Episode 41: Starting Fresh - The Journey of a New Specialist Regulator

Sarah Blackmore with Social Work England shares the journey and progress of establishing a new specialist social work regulator in England, including consultation and development of professional standards, a focus on dialog and collaboration with all stakeholders in the sector--social workers, student social workers, academics and those with lived experience of social work, and development of education and training standards with a focus on ensuring that people who use social work services are engaged at every point. She talks about how SWE is looking at the whole of the professional journey from student to consultant practitioner or leadership pathway, with an aim to clarify and streamline the options and expectations, as well as establishing a way to recognize the increasing sophistication of social work practice. She also discusses the goals of working internally as an organization and collectively with the sector to address discrimination and disadvantage--ensuring inclusivity in social work courses; reviewing anti-discriminatory practice training; and creating equality, diversity and inclusion steering groups.

Transcript: html (https://www.clearhq.org/page-1860707) or

PDF (http://clearweb.drivehq.com/podcast_transcripts/CLEAR_podcast_episode41_Journey_New_Regulator_051121_
transcript.pdf)

Other resources mentioned:
SWE blog: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/news/my-story-as-a-chinese-british-social-worker-during-covid-19/
Social Work in England annual report: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/about/what-we-do/publications/social-work-in-england-first-reflections/