Social Work Sorted with Vicki Shevlin

 I left local authority social work four years ago, not because I was burnt out, but because I couldn't keep building my training work alongside it. In this episode I push back on the glamorisation of independent social work and talk through five things I genuinely miss about being employed: team, learning, practice skills, benefits, and progression. 

If you lead a team or a service, this is also a good listen for understanding what actually keeps social workers engaged and staying. 

Sponsored by Collaborate HR Consultancy. 

https://collaboratehr.co.uk/

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

This week I've been watching the Lindsey Clancy trial, and I couldn't stop thinking about what it reveals about giving evidence, professional credibility, and how quickly a badly placed comma or a defensive answer can unravel someone's testimony.

But this episode isn't really about the trial. It's about something new social workers ask me constantly: how do I get good at court? How do I prepare for giving evidence?

Here's the truth. Court skills don't start in the witness box. They start at the first knock on the door. If you can't observe, record, and analyse confidently on a home visit, you can't write an assessment that holds up in court. The skills are the same skills, just at different stages.

If you're newly qualified and building those foundations, the Starting in Social Work Summer Bundle has everything you need, home visit masterclass, HR masterclass, interview skills, and the Starting in Social Work podcast series. Available until 31st August.

Starting in Social Work Summer Bundle: 

https://www.patreon.com/collection/2260003

Practice Pause Library (guided audios for social workers) 

https://www.patreon.com/collection/2308769

Confident Meetings Collection 

https://www.patreon.com/collection/2332619

Join the membership:

https://www.patreon.com/15752670/join

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm joined by Trevor Elliott MBE, founder of Children We Care For and director of three residential children's homes in London, who became a foster carer at 24. Trevor is one of the most honest voices I've come across in this space and this conversation did not disappoint.

We talk about what foster care actually requires and why a big heart and a spare room is not enough, the government's commitment to 100,000 new foster carers and why quantity without quality worries both of us, why foster carers are underpaid and why we need to stop being uncomfortable talking about money in the context of care, the difference between profit and profiteering in residential children's homes, and what needs to change to make fostering a sustainable choice for more people.

Trevor also makes a comparison between foster carers and surgeons that I haven't stopped thinking about since we recorded this.

If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at [email protected] or find the link to book a conversation in the show notes.

Starting in Social Work Bundle: 

https://www.patreon.com/collection/2260003

Get in touch with Trevor: 

https://www.instagram.com/trevorelliott.mbe/

https://childrenwecarefor.co.uk/pages/our-team

This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant with over ten years of experience. The content is intended to support your professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for good quality supervision, statutory guidance, legislation, or your organisation's policies and procedures. Always refer to your local authority guidance and relevant statutory frameworks when making practice decisions. Nothing in this podcast constitutes formal legal or professional advice.

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

July was heavy. Court, honest feedback on my book, and the quiet weight of watching decisions unfold in family courts. In this honest, veryyyy unfiltered episode I talk through why August needs to be about joy, and four simple, no-cost ways I'm building more of it into my days with several caveats. 

If July left you feeling a bit worn down too, this one's for you.

Plus a reminder about the Practice Pause Library, guided audio built for social workers, for the real moments this job actually throws at you. 

Find it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2308769

PLUS: 

Starting in Social Work Summer Bundle: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2260003?view=expanded

Social Work Sorted Membership: 

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted/membership

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm joined by my friend and colleague Jo Schofield, Director of Immigration Social Work Services and one of the leading experts on age assessment in the UK. Jo has spent her career working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children, acting as an expert witness in court, and developing the SAFE framework - the Social Work Age Estimation Framework - which is changing the way social workers approach this area of practice.

We talk about what age assessment actually is and why it's so politicised, what the SAFE framework does and why it matters, confirmation bias in assessment practice, what courts are actually looking for when they scrutinise an age assessment, and why Jo thinks social workers are overcomplicating something that is at its core just an assessment like any other. We also get into the racism and adultification that underpins so much of how age assessment has historically been approached, and why SAFE offers a framework that is genuinely aligned with social work values.

Jo is also writing the first ever book on age assessment. It's a big deal and she is exactly the right person to do it.

If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at [email protected] or find the link to book a conversation in the show notes.

This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant with over ten years of experience. The content is intended to support your professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for good quality supervision, statutory guidance, legislation, or your organisation's policies and procedures. Always refer to your local authority guidance and relevant statutory frameworks when making practice decisions. Nothing in this podcast constitutes formal legal or professional advice.

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm joined by Dez Holmes, Director of Research in Practice for a conversation that went in more directions than either of us planned and was better for it.

We talk about Dez's career and what's driven it, the role Research in Practice has played in social work over the years, what it actually means to be evidence informed in practice rather than just claiming to be, and what we owe each other when we share things online. There's a LinkedIn rant, a surfing metaphor, and some of the most useful reflections I've had in a while about what useful actually means and who it's for.

If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at [email protected] or find the link to book a conversation in the show notes.

This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant with over ten years of experience. The content is intended to support your professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for good quality supervision, statutory guidance, legislation, or your organisation's policies and procedures. Always refer to your local authority guidance and relevant statutory frameworks when making practice decisions. Nothing in this podcast constitutes formal legal or professional advice.

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm back after a quieter month, off Instagram, in therapy, having acupuncture, and thinking about a lot of things. This one covers the personal and the professional in equal measure.

I'm talking about the naming of social workers in the media following the Preston Davey case, why the way decisions in social work are actually made is so consistently misrepresented, and what I think our response as a profession needs to look like. I'm also getting into the social workers are superheroes narrative and why it worries me, what's been happening with BASW and the International Federation of Social Workers and why I think members should be paying attention, and what starting therapy taught me about the connection between body and mind in a job like ours.

It's a long one. But I think it's worth it.

If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at [email protected] or find the link to book a conversation in the show notes.

This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant with over ten years of experience. The content is intended to support your professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for good quality supervision, statutory guidance, legislation, or your organisation's policies and procedures. Always refer to your local authority guidance and relevant statutory frameworks when making practice decisions. Nothing in this podcast constitutes formal legal or professional advice.

[00:00] Welcome back and what's in this episode

[02:00] Families First: what senior leaders are saying vs what social workers are actually experiencing

[04:30] Taking care of yourself: what your body is trying to tell you

[06:00] Why I said goodbye to my VA to invest in myself instead

[08:00] Starting therapy as a social worker and what happened after my first session

[12:00] What my acupuncturist said about my cough that stopped me in my tracks

[15:00] The mind body connection and why social workers ignore it

[18:00] Should social workers be named in the media? The Preston Davey case

[21:00] How decisions in social work actually get made and why the media gets it wrong

[24:00] What's missing from our profession's response to irresponsible journalism

[26:00] Social workers are not superheroes and why that narrative worries me

[29:00] The fear of being named in an inquiry for a decision you made ten years ago

[31:00] BASW, the International Federation of Social Workers and what I think members should know

[35:00] Practice Pause

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm joined by Sean Monaghan, founder of Safer Now, whose route into safeguarding practice started in a youth centre in North Birmingham and took him through community violence intervention, hospital-based trauma response, and a recurring question: so what? 

We talk about what it actually takes to change practice on the ground, why skills training has to outlast the day it's delivered, the commodification of practice frameworks, and why measuring meaning matters more than hitting KPIs. This is one of those conversations that could have gone on for hours.

If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at [email protected] 

Connect with Sean: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-monaghan-8a3957ab?originalSubdomain=uk

https://www.safernowcyp.com/

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

Home visits are the main site where social work happens. And yet they are barely mentioned in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 or any version of Working Together before it.

In this episode I'm exploring why this matters, what Harry Ferguson's research tells us about children being invisible on home visits, and why statutory invisibility leads to practice invisibility. I also wonder, in an increasingly virtual world, what happens to the home visit as a skill if we never name it as one?

If you are a social worker wanting practical strategies for home visit confidence, The Social Work Collective Academy on Patreon has a full Home Visit Masterclass, a new podcast episode on six things to do before every home visit, and the Practice Pause Library guided audios specifically for before and after visits.

This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant. Content is intended to support professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for supervision, statutory guidance or your organisation's policies and procedures.

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

ACEs - adverse childhood experiences - is one of the most referenced phrases in social work and safeguarding. But how many of us have actually questioned whether we are using it correctly?

In this episode Vicki Shevlin explores why the research behind ACEs is weaker than most people realise, why correlation is not causation and what this means practically for your assessments, your reports and your conversations with other professionals.

If you have referenced ACEs recently in your practice - this episode is worth your time.

For a full deep dive into the research, the 2020 Foundations review and three practical strategies to update your practice, the extended episode is available on The Social Work Collective Academy on Patreon.

patreon.com/thesocialworkcollectiveacademy

This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant. Content is intended to support professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for supervision, statutory guidance or your organisation's policies and procedures.

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email [email protected]

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_

Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.