The Social World Podcast

Welcome again to the podcast. Today it’s safeguarding and the perspective of a senior manager in a large local authority. Jim Hopkinson qualified as a Social Worker at University of Oxford in 1992. In addition to working as a children’s front line social worker both in the UK and abroad  he  has worked as a Probation Officer, managed alternative education provision, Head of Youth Offending Service...

Safeguarding in education has always been a high priority as young peoplle sometimes spend more waking hours at school than at home. School staff of all disciplines, are part of the ‘front line’ when it comes to safeguarding. Ann Marie is an Independent social worker. She qualified in 1996 as a social worker and worked in a generic children & families neighbourhood team. She took part in a pil...

Robert Goodwill MP was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Education on 12 June 2017. He was elected Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby in 2005. He is Minister of State for Children and Families. His responsibilities include: child protection (including protection from child sexual exploitation and safeguarding), local authority children’s social care and family law children...

  Dr David Colvin and Bill McKitterick both have been lost to us this year.  David Colvin David was my friend and mentor. He helped me through many difficult situations with a deep rooted wisdom and a compassionate outlook on life. He was a major figure throughout the Scottish social and care system and was appointed chief social work adviser for Scotland in 1991. He was instrumental in the implem...

We talk of the future of Safeguarding Boards and what the new guidelines could mean following the Wood Review. These new arrangements will affect so many people and, now there is a defined consultation process,it’s important to consider the implications.. Nick Frost is Professor of Social Work (childhood, children and families), at the School of Health and Community, Leeds Beckett University. He t...

This programme is about the image of social work and social care. It describes an exiting new initiative in media training and has an interview with the founder of the Social Worker of the Year Awards. Beverly Williams MBE Beverley had worked in the social housing sector for 23 years when, the age of forty, she became a foster carer and first came in touch with social workers. A mother of three, s...

  An interview with Christina Gabbitas about her book for 5 to 8 year olds on keeping themselves safe and how she is committed to safeguarding children.. Christina is a children’s award winning author, poet and voiceover artist. Christina’s first publications, The Felicity Fly series of books teach childreabout the world around them with fun. Christina is passionate about encouraging children to r...

  Dave is a Barnardo’s Children’s Service Manager in Bradford  and is Young Lives Bradford VCS representative on Bradford Safeguarding Children Board. The VCS has played a central role in the business of BSCB since the Board was launched in 2006 (and included as a signatory of the ‘Statement of Intent’). The VCS are well represented within the BSCB structure and it is important for the sector and...

This time I’m looking at a magazine format with two radio interviews and an introduction to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse chaired by Professor Alexis Jay on the day it commences its hearings. The interviews are on the real problems of social care funding where the Government is allowing some ringfenced council tax increase to be introduced and, secondly, what are the issues in de...

Damien Miller is a Superintendent within Bradford District who leads on Safeguarding Partnerships.  Within his portfolio he has responsibility for the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), Child & Adult Safeguarding, Domestic Violence, Safer Schools, Missing People, Mental Health and Families First.  He started in this role in September 2016, but is no stranger to Bradford, having worked in th...

Jonathan Phillips is a qualified social worker. For many years he worked in social services in a number of frontline, training and management roles. He then moved to the voluntary sector as a Director with National Deaf Children’s Society. An interest in Deaf people comes from his daughter who is Deaf ( and now so is her partner and one of her children). He then worked for the social services insp...

This is the second podcast from the Bradford series. Shirley is a Consultant in Public Health for the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Chairs the Child Death Overview Panel for the Safeguarding Board. She was a hospital doctor and GP across West Yorkshire for 10 years & also worked in Mozambique for 3 years. She was a GP partner in Bradford district in the inner city for 5 ye...

Dr Tan Ngoh Tiong is Professor of Social Work and former Dean of School of Human Development and Social Services, SIM University Singapore. He is the Chair of the Global Institute of Social Work, was Co-chair of Commonwealth Organization for Social Workers (COSW), Past President of Singapore Association of Social Workers, past Regional President (Asia and Pacific) of International Federation of So...

This is the first in a series of podcasts looking at the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board which I have the privilage to Chair. Initially, in five interviews with key members of the Board, you will get to experience a flavour of the work of the Board and the people who serve on it. The first is with Michael Jameson.  Michael is the Strategic Director of Children’s Services having responsibility...

Hello again. This programme features a short radio interview I gave on recruitment , retention and the reasons behind vacancy rates/agency staff numbers. Then my guest is Deona Hooper, based in South Carolina and the founder of  Social Work Helper digital newsletter/magazine.. She describes it as a “woman owned mission driven progress website providing news, information, and resources related to s...

Justin Humphreys is the Executive Director of Safeguarding of CCPAS. This Charity , formed in 1977, has over 8000 subscribing organisations, churches and other bodies that look to it for training, consultancy , DBS checking and general support. It operates all through the UK and has strong links abroad. Justin talks of the challenges facing faith based organisations in the current climate of atten...

  I felt that it was important to look at the private sector and Sanctuary provides staff across health and social care. James is one of the most influential figures in this sector and the interdependence that exists with employers seems likely to continue indefinitely. After 20 years of developing and resourcing work within adult and children’s social care, James , as the Chief Executive, has bui...

Dr Ruth Allen joined the British Association of Social Workers as Chief Executive on 11th April 2016.  She was previously Director of Social Work at South West London & St Georges’ Mental Health Trust and Chair of the Mental Health Faculty at the College of Social Work.  Previous to that she was a head of social care, social care manager and practitioner within local government and the NHS wor...

Alan Wood has been asked by the Secretary of State, Nicky Morgan MP and the Minister, Edward Timpson MP to lead a fundamental review of the role and functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LCSBs). This will include the child death review process and consideration of how the intended centralisation of serious case reviews (SCRs) will work effectively at local level. Alan was a previous gue...

  The Government announced just before Christmas a review of Local Safeguarding Children Boards so I invited David Jones , National Chair of the Association of Independent LSCB Chairs, to be my guest. David is a registered social worker, qualifying in 1974.  He was appointed in 2010 as the Independent Chair of Leicester Safeguarding Children and Adults Boards. His varied career and substantial exp...

My guest is Michael Hames who I’ve known for 20 years and whom I worked with on several initiatives and investigations starting when he was at Scotland Yard. He was born in Colchester, Essex and after education at the Colchester Royal Grammar School, joined the Metropolitan Police in 1962.  He served for 32 years  and held a variety of management positions at senior rank from 1970.  During much of...

Lucy Faithfull Foundation believes that child sexual abuse is preventable and that we can have a society where children are free from sexual abuse and exploitation.  Their purpose is to safeguard children and young people from sexual abuse by preventing it and responding to it.  Their stated mission is to prevent abuse from happening by working in partnership with voluntary and statutory sector pr...

Hello again after the Summer! I thought I’d use this chance to reflect on a few of the significant events over the last month before we get back into the regular pattern of Podcasts. The worldwide refugee crisis—-More thoughts on abuse by priests—A Freedom of Information request by the BBC about the increase in numbers of abuse cases reported in schools and an interview I did about it—Finally, new...

 Interview with Dr Simon Lenton  MB, ChB, DRCOG, MRCP, MPH/DLSHTM, FRCPCH, MFPH He completed his medical training in Aberdeen in 1977 and was appointed as a Consultant Paediatrician in Community Child Health (CPCCH) in Bath in 1987 after training in New Zealand, Canada and the UK. Between 1996 and 2000 he completed Public Health training with a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from LSHTM and placeme...

I talked to Alice Newton , the suicide prevention training co-ordinator for Papyrus, a national charity dedicated to supporting young people contemplating suicide and raising awareness about the level of need. They provide confidential help and advice to young people and anyone worried about a young person, help others to prevent young suicide by working with and training professionals as well as...