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 bring professionals together to support victims of domestic abuse. The expert guest is Jenifer Lamadrid, a senior social worker for a London borough where she also serves as a MARAC representative for children’s social services. Jen mentions she has worked as an IDVA. This is an independent domestic violence advocate, someone who supports victims and is separate from police and social services. The questions were asked by Gillian MacFarlane, content editor at Community Care Inform.

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 increasingly recognise the importance of using language that suits the individual child, whether that’s 'family time' or something else. 

Ethan speaks about his experiences of different types of ‘contact’ – including visiting his parents in jail, supervised sessions with his grandparents and siblings, goodbye meetings with other siblings who were adopted, and unsupervised time with his parents as he got older.

He shares his thoughts on how professionals can support children and young people with the complexity of wanting and valuing connection with family, while dealing with what can be its extremely challenging emotional impact.

Ethan was speaking to Joanna Silman, senior content editor at Community Care Inform Children.

Community Care Inform subscribers can access additional resources and a written transcript of the podcast here: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/podcast-transcript-the-emotional-impact-of-contact-ethans-experience/

You can watch the video interview Ethan did with Jenny Molloy spoke about his experience of being taken into care, and the social workers who made the biggest difference to his life here: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2023/10/26/choose-social-work-they-helped-me-escape-the-life-i-was-living-as-a-teenager/

Ethan believes strongly in the importance of sharing lived experience of different aspects of being a child in care to help improve practice with young people today and speaks at training events for social workers and other professionals. If you would like to get in touch with Ethan, please email [email protected] and we can pass a message on.

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 Hope Daniels, describes Jenny’s childhood and how at the age of nine she walked into Stoke Newington police station with her two younger brothers and asked that they be taken into care. Both their parents were addicted to alcohol, their mother was a sex worker, and they’d experienced neglect, malnourishment and poverty.

When she was 19, Jenny decided to read her social services files, where she discovered that both her parents had also been in care and had experienced traumatic childhoods. So it is testament to Jenny’s strength of character that she not only conquered her own alcohol addiction, but achieved her childhood dream for her future: that her children be raised in a safe, loving, family home and have a "normal life", breaking the cycle of children in care having their children go into care.

Ordinarily, Jenny talks and trains about life as a child in care, and issues around care leavers and childhood trauma. On this occasion, Jenny is talking about how childhood trauma can play out in adulthood, and how she relapsed and then recovered when it happened to her.

We do want to give a content warning: Jenny talks about her attempted suicide, being sectioned, and time in a psychiatric hospital. 

We know it can be difficult to hear about people’s trauma so we’d like to remind you to practise self-care and use supervision and peer support if this has brought up anything difficult for you.

And if you’ve been affected by this episode, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123.

During the interview, Jenny references the Lambeth Children's Homes Redress Scheme, which you can read about here. And she also mentions the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS).

The questions were asked by Natalie Valios, senior content editor at Community Care Inform Adults. 

0:02:37.3 - The three triggers

0:10:10 - The psychiatric hospital

0:17:49.8 - Recovery

0:20:53.1 - Adult mental health services

0:27:36.9 - Healing

0:31:23.7 - Advice for social workers

0:33:41.4 - The future

0:37:05.8 - Hope

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 location at Trevi, the charity that supports women and children.

As well as community support for women and children, Trevi runs Jasmine's Recovery Centre, a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre exclusively for mothers and their children. We recorded a separate episode about mothers experiences of social work connected to substance use. You'll find the episode in the podcast feed.

Full transcripts of both episodes and supporting materials are available to Community Care Inform subscribers at ccinform.co.uk.

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 Centre, part of Trevi, the charity that supports women and children.

Find out more about the centre and Trevi's work here: https://trevi.org.uk/services/jasmine-mothers-recovery/

Some of the women touch on the fact that many women who have experienced trauma and drug and acohol addiction have been in abusive relationships. We recorded a separate episode about mothers experiences of social work connected to domestic abuse. You'll find the episode in the podcast feed.

Full transcripts of both episodes and supporting materials are available to Community Care Inform subscribers at ccinform.co.uk.

Content warnings. While these are stories with positive outcomes, there are brief mentions of attempted suicide, domestic abuse, difficult childbirth, and women also speak about their older children being removed.

We’d encourage you to use supervision and peer support if this episode brings up anything difficult for you, and generally to look after yourself while listening.

In this episode, two expert guests discuss media coverage, blame and shame of social workers.

The guests are Dr Liz Frost, associate professor of social work at the University of the West of England, and Dr Maria Leedham, senior lecturer in applied linguistics at the Open University.

They discuss Maria’s research into mentions of social workers in UK newspapers and TV dramas, why media coverage almost entirely focuses on child protection, and whether there are signs that this negative bias might be changing.

The questions were asked by Ruth Hardy-Mullings, head of content at Community Care.

Links

• Community Care story, including podcast transcript:
• How negative perceptions of social work are reinforced in the media: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2023/10/12/how-negative-perceptions-of-social-workers-are-reinforced-in-the-media/
• Sharon Shoesmith interview: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2023/07/05/sharon-shoesmith-how-social-workers-can-get-their-professional-pride-back/
• 'You can literally change a young person's life': podcast episode with Dan, an 18-year-old with care experience: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2023/08/08/you-can-literally-change-a-young-persons-life-an-18-year-olds-message-for-social-workers/

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 supervision central to your work – both to avoid stigmatising and causing further harm to affectees, and to build trust and relationships with individuals and communities to reduce risk.

The guests are: Maureen Mguni, a senior lecturer and researcher in social work at the University of West London (UWL) who has worked with women and girls affected by gender-based violence for most of her practice and research career, currently researching the experiences of people affected by FGM and their engagement with social workers in the UK; and Zelia Camelo. During one of her placements while studying social work at UWL, Zelia worked with a young person who had experienced FGM and she discusses what she did and what she learned.

The questions were asked by Joanna Silman, senior content editor at Community Care Inform Children.

Areas covered:
02.03: Addressing common misconceptions and myths about FGM

06.31: Use of language with affectees and children at risk and their families – examples of anti-oppressive questions to ask instead

12.50: Zelia’s experience working with a 16-year-old Somalian female during her placement, and the direct work she carried out. The girl had undergone FGM at a young age. The law and interactions with health services are also discussed

24:37: Why social workers need to reflect on FGM as a political issue – the role of racism, understanding the mandatory reporting duty, working with male expectations in communities as well as with women

31:15: Concluding messages for practice

Links

• Community Care Inform practice guide: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/guides/guide-to-female-genital-mutilation-for-social-work-professionals/
• Maureen’s PhD research that she discusses in the episode is not yet published. You can find her published works and a fuller biography here: https://www.uwl.ac.uk/staff/maureen-mguni
• Maureen’s 2022 webinar as part of Siobhan MacLean’s Student Connect series is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIzOlmLG8A4&t=3286s
• British Association of Social Workers (BASW) FGM direct work toolkit: https://www.basw.co.uk/resources/fgm-direct-work-toolkit (BASW membership required to access)
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text
• United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Welcome to Learn on the go, a Community Care Inform podcast where we discuss the latest research, practice models and policy guidance and what they mean to your practice.

This episode looks at the Care Quality Commission's new duty, under the Health and Care Act 2022, to assess how local authorities are meeting their Care Act duties. The assessment framework has nine quality statements mapped across four overall themes: working with people; providing support; how the local authority ensures safety within the system; and leadership.

Discussing this CQC role in more depth are Mary Cridge, director of adult social care at the CQC, and Amanda Stride, the CQC’s deputy director for delivery of local authority assessments.

The questions were asked by Natalie Valios, senior content editor for Community Care Inform Adults.

0:01:19.6 - the testing process.

0:02:55.7 - when will the assessments start?

0:03:36.0 - what will happen once the two-year period has finished? Will there be a rolling programme with a certain number of authorities assessed every year or will you only assess those which receive a ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ rating?

0:04:26.3 - how much advance notice will a local authority be given that they’re going to be assessed?

0:05:12.9 - it’s easier to envisage what leaders will need to do to prepare for an assessment, but will there be anything that frontline practitioners will need to do?

0:06:07.8 - what will be the ratio of in-person inspection versus reviewing evidence and data? And will you be observing social workers in practice as Ofsted does in its assessment of children’s services?

0:07:40.9 - what reassurance can you give about the single word grading system?

0:08:58.3 - will the CQC speak to frontline staff without managers present, or let them give their views anonymously during assessments?

0:09:39.8 - with councils under such tremendous pressure in social care, and that pressure affecting each authority differently, how will the CQC take this into account in its judgments?

0:10:33.8 - the assessment framework says that the CQC will be looking at whether councils have arrangements for ensuring timely assessments, care planning and care reviews. How will timeliness be judged?

0:11:22.7 - how far will the CQC be able to judge a council’s level of compliance with the sections of the Care Act it's assessing?

0:11:56.6 - does the Department of Health and Social Care have plans to bring in a system of intervention in authorities found to be failing by CQC?

0:12:36.6 - what professional expertise or expertise by experience will your inspectors bring to bear in assessing local authorities?

0:13:24.7 - how will adult social care benefit from these CQC assessments?

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 of strategy for The Care Leaders, a social enterprise that works with children’s services providing training and consultancy to enhance the lives of children in care, care leavers and those with a social worker.

The questions were asked by Natalie Valios, senior content editor, Community Care Inform Adults.

[0:01:26.4] Was there a great social worker you remember because they had a positive impact on your childhood?

[0:08:13.5] Have you got any tips or advice on how social workers can give children the resilience, power and ownership over who they are, so they remember their social worker fondly in later life?

[0:14:15.8] As well as working with practitioners you work with many young people. Have any of them told you positive stories of their social worker that stand out for you?

[0:17:53.1] What do you think social workers should stop to consider when writing reports so that young people have a better experience than you did if they choose to look at their case files in later life?

[0:26:07.2] How would you suggest a social worker goes about building a relationship with a child they are supporting?

[0:31:50.9] What qualities and skills do you think a young person will remember most about their social worker?

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 feels could make a big difference.

Dan spoke too about his positive experiences of social work and what made those important for him. You will also hear his powerful take on the impact of social worker stress on young people and how he'd like to see social work championed and valued.

If you have a Community Care Inform licence, you can access additional resources and a written transcript of the podcast: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/learning-tools/leaving-care-podcast-an-18-year-olds-perspective-on-independence-supported-accommodation-and-good-social-work/

You can also read Laura Hanbury's guide to professional curiousity (as mentioned by Dan here) here: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/how-to-use-professional-curiosity-to-understand-social-and-emotional-responses/

You might also be interested in our guide to the 2023 legislation affecting supported accommodation: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/quick-guide-to-the-supported-accommodation-england-regulations-2023/

Find out more about Community Care's #choosesocialwork campaign here: https://view.ceros.com/bonhill/community-care-choose-social-work/p/1 or follow the hashtag on social media

Other sources Dan mentions:

• A Community Care article about the charity Become's report on 'ambitions' for children in care: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2017/07/27/children-care-urge-social-workers-ambitious/
• The full report (Perceptions of Care, 2017) is available here: https://becomecharity.org.uk/content/uploads/2022/01/perceptions-of-care_final-1.pdf
• Newsnight segment on 'Britain's hidden children homes': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB2x-bfrDxM
• An article on the Newsnight episode was also published on BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-50392297
• The personal advisor duties are contained in 19B and 19C of schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/schedule/2), read alongside the Care Planning regulations 2010 (as amended) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/959/contents)
• This summary on Coram's Child Law Advice website sets out entitlements to personal advisors, pathway plans and needs assessments for children who fall into different categories: https://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/services-for-children-leaving-care/
• 'Social worker took own life after stress caused by work arrangements, coroner rules', Community Care, 2018: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2018/08/15/social-worker-took-life-stress-caused-work-arrangements-coroner-rules/