r/Socialworkuk

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone with experience can help.
I'm an early childhood educator with a valid South Australian Working With Children Check (WWCC), issued last year and valid for 5 years.
I'm currently involved in a family violence intervention order matter in Victoria. **My husband applied for an interim family violence intervention order against me, and the protected persons listed on the application are both my baby and him.** The matter is still before the court. There has been no criminal conviction against me, and my lawyer is challenging the interim order.
At the same time, Victoria Police also applied for a family violence intervention order against my husband following an alleged assault, and that matter is a separate proceeding.
I'm confused about how my own interim intervention order may affect my WWCC.
My questions are:
Do I need to notify the South Australian Screening Unit about the interim intervention order?
If I notify them, is there a chance my WWCC could be suspended or cancelled while the matter is still before the court?
Has anyone been in a similar situation and been able to continue working in early childhood while the court proceedings were ongoing?
I'm a single mum trying to rebuild my career and support my child, so this is causing me a lot of stress. I'm already receiving legal advice, but I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through a similar experience with the WWCC process. Thank you.

You’d think the families would be the hardest part but honestly in my 3 years in child protection I’ve never felt uncomfortable being visibly Muslim/Black with families. It’s other professionals that get me 😭.
Today I was at court and I introduced myself as the social worker for the young person. The solicitor, Youth Justice worker and even the lady calling people into court all looked surprised and assumed I was a family member instead.

It’s not even just today. I’ve had people in meetings say “wait, you’re the social worker?” after I’ve literally just introduced myself 😭. I’ve had someone tell me my voice doesn’t match how I look because I “sound so English”… I was born and raised here lol.
Iknow none of these things on their own are massive, but after a while it gets jarring and makes me wonder…

What do people actually picture when they think of a children social worker???? I look young, Black and visibly Muslim and I honestly feel like all three are working against me sometimes!!! :(

Has anyone else experienced this?

Can autistic/ neurodivergent social workers tell me how do you navigate work when your managers remain ignorant about your neurodiverse condition and constantly diagnose you and your performance on the basis of differences you have based on your neurodiversity. I know on papers it is discriminatory to disadvantage someone for being neurodiverse . But my experience, I am sure more people have these experiences , is that neurotypical social workers have very poor understanding of neurodiversity and view it as a deficit at all times and struggle to understand a lot of neurodiverse people are fully functional and don't need their diagnosis, over analysis or support.

I am currently facing a challenge where my manager thinks me being autistic , my communication style can get strange and make clients potentially uncomfortable or on some occasions cause confusion. And they think I might be better off doing desk job to avoid such situations. Despite my autism I still absolutely enjoy working in field, meeting people and supporting them. It is my special interest and I really enjoy it. But because I have autism, my manager still try to come up with opinions on how it might affect my work. its like social workers only exposure to autism or neurodiverse conditions are when they work with vulnerable people who need their support. They find it otherwise hard to accommodate there are neurodiverse people who don't need their social work or support!

It's shocking and alarming for me to see the level of ignorance some social workers with years of experience have and their attitude towards neurodiverse coworkers. I feel so uncomfortable working with such people, when I attempted to move jobs my manager is sabotaging my career move with her random and ignorant views . Though I am challenging it and questioning it, they are still not budging from their views. And using their managerial powers to shut me down.

Can any neurodiverse social worker share their experience of having successfully challenged employers with their discriminatory views on disability?

so the long and short of it is my missus has worked as a senior care assistant for 6 years no discliplinary hearings ever, immaculate record and recently was suspended and subject to an investigation in regards to 5 allegations in a 3 day timescale, allegations being lost medication not recorded on the system, raising voice at staff for neglecting a resident locked in a room and sayin “get away from me“ to a resident who stole the meds trolley whilst administering medication, was subsequently dismissed an was emailed sayin they ensure a dbs referral wasnt ncessary nor would be pursued, she then found emploent elsewhere an 3 weeks later rang her to say that a dbs referral would now be being done as per procedure, now all iv said above is abit vague but my only counter is my missus has email evidemce of approachin management and requested removal of postion to a lesser role bcoz of her anxiety and admittance of well being an struggle which was subsequently ignored and denied.. she is laing her mind what are her chamces in the event of a “minded to bar“ notification an investigation .. thanks

All family members are foreign nationals. The child is under an interim supervision order during care proceedings.

What if the whole family relocates back home permanently during this order?
Will the care proceedings continue and a final care order issued? Or just ceases.

Hi everyone!

I am film media studies, and now received a Part-Time job form creative support company.

I didn't have any social work experienced. But I'm really cherish this opportunity. Is anyone can give me suggest about interview!

Thank you~

Currently work as a social worker, I am not interested in progressing through to senior or practice educator etc. My passion has always been working with the elderly/mental health. How can I exit statutory social work with no leadership qualifications behind me?

I’m training to be a social worker and I’ve been really anxious about something that I can’t find much about online, so wondered if anyone here has experience or advice.

I have an extremely rare and unique surname, less than 100 people in the world share it, and I am the only person with my full name. This means that if anyone searches my name, they will find me instantly. I have never used my surname on any of my own social media accounts and I have taken myself off the public electoral register.

Despite this I can still be easily found online, through newspaper mentions (when I was a child) and my own families online and public activity.

I’m worried about what happens when I’m a qualified social worker, particularly around the possibility that clients might try to find me, or blast my name on social media.

I don’t want to change my name. It’s deeply important to me for personal and family reasons. But I’m trying to figure out what practical steps I can take to protect myself without having to give up something that means a lot to me.

Has anyone else in social work navigated having a very distinctive or rare name? Were you given any guidance by your employer? Did you find ways to manage it?

Any advice or shared experience would be really appreciated.

Any Practice Educators on here able to tell me roughly how much they get on top of their normal salary for their practice educator role? thank you x

I’m currently an 18+ personal advisor, with a law degree. (29yr old female)

My council is running a Pgdip social work apprenticeship. Just over £30k per year, for 1.5yrs and then you automatically get an asye /early career development position.

I passed the interview with a further meeting needed @ the uni.

Thing is I earn nearly £40k now. I’m good at my job, work from home 3 days a week. *but* there isn’t much progression so I could be stuck here for years. There are senior positions but there might not be one for 2-3 years.

My main concern is burnout and potentially not having the ability to hybrid work. I just can’t figure out whether it’s worth it or not.

Hi, so I am a part of this year’s cohort for approach to social work and attended my shadowing days.
I’ll be honest, it didn’t go exactly how I imagined.

The instructor in charge was very cut throat but honest about how procedures go which I appreciate but it didn’t help with the anxieties I had coming into this. The take home message was pretty much if your heart’s not in it, get out. Because you’ll end up wasting someone else’s space

Though I would like to be a social worker, everything kind of dawned on me today. All the work/responsibilities such as travelling from one end of the country to the other just on a typical day. That was the expectation set and it was very much, if it’s assigned to you, you’re gonna have to do it.

There was a lot the instructor said which me and the other cohorts had idea about and her message was “well you should already know or be allocated” to which we have no idea.

I just feel at a loss abit. I did enjoy the overall cohort and they were lovely. I don’t want to break confidentiality but I had some nice and insightful experiences and discussions when it came to the actual work which I enjoyed. And a lot of people I spoke to, experienced workers said the experience was good but just to stay organised. But just that overwhelming sense of dread came back when it came to visits and being expected to go to far places on a whim. I’m still new to the road so that could just be my anxieties around that

I’ve also been told there’s support in place but unsure about that

But I just came home today feeling absolutely shattered and even cried from how intense it appeared. In fact, I finished the day thinking God I can’t wait to go home and noticed my irritability with my family members. I had a nap for 2 hours thinking it may be exhaustion, I woke up even more shattered and just thinking I don’t know if this is for me

I don’t know what this could be. I don’t really have anyone to talk to this about and I feel bad when my family ask me how the days went. I have just told them it was a lot and haven’t really expressed my concerns, but I think my mum may have picked up on it bc well… you know mums 😪🥲

I just kinda want advice or some helpful tips as to what to do next or just genuine advice for anyone who’s nervous about it

Hello fellow social workers!

I am currently in the midst of looking for a new job due to my current one having budget cuts. I have been shortlisted and been asked to go for an interview in a specialist school for an EHCP Administrator job on Tuesday (30 minute task and 30 minute interview). I don’t suppose anyone on here could shed any light on what I can expect? Or at least what the task might consist of? Obviously I feel confident in speaking about my knowledge/experience of EHCPs, but I’m feeling really nervous about what the task might entail!!

Any experience or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! 😌

I’ve been a social worker for 15 years, always with children but did take 4 years out working in a school. I’ve recently come back to social work and really not enjoying it. Something I have realised is I love working with adults (in order to makes changes for their children). I’ve been thinking for a while about transitioning to adult social work. Has anybody do this and can share their experience of:

1. Learning the legislation relevant to adults
2. All social work is stressful but is there better work life balance?
3. Is the stress more manageable than the stress in children’s?
   Just as a disclaimer, I don’t expect adults to be easier than children’s but just wondering if it’s more manageable.

Hi everyone,
I’m Canadian, so I don’t really know much about the reputations of different UK universities, and I’m having a really hard time deciding which university to choose for my Master’s in Social Work.

I’m choosing between:

Kingston University
University of Sussex
London South Bank University
Goldsmiths, University of London

My long-term goal is to become a clinical social worker and eventually move back to Canada so I’m looking for a program with a strong reputation, good placements, supportive teaching, and one that will prepare me well for practice.

I’ve seen really mixed opinions online and cant quite figure out what the right move is.

If you were in my position, which would you choose and why?
I’d especially love to hear from current or former students, social workers in the UK, employers, or anyone who studied in the UK and then returned to Canada.

Appreciate any advice :)

I love helping people, I currently work in retail and I love being able to help people but I don’t want to work in retail the rest of my life. I want to help and make a difference in a way. I have wanted to be a social worker and have been looking out for apprenticeships as I have to work full time and was wanting to see what my options are but I’ve heard that it’s difficult and I wasn’t sure if anyone has any jobs where they find it really fulfilling and that they help people?

I just want to help and make a difference and I don’t know if social care is for me, I have always thought it was but I heard some bad things about it and it has put me off as I don’t want to be thrown into the deep end with lots of workload and timelines.

I see a lot of people say they left childrens frontline and found jobs in other services. Anybody here who has found their niche in things like child protection for example

I’ve just had my two shadowing days. The first one with a social worker in a LAC team. I really enjoyed it, I liked the bond the SW had with the children.. my second day was with a frontline worker in single assessment team. I am genuinely shocked at how cynical and negative she was and seriously considering why I ever handed in my work notice. Now I’m considering asking if my employer will withdraw my intent to resign and just not pursue social work.

The SW was brutally honest about the lack of no work life balance, willing to stay till 7pm doing home visits. Also mentioned it’s unlikely to find lots of roles in adoption/fostering where it’s more competitive. She said she stays late from one to four times a week. I’m a mum to a two year old. I am struggling to get my head around whether this is rhe right choice for me.

I feel so deflated and I know it’s only a Snapshot, but I don’t know if I can continue with this programme?

Hiya
My partner has a job in London and I’m moving over with them! I have 12 years of community work, FV, AOD, youth work experience (no sw degree- currently working towards one) but I have a research masters with in migration and gender.

I am looking for jobs in SW, charity work or anything social sciencey. I’ve taught at unis and do loads of professional fac training. Also on a YMV.

No luck with any jobs at all yet, would love some advice or direction 🙏💔

Hi everyone,

I'm considering applying for Social Work England registration as an overseas applicant and wanted to get some advice before paying the application fee.

I've already gathered most of the required documents (IELTS, degree, transcripts, supervised practice evidence, etc.), but I'm concerned about my employment history and career breaks.

I qualified in 2023 and worked in child protection for about a year. I then took a break while applying for PhD programmes. During that period, I was shortlisted for a PhD interview but also received a job offer in early 2025, so I chose to return to practice. Unfortunately, that role was quite short-lived, and I have not been employed in social work for approximately the last year.

The main reason for the breaks is burnout from child protection work, particularly the administrative demands rather than the direct work with children and families. I genuinely enjoy frontline social work and client-facing practice, but I needed time away from the sector.

I've seen a few comments online suggesting that career breaks can affect SWE registration, and this has made me quite anxious. Is continuous employment expected for overseas applicants, or are career breaks viewed on a case-by-case basis?

I'm also unsure how best to present my employment history. One of my roles was significantly longer and more substantial than the other. If I focus on that experience, there would appear to be a gap of around 2024–2026, which I am fine with. Would that be viewed negatively?

Has anyone been registered with SWE despite having employment gaps or periods out of practice? I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences before I proceed with the application.

Thank you!

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone has any experience of transitioning to an Inspector position with the Care Inspectorate in Scotland.

I’d appreciate if you could share your experience and opinions on:

1. What a typical working day looks like
2. Are you well supported by colleagues and senior management
   3)The ratio of WFH to office days
   4)Do you find the job fulfilling
3. If you have a family, does the position facilitate reasonable work/family balance

I’m considering applying as a career change away from frontline healthcare. However, I can find very little anecdotal information online.

Thank you in advance