Welcome

Introduction
Social work is one of the fastest growing areas of local government provision and one of the most difficult.  It provides a range of services critical to the welfare of vulnerable people to improve their lives.  It is about providing support, advice and information to assist people to take control of their lives and make positive changes. Social Workers are professionally trained to support and help a wide range of people experiencing difficulties, including children and adults in need of support or protection, those with mental health problems, sensory need, learning disabilities or physical disabilities, those affected by alcohol or drugs and support to Carers.  Social workers are professionally trained to support and help a wide range of people experiencing difficulties to receive the right support to meet their needs and this does mean working with other professionals, such as Health, Police, Education and the Voluntary Agencies.  They are employed primarily employed within the local authorities in Wales, but some are also based within the Voluntary and Independent Sectors.

Work Environment
The work is mainly in the offices of Social Services Departments but can be in other settings such as Hospitals and Day Care settings.  Social workers visit clients in many settings. They also undertake a substantial amount of report writing and liaison with other professionals including organising multi-agency case conferences. 

Daily Activities
The work is varied and covers assessing needs then finding appropriate solutions to the problems of those who cannot cope on their own.  Social Workers operate as part of a team responsible for a number of cases, each requiring a different approach.  Most Social Workers tend to specialise in either Adult or Children's Services.

Adult Services' roles mostly work with:

• people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in residential care; 
• people with physical disabilities, supporting them in living independently;
• offenders, supervising them in the community and supporting them to find work;
• people with HIV/AIDs;
• older people at home, helping to sort out their health problems, housing or benefits.

Adult Services' roles include:

• a range of community care and safeguarding assessments, in accordance with relevant statutory requirements, identifying risks, needs and options; 
• constructing value for money care packages, commission a range of services designed to minimise risks and improve the quality of life for service users and their carers; 
• working with individuals, families, carers and communities to help them make informed choices and decisions, enabling them to clarify and express their needs and contribute to service planning; 
• enabling optimal outcomes which promote social welfare and inclusion for individuals, families, groups and communities; 
• fulfilling statutory responsibilities and applying the professional values, ethics, knowledge and skills of social work practice; 
• planning, carrying out, reviewing and evaluating social work practice with individuals, families, groups, communities and other professionals;
• supporting individuals by respecting their needs, views and circumstances;
• assessing risk to individuals, families, groups, communities and take appropriate action to minimise such risk;
• managing and being accountable (with supervision and support) for their own social work practice;
• reflecting on and continue to develop their professional practice;
• promoting non-abusive and non-aggressive behaviour;
• maximising the participation of service users, carers and advocates to ensure that the individual service user is central to the care planning process;
• working in partnership with other agencies and workers to plan, develop and deliver co-ordinated services for users and carers;
• planning and co-ordinating packages of care which promote independence and enable service users to maximise their potential within their own communities;
• promoting the protection of vulnerable people whilst respecting an individuals right to undertake acceptable risks within their everyday lives;
• within overall service delivery contracts, monitoring and evaluating service provision in meeting individuals identified needs and circumstances.

Children/Young People Services roles include:

• undertaking preventative work with families in order to reduce the need for care or accommodation;
• working with children and young people, families, carers and communities to help them make informed decisions, enabling them to clarify and express their needs and contribute to service planning;
• liaising with colleagues in their own and other departments and external agencies in order to gather information relevant to assessment and care planning activities;
• working with staff in children's homes;
• managing adoption and fostering care processes;
• providing support to younger people leaving care who are at risk or in trouble with the law;
• helping children who have problems at school;
• enabling optimal outcomes which promote social welfare and inclusion for individuals, families, groups and communities;
• fulfilling statutory responsibilities and applying the professional values, ethics, knowledge and skills of social work practice;
• planning, carrying out, reviewing and evaluating social work practice with individuals, families, groups, communities and other professionals;
• supporting individuals by respecting their needs, views and circumstances;
• assessing risk to individuals, families, groups, communities and take appropriate action to minimise such risk in accordance with the Framework for Assessment, conducting Sec 47 Enquiries and undertaking Initial and Core Assessments, including assessment via visits to service user homes;
• managing and being accountable (with supervision and support) for their own social work practice;
• reflecting on and continuing to develop their professional practice;
• contributing to planning/reviewing the cases of children in care, supervising fostering/adoption arrangements;
• undertaking child assessment orders and emergency protection orders;
• promoting non-abusive and non-aggressive behaviour;
• investigating complaints of alleged neglect, abuse or ill treatment of children, undertake assessments and where appropriate arrange accommodation for children or young people;
• maximising the participation of service users, carers and advocates to ensure that the individual service user is central to the care planning process;
• working in partnership with other agencies and workers to plan, develop and deliver co-ordinated services for Users and Carers;
• planning and co-ordination of packages of care which promote independence and enable service users to maximise their potential within their own communities;
• promoting the protection of vulnerable people whilst respecting an individuals right to undertake acceptable risks within their everyday lives;
• within overall service delivery contracts, monitoring and evaluating service provision in meeting individuals identified needs and circumstances;
• maintaining and updating case notes and other records, write reports as required and if required give evidence in court in relation to care proceedings;
• some authorities may have specialist Social Workers for people with learning disabilities and mental health.

Skills & Interests
Social Workers must have an interest in and the ability to communicate with people from all walks of life. It is also critical that they have good organising skills, are able to deal with difficult situations and have the ability to use computers to record information and produce reports.  Social Workers should have an up to date knowledge and experience of working in a multi-agency/inter-disciplinary environment and knowledge of the functioning of the main agencies involved in this area of responsibility.  Social Workers also need a driving licence although if an employee has a disability and is unable to drive they may seek alternative means of transport/assistance, which must be an effective and cost-effective method of travelling.

Entry Requirements
The professional qualifying training for Social Workers is an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in Social Work approved by the Care Council for Wales.  The undergraduate degree is a three-year programme with a postgraduate degree being two years.  Entrance to either programme is via approved universities, who determine their own conditions for entry, although one standard entry requirement is that applicants must be able to provide evidence with a reference(s) confirming that 210 hours of relevant experience in a social care-setting has been undertaken, usually in the year preceding the application.  If accepted by a University, a place cannot be confirmed until an Enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau and a medical check has been confirmed.  This will be arranged by the University following a successful interview.  The previous professional qualification, the Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), is still recognised as a valid Social Work Qualification.  Those applying to undertake the BSc Degree in Social Work will require 5 GCSEs, including Grade C or above in English and mathematics (or the equivalent e.g. Key Skills level 2 in literacy and numeracy).  Although Universities will set their own conditions of entry to the programme 2 A level's or equivalent (Access, Diploma courses) will be required in relevant subjects, such as Law, Sociology, Psychology or Health and Social Care.  Vocational GCSEs and A-level subjects may also be useful.  If applying for the Masters degree in Social Work (two-year programme of study) you must hold a relevant first degree (Psychology, Sociology, Law and Criminology, Education) at a good level.  More information about the new qualification is available from the Health & Care Professions Council and the Department of Health.

Future Prospects & Opportunities
Experienced Social Workers can become senior practitioners or they can move into supervisory posts as a Senior Social Worker or Team Leader. Opportunities to specialise are also on offer, e.g. within education (mainly working with children with school attendance problems) or adoption and fostering or youth offending.

Further Information & Services
British Association of Social Workers www.basw.co.uk
Care Council for Wales www.ccwales.org.uk
Community Care www.communitycare.co.uk
Community Service Volunteers www.csv.org.uk/socialhealthcare
Department of Health www.dh.gov.uk
Health & Care Professions Council www.hpc-uk.org
Homes & Communities Agency www.homesandcommunities.co.uk
Skills for Care www.skillsforcare.org.uk
Social Care Association www.socialcareassociation.co.uk

The Open University has produced an interactive resource exploring a day in the life of a social worker: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/social-care/social-work/try-day-the-life-social-worker 

You may find further information about this area of work through Careers Wales (www.careerswales.com/) or in your local library, careers office or school careers library.