Let's Talk Social Work

As we head into the winter, millions of families across the UK are facing a cost of living crisis. Huge increases in electricity and gas prices, and spikes in the cost of vehicle fuel come in the wake of the Government’s recent decision to remove the £20 uplift to Universal Credit which was helping to keep many families afloat.    Andy McClenaghan is joined by Amanda Bailey, Director of...

In this episode, Mit Joyner, President of the National Association of Social Workers (USA) and Shantel Thomas, BASW Anti-Racism Lead join host, Andy McClenaghan to discuss anti-racist allyship. They consider how individuals who are not negatively impacted by racism can support those who are affected in their efforts to dismantle the structures, cultures and attitudes that lead to discrimination an...

Alex Cunningham MP, Shadow Justice Minister for Courts and Sentencing and former Chair of the Westminster All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Work and BASW UK Public and Political Affairs Lead, Kerri Prince join Andy McClenaghan to discuss what the UK Government’s Autumn Budget and Spending Review mean for social work, social workers and people who use social work services. They consider...

In our 25th episode we explore a hugely important issue which was touched on all the way back in episode one, when we examined the role of social workers in disasters. To discuss the social work response to the climate crisis and environmental injustice, Andy McClenaghan is joined by Gerry Nosowska, Chair of BASW UK, Professor Lena Dominelli from the University of Stirling and Professor John Barry...

In this episode, Andy McClenaghan is joined by guests Sam Lethbridge, Incidents Manager at the Community Security Trust and Paul Shuttleworth, Professional Officer with BASW England to discuss antisemitism—what it means, what its impacts are and how social workers can stand against and address antisemitism across our society.    Both Paul and Sam draw on their personal experiences as Bri...

In the second of two episodes exploring issues related to the independent review of children’s social care in England, Andy McClenaghan is joined by social workers Patriche Bentick, Senior Practitioner at Camden Council and James Kargbo, Fostering Team Manager, also from Camden Council. They examine issues facing Black and minoritized children in the care system, the extent to which matt...

Andy McClenaghan is joined by Baroness Joan Walmsley, Co-Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Kate Fallon, General Secretary of the Association of Educational Psychologists and John McGowan, General Secretary of the Social Workers Union to discuss what the law says about the corporal punishment of children, the impacts it has, and efforts being pursued to ban smacking in E...

Andy McClenaghan is joined by guests, Dr Sarah Fox and Professor Sarah Galvani from Manchester Metropolitan University, and Dr Wulf Livingston from Wrexham Glyndwr University, to explore the complex relationship between problematic substance use and domestic abuse. The episode begins by examining the various forms domestic abuse can take and what we mean when we talk about problematic substance us...

One month after publication of the first report of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care — The Case for Change — Andy McClenaghan is joined by Carolyne Willow, Director of Article 39, Esme Daley, a social work manager with Achieving for Children and BASW London Branch Chair, and Bekah Pierre, Professional Officer with BASW England to discuss the scope and potential impacts of the Review...

Andy McClenaghan is joined by Martin Sexton, Chair of the British Association of Social Workers Policy Ethics and Human Rights Committee and Carolyn Ewart National Director of BASW Northern Ireland to discuss Duty of Candour. They consider the proposal to introduce, in Northern Ireland, a Statutory Duty of Candour, at the organisational and individual levels—including criminal sanctions for breach...

Host, Andy McClenaghan, is joined by Barbara Keeley MP, Co-Chair of the Westminster All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Work, Alexis Quinn from the Restraint Reduction Network, and Liz Howard, Professional Officer with BASW England. They discuss why people with a learning disability and autistic people continue to be inappropriately placed in treatment and assessment centres in secure settings...

This episode, made for Pride Month 2021, explores challenges facing British Asian LGBTQIA+ and the ways in which social workers can better support this community. Andy McClenaghan is joined by Siddhi Joshi, founder and chairperson of British Asian LGBTI online support group, Khakan Qureshi, Founder of Finding A Voice and co-administrator of British Asians LGBTI and Narinder Sidhu, Equality, Divers...

Andy McClenaghan is joined by Chris Lytle MLA, Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Education, Nick Hobbs from the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland and social worker Sarah Goff from the Ann Craft Trust to examine the issue of restraint and seclusion of children and young people with additional needs in educational settings. The conversation explores how plans to in...

Andy McClenaghan is joined by Mit Joyner, President of the National Association of Social Workers in the USA, and Shantel Thomas, BASW Anti-Racism Lead to discuss the issue of structural and institutional racism in the UK and the USA. The conversation explores the impacts of structural and institutional racism and considers the issue in the context of the murder of George Floyd, the Covid-19 pande...

In the aftermath of the counting of votes cast in elections for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, English local Council and elected Mayors, Andy McClenaghan is joined by Allison Hulmes, National Director of BASW Cymru, Alison Bavidege, National Director of the Scottish Association of Social Workers and Kerri Prince, BASW’s Public and Political Affairs Lead to make sense of the outcomes. They...

In this episode Andy McClenaghan is joined by Lucy Dacey, National Programme Manager for The Children's Society's Disrupting Exploitation Programme and Bekah Pierre, Professional Officer with BASW England. They discuss the much publicised but often misunderstood issue of County Lines—what it is, what it means for those involved, and what can be done to prevent the criminal exploitation, abuse and...

Dr Dan Allen from Manchester Metropolitan University and the award-winning storyteller, author and playwright, Richard O’Neill join Andy McClenaghan to discuss the discrimination experienced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities across the UK. They explore the changes that are needed to ensure social workers support these communities and address the prejudice and intolerance they face. For info...

In this special extended edition of Let’s Talk Social Work—made in celebration of World Social Work Day 2021—Andy McClenaghan and guests explore the concept of Ubuntu and what it means for social work. In the first section, Joachim Mumba from the International Federation of Social Workers Africa explains what the philosophy of Ubuntu is, how it can be difficult to define and what it means for soci...

Andy McClenaghan and guests Karl Handscomb, Senior Economist with the Resolution Foundation, Louise Woodruff, Policy and Partnerships Manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and Kerri Prince, BASW’s Public and Political Affairs Lead discuss what the Chancellor’s announcement on 3 March means for people who use social work and social care services, and people who receive support from the social...

The social security system is failing to prevent millions of families from experiencing poverty. Andy McClenaghan is joined by Sophie Howes, Head of Policy at the Child Poverty Action Group and Kerri Prince, BASW Public and Political Affairs Lead, to discuss Universal Credit, the two-child limit, the £20 uplift and what all this means for children and families across the UK. Hosted on Acast. See a...

On 20 January 2021, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America. Andy McClenaghan is joined by joined by Professor Margaret Weir, Wilson Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Brown University, and Mel Wilson, Senior Policy Consultant for Social Justice and Human Rights with the National Association of Social Workers to explore wh...

Supporting carers is a key role for social workers, but could services be improved? To explore the topic, Andy McClenaghan is joined by Allison Hulmes, National Director of BASW Cymru, Claire Morgan, Director or Carers Wales and Chris O’Malley who has been a carer for his wife, Annie, for the past 7 years. They discuss the provisions of the Welsh Social Services and Well-being Act and the Carer Aw...

In the first episode of 2021 Andy McClenaghan is joined by Sarah McMillan, Professional Officer with the Scottish Association of Social Workers, Rachael Barnes who is a Social Worker with Safer Families Edinburgh and Dr Marsha Scott, Chief Executive of Scottish Women's Aid. They explore the issue of domestic abuse and the social work response to support victims and survivors of abuse, as well as t...

In the second of our two episodes produced to celebrate Human Rights Day, Lord Alf Dubs joins Andy McClenaghan to discuss his work campaigning for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, and in particular, the rights of unaccompanied asylum-seeking Children. Among the issues discussed is how to productively engage with individuals who are hostile to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers, in...

In the first of two episodes created to celebrate Human Rights Day, Martin Sexton, Chair of BASW’s Policy, Ethics and Human Rights Committee, joins Andy McClenaghan to discuss the importance of human rights to social work. They consider the nature of human rights, the international human rights framework, domestic human rights law and the application of human rights to everyday social work practic...