Learn on the go: the Community Care podcast

A manually transcribed transcript of this podcast is available here .  Welcome to Learn on the go , the podcast from Community Care Inform, where we discuss the issues affecting social workers and social care practitioners. This is a special, one-off edition of Learn on the go , discussing the seismic Supreme Court ruling on 2 June 2026 which overruled its own decision in P v Cheshire West an...

A manually transcribed transcript of this podcast is available here . Welcome to Learn on the go , the podcast from Community Care Inform, where we discuss the issues affecting social workers and social care practitioners. This episode looks at county lines and child criminal exploitation. Discussing this is Adam Elliott, founder of  The Long Game , a youth-led intervention to reduce young pe...

This episode focuses on welfare benefits and support in England and Wales. The welfare benefits system is designed to provide financial support to individuals and families in need. However, according to a report published in 2025 by Policy in Practice, over 7 million households in the UK are missing out on benefits and support due to limited awareness, complexity in the benefits system and stigma...

Welcome to Learn on the go, a Community Care Inform podcast, where we discuss the issues affecting social workers and social care practitioners. This episode focuses on eating disorders in adults and the support that occupational therapists can provide. Beat, the UK's eating disorder charity, estimates that 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder and, contrary to popular belief, abou...

In this episode, Philip Heslop, assistant professor of Social Work at Northumbria University, explores the vital topic of engaging fathers within the child protection system. In this discussion, Philip Heslop shares insights from his decades of experience regarding why fathers are often overlooked or excluded in social work practice, despite representing a significant portion of the population. Th...

This episode looks at the barriers faced by women who want to exit prostitution. Discussing the issue with us is Carol, who has lived experience of prostitution and whose name we have changed to protect her identity. Carol was subjected to prostitution for 50 years before successfully exiting in her 60s. She wanted to share her story to highlight the complexities that can result in women being exp...

This episode focuses on working with ‘parental conflict’ (this is the phrase we tend to hear, though we discuss that there may be more helpful language we can use). Terminology aside, it’s clear that professional involvement in the very personal dynamics of a couple’s relationship and how it may be impacting their child or children can be extremely challenging and uncomfortable for both the parent...

This episode focuses on leadership skills and style - in particular the crucial role of feedback which can sometimes be seen as mainly about staff performance and a less comfortable or even fear-inducing aspect of any kind of leadership or supervisory role. Our guests today are keen to discuss and demonstrate how feedback is a much broader part of developing your own leadership style and something...

Season 1, episode 5.  This episode is about how to safeguard children with special educational needs and disabilities from sexual exploitation. We’ll be discussing recent research and findings related to modern slavery and the heightened risk that children with SEND are at across England and Wales, as well as the importance of early identification and working with the whole family. Our expert gues...

Season 1, episode 4 This episode focuses on dealing with change and loss as a result of becoming physically disabled as an adult, and how practitioners can support individuals who are coming to terms with the impact of disability on their body and their lives. The guest is Rebecca Regler, a lived experience worker. Rebecca qualified as a social worker 10 years ago but didn’t get the chance to put...

This episode discusses perinatal mental health. Approximately one in five women in the UK experience mental health issues during pregnancy and up to one year after birth, and if left untreated they can lead to long-lasting effects on mothers, infants and the wider family. In recent years, significant funding has been invested in specialist perinatal mental health services but there are disparities...

This episode discusses domestic abuse within young people's relationships. It explores the intricicies around age and statutory and voluntary support services available for young people. This episode provides practical tips on how practitioners can address risks with young people and their parents/carers - such as how to structure conversations, and the key indicators of risks that shoud be consid...

This episode discusses the issues around mental capacity and suicide, and what has been called the ‘you’ve got capacity to choose to kill yourself phenomenon’.  The guest is Alex Ruck Keene, an experienced barrister, writer and educator. His practice at 39 Essex Chambers is focused on mental capacity, mental health and healthcare law, in which he has appeared in cases at all levels up to and inclu...

This episode of Learn on the go is about domestic violence and abuse. It covers what domestic violence and abuse is; the various forms it can take, and how to risk assess and make referrals. This episode explores a domestic violence risk assessment tool called the CAADA DASH, as well as the purpose and importance of multi-agency risk assessment conferences known as MARAC, and how these are used to...

Ethan’s in his early 30s now. He was in foster care from the age of five and then in children’s homes from the age of 11. In this conversation we speak about staying in touch with and seeing family members while in care.  You'll hear the word ‘contact’ quite a bit - the word that was very much in use when Ethan was young. We hope this makes sense when you listen, while we know practitioners today...

Welcome to Learn On The Go, the podcast from Community Care Inform where we discuss research, theories and practice issues and look at what they mean for social care practitioners. In this episode we talk to Jenny Molloy, motivational speaker, trainer, care leaver and bestselling author of three books with a fourth about to be published. Her first book, Hackney Child, written under the pen name Ho...

In this episode, Helen, a facilitator of The Freedom Programme which supports victms and survivors of domestic abuse, and two other mothers with lived experience spoke to Jenny Molloy, bestselling author, motivational speaker and care leaver about their experiences with children's services and what support is most helpful for people in abusive relationships. The conversation was recorded on locati...

In this episode, Helen, Vicky and Hannah, spoke to Jenny Molloy, bestselling author, motivational speaker and care leaver about their experiences of children's services as mothers using, and in recovery from, drugs and alcohol. They share what did and didn't help them, and what they would like social workers to understans. The conversation was recorded on location at Jasmine Mother's Recovery Cent...

In this episode, we discuss the social work role in working with girls and women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM) and safeguarding children at risk. Our two guests bring their perspectives from both practice and research to try and help increase practitioners’ knowledge and confidence. You’ll hear about ways to keep anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice, personal reflection and super...

Welcome to this podcast from Community Care for our campaign Choose Social Work. The purpose of the campaign is to champion the profession, encourage the next generation of social workers, and counteract negative media coverage. As part of this, we’re talking to those with lived experience of care about the impact that good social work can have. Our guest is Luke Rodgers, founder and now director...

In this episode, we spoke to Dan about his experience of the care system and transition to adulthood. He gives his perspective on what being 'ambitious' for children in care should look like, reflections on use of language and practical support for young people going into adulthood. He also shares his thoughts to how professionals view supported accommodation and 'independence' and changes that he...

Welcome to Learn on the Go, a podcast from Community Care Inform, where we discuss research, theories and practice issues, and look at what they mean for practitioners in social care. This episode is about the menopause and the discussion focuses on some of the less well-known symptoms and the impact they can have on women at work; why understanding the menopause and supporting women through it is...

Welcome to Learn on the go, a Community Care Inform podcast where we discuss what the latest research, practice models and policy guidance mean to your practice. This episode is about restorative practice in children's social work. It covers what restorative practice is, what it looks like in practice with children and families and in an organisational culture, and what it might mean to implement...

Welcome to Learn on the go, a Community Care Inform podcast where we discuss what the latest research, practice models and policy guidance mean for your practice. This is our second episode looking at approaches to practice around children’s networks. We discuss the Lifelong Links model with: Pam Ledward, principal social work advisor at Family Rights Group (the charity that developed the model);...

Welcome to Learn on the go, a Community Care Inform podcast where we discuss what the latest research, practice models and policy guidance mean for your practice. This episode, which follows subscribers' requests for resources around children's networks and connections, is about the Family Finding/Family Seeing model which hails from the US but is now being used in other countries, including by se...