Social worker

Social workers help, support and protect people who are vulnerable or at risk, or have social or emotional problems. As far as possible, they help people to help themselves and not rely on professional support or intervention. There are many different types of social worker and their typical work activities depend on their employer and their area of work.

Work activities

Children’s social worker

As a children’s social worker, you will be employed by a local authority Child Protection Team. Your specialism and number one priority is the wellbeing and safety of the child who has been assigned to you. You will play a vital role in deciding the eventual outcome for vulnerable children and their families.

You role could include:

Managing complex vulnerable child caseloads.
Carrying out assessments on vulnerable children, including children in need (CIN) assessments and looked after children (LAC) assessments.
Devising an individual care plan for a child, and helping to create a positive outcome for a child and their family, where possible.
Preparing court cases.
Creating complex child protection plans, for children who have maybe suffered neglect, abuse, or bullying.

Adoption assessment social worker

As an adoption assessment social worker, you will be responsible for the care of children who have been placed or are going to be placed with adopted families. Not only must you make sure that the right child is matched with the right family, you must also help them both with the settling in process during the first few months.

Your role could also include:

Assessing the placement needs of a child.
Writing court reports.
Reporting to the Fostering Team.
Make regular home visits to check how the child and family are settling in.
Assessing the cases of adults who have applied to become adopters.

Mental health social worker

As a mental health social worker, you will give advice and practical support to people diagnosed with mental health problems. It is your main responsibility to safeguard vulnerable people. To do this you will talk to clients, to find out what their needs are. You will also need to assess why the client has become ill. Reasons could include family problems, debt, housing problems or bullying. Then you can begin to construct a personalised care package for your client. Some mental health social workers specialise in the care of people who are based in psychiatric hospitals. This could include working with people who have acute mental health problems. You might choose to specialise in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), helping children and young people who have mental health issues.

Forensic social worker

As a forensic social worker, you will be responsible for the application of social work within the legal world. You could be giving advice to lawyers, paralegals or law students on social work issues. Or you might need to assess whether someone is able to stand in court and testify – you may even be called as an expert witness yourself. Basically, you will be using your expert social work knowledge to help the legal experts make the best decisions for the client. You will assess, decide and recommend what the best form of treatment is, in cases where someone has broken the law.

Personal qualities and skills

As a social worker, you need to:

Listen carefully and empathise when necessary.
Ask the right questions to find out about clients’ needs.
Gain the trust of people from all kinds of backgrounds.
Be flexible and adaptable.
Assess needs and circumstances.
Communicate clearly, both orally and in writing.
Gather, analyse and understand information.
Be observant, read situations and identify problems.
Be non-judgemental and avoid imposing solutions.
Act quickly and calmly, e.g., if a child is at risk from abuse or neglect.
Work through conflict sensitively and come up with effective solutions.
Work well under pressure.
Have a positive attitude when you are faced with difficulties.
Make difficult decisions at times.

You also need:

Strong negotiation skills.
Good team skills, to work closely with other professionals.
Resilience, so you don’t become burdened by the problems you encounter.
The ability to manage and prioritise your own workload.
The IT skills required to produce reports.
Knowledge and understanding of the local resources available to help the people you work with.
To be open to suggestions for how the service you provide can be improved.
The ability to face the emotional and intellectual demands of the job.
Travel throughout the local area is usual, therefore a full driving licence can be a requirement of the job.

Pay and opportunities

Pay rates for social workers vary. The pay rates given are approximate. Social workers typically start on around £27,000 once qualified, rising to £42,000 with experience and seniority.

Most social workers work 37-40 hours per week, Monday to Friday. However, early starts, late finishes and work on a rota basis with other team members to cover nights and weekends, may be required.

Opportunities for social workers occur throughout the UK. Local authority social services departments employ most social workers. Field social workers are often part of specialist teams, for example, specialising in child protection, elderly people, mental health problems or carers in the community. The NHS and local authorities employ medical social workers in hospitals, health care centres, general practices and outpatient or special clinics. Education welfare officers (educational social workers) are based within local education authorities in England and Wales, and in social services departments in Scotland. Some voluntary and charitable organisations also employ social workers (in paid positions), supporting and enabling the most disadvantaged groups in the community. Large organisations like the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and Barnardo’s employ qualified social workers.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised in local/national newspapers, on job boards, on employers’ websites, on the Government’s Find a Job and Fina an Apprenticeship services. Vacancies are also advertised on the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) website as well as Jobsgopublic.

Entry routes and training

If you want to become a social worker, you’ll need a degree in social work. Some universities offer combined social work and nursing degrees, enabling you to qualify for both professions. If you prefer to study for a degree in another subject first, you could follow it with a two-year master’s in social work. The Frontline graduate programme is another route into the profession for high-achieving graduates or career changers. You can also work towards a degree via a level 6 social worker degree apprenticeship, which takes all the way through to qualification.

Completion of a relevant social work degree or master’s degree entitles you to register with the relevant Care Council for your country as a social worker. As a newly qualified social worker, you will receive additional support and supervision for the first 12 months in the job. In order to maintain professional registration, you will need to continue to develop your skills and knowledge throughout your working life.

With experience, you could become a team leader, principal social worker or move into management.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: This career is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

For entry to a degree in social work, the usual minimum requirements are:

Two or three A-levels.
Five GCSEs at grades 9-4 including maths and English.

Other qualifications, such as an Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 National qualification or the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma may also be considered.

To begin an MA or MSc (master’s degree) in social work, you’ll need:

An undergraduate degree in any subject graded 2:2 or higher.
GCSE English and maths at grades 9-4.

To begin a degree apprenticeship, you will usually need:

Two A-levels.
GCSEs in maths and English.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Funding bursaries, administered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), may be available for full-time and part-time students who are not funded by their employer. Funding for experienced and qualified social workers to do further training and research may be available from the Social Workers Educational Trust.

Related careers

Education welfare officer
Family support worker
Funeral director
Health promotion practitioner
Homelessness prevention officer
Religious leader
Social work assistant