners. 3 quarters of women killed by a violent partner or ex-partner were stalked on the lead up to their death, and on average a victim will experience 100 incidents of stalking before reporting it to the police. The devastation of individuals and the damage to their life and their family. I raise awareness of the problem and talk about the David Niven Associates’ Training programme.
See also Stalking: a criminal offence but still a problem blog post.
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015 Peter Garsden – survivors’ champion
Peter Garsden is the senior partner at Abney Garsden solicitors. He is my guest this week. We discuss the changing landscape for survivors since he set up the Child Abuse Department in 1994 which he is head of and is now the largest dedicated Abuse compensation department in the country. Their U.K. helpline is 0845 604 7075, visit their website.
Peter gives his opinion on the recent celebrity abuse accusations and offers advice and support for survivors who are either seeking legal advice or those who are still struggling with their past experiences.
Peter was recently awarded Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards.
Since 1996 Peter has been Lead Solicitor in over 25 different Group Actions involving over 1000 Claimants, including the largest award achieved in the area of Child Abuse Groups of £2.3million on behalf of 165 Claimants who were abused at homes managed by Manchester City Council.
In 1997 Peter helped to set up ACAL (Association of Child Abuse Lawyers), a Claimant based organisation of compensation abuse lawyers dedicated to raising the standards of advice through training and support, of which he is now President.
Secondly I discuss the lack of opportunities social workers have to reflect on their practice. This can damage their emotional or mental health. The sad result of higher case loads and staff vacancies in some departments is that the emotional well being of the worker is often considered second best. This is not necessarily deliberate but when there are competing requirements it is often the practical tasks and statutory obligations that over rule finding time to deal with the emotional health of the worker.
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014 Annie Hudson Chief Executive of The College of Social Work
This week an interview with Annie Hudson, Chief Executive of the College of Social work. Previously Director of Social Services for Bristol, she discusses the role of the College, the challenges ahead for the profession, the image of social work and the impact of social media.
Then an interview I gave to the BBC about the social worker recently struck off for gross misconduct and how the public view this action.
I really value your feedback- so why not put a written review on Itunes? Or leave a voice message on SpeakPipe—one click beside every blog or podcast.
Check out the upcoming conference ‘This is my childhood; there will be no other‘ on April 4th in Bristol
Thanks as always to Alba Digital Media who you could do no better in consulting for your developing presence on social media!
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013 Bridget Robb BASW Chief Executive
An excellent interview with Bridget Robb – Chief Executive at the British Association of Social Workers. We discuss the state of social work in the UK and globally, the political and environmental factors of social work and the role of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW).
As a Former Chair of BASW I value it as the largest professional association for social work in the UK, with offices in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They promote the best possible social work services for all people who may need them, while also securing the well being of social workers.
Included is also my BBC Radio Bristol Radio interview discussing cyber bullying and the profound damage it has on young people. The traumas can lead to suicide and social exclusion. I offer advice on how to support the person involved for parents and carers.
My closing thoughts are on the Northern Ireland Historic Abuse Inquiry.
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012 Maasia Mara tour guide interview
This weeks podcast focuses on communities, their importance and their erosion over the years and the knock on damage to society in general. I look at this nationally through the work of Shelter, new towns, homelessness and the changes high-rise buildings have made to communities.
Internationally I look at changes caused by man and by nature, culminating in the interview with Salaash Morompi a Maasai tour guide at the Maasia Mara reserve about the changes in his community interviewed by my guest reporter in Kenya.
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011 John Devaney Interview
John Devaney Director of Education, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Queens University Belfast and Chair of British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (BASPCAN) discusses child protection and early childhood development. BASPSCAN and D.Niven Associates are jointly hosting a conference on Early Childhood Development in Bristol on 4th April 2014. The keynote speaker is Dame Tessa Jowell. Further details and early bird booking is available here.
In this weeks episode I also reflect upon my own thoughts on two emerging situations, one in the Central African Republic and one in Switzerland.
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010 Social Media – Guest Shirley Ayres
Shirley Ayres is my guest this week, she is a well established social media consultant, social worker, innovator and in her own words a care maverick and a ‘super connector’. A social media enthusiast with a large following across digital media platforms including a video podcast. She reflects on her work and networking in the social care sector. She talks of why nurturing social media is so important and how digital and social media can deliver services differently.
Followed by reflections on Christmas.
Do sign up for updates from the social world and future podcasts and blogs and please subscribe on iTunes and keep your kind reviews coming.
Have a very happy and merry Christmas to you all.
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009 UK New Sexual Abuse Guidelines
A fascinating interview with a young film maker who talks of her time in the Pacific rim. Her interviews and also some short documentary films she made.
Also something that will make a real difference to sexual abuse – new sentencing guidelines for sex offenders.
So two main themes today, both different but both fascinating and important in their own right.
Thanks to all of you, the Social World Podcast is now listened to in 16 countries and 13 US states. Please keep your comments coming, it’s really appreciated.
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008 Radio interviews & reflections on routes into social work
Being Interviewed on Radio
Today’s Social World Podcast includes two radio clips from interviews I gave during the week gone by. Celebrity abusers and then— Reflections on a tragic case.
For the second part of the podcast, I talk about routes into social work and thoughts on the current newly qualified workers.
Tell friends and colleague to download this from iTunes and please feel free to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Thanks for listening and reading—keep the feedback coming.
Watch out for new training initiatives on using the Media !
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007 Parenting inc. interview with Jane Evans
Parenting – the ups and downs. Interview with Jane Evans
An interview with Jane Evans, a parenting expert who has a book out in February called How are you feeling today Baby Bear? Which examines the impact of domestic violence on 2-6 year olds and age appropriate strategies to discuss it.
I then talk about and reflect on personal anecdotes of children at risk through poor parental assumptions.
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006 Jonathan Singer on youth suicide
Jonathan Singer on youth suicide; Thoughts on Sri Lanka
I am delighted to have interviewed Jonathan Singer, a podcaster and assistant professor of Social Work at Temple University, Philadelphia, about his research on youth suicide in America. I hope to maintain close links with Jonathan as the weeks go by.
I also reflect on the troubled country of Sri Lanka and my experiences there. This is provoked by the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit. The people are lovely however there is a significant issue with child sex tourism and ‘the disappeared’.
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005 Faith based child abuse, Bullying & Media Training
Faith based child abuse, Bullying & Media Training
I share thoughts on child abuse in relation to faith and belief. I also cover cyber bullying as next week is anti-bullying week. Finally I reflect on a busy week giving media interviews to both radio and television.
David Niven Associates is able to offer individuals and groups access to the media training they need to ensure they can represent themselves effectively in a positive way or deal with a crisis situation should they need to address the media at any time in the future.
To subscribe to the Social World Podcast for my thoughts on the social world click here.
See previous blog on the importance of media training in social work here.
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