Listen to Sharmeen Ziauddin's (career editor at Community Care) report from the One Voice Summit which was held at the London Guildhall on 24 & 25 April 2025.

The summit, was organised by Olympian Fatima Whitbread’s charitable organisation Fatima’s UK Campaign. The main aim of the charity is to ‘create a safer, happier, and healthier environment for children, ensuring they can read their full potential’.

The One Voice Summit brought together many different organisations and individuals involved in the care system. This included charities, social enterprises, politicians, local authorities, academics and care-experienced people. 

You'll be hearing from Fatima herself, Dame Kelly Holmes and Professor Alexis Jay.

Here are some of the links mentioned in this episode:
Fatima's backstory and her day with social workers.
Coram Voice's report
Creation of the Child Protection Authority
Listen to Take My Hand 
News story on Community Care

If you liked this episode do rate and review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to this on. And do follow us on Instagram - we are @CommunityCareOfficial

In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah speaks to specialist domestic abuse social worker Jenifer Lamadrid who started her career as an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate.

We find out why she made the move, what core skills she's been able to take from her former profession into social work and what keeps her in the sector.

Read the transcript of the interview here.

You can listen to our previous episode in the Career Transitions Series.

About the podcast
The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.

Kirsty and fellow host, careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.

The first season went down a storm and was nominated in the 2024 British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.

We have since launched season two, during which we have covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.

Although the podcast is available on major podcast platforms, Social Work Community members will get special early access to each episode.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

As part of the 'Social work around the world' series, this episode, hosted by careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, features two Australian social workers, who have practised in Australia and in England.

Kristin, worked in Queensland, Australia before moving to London 12 years ago. Tina similarly moved to London from Queensland but moved back and found herself stuck in Western Australia during the covid-19 pandemic, and ended up staying there.

Emigrating is never easy and the challenges Kristen experienced led her to write a blog to help other Australian social workers navigate their move to the UK. This is how Kristin and Tina met!

The Aussies discuss the differences in social work between the two countries, how they overcame the challenges and what they love about working in both countries. Tina also shares her experience working with Aboriginal communities in Western Australia where she is currently based. 

Watch a clip here.

Read the transcript.

About the podcast

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives. Sharmeen and fellow host Kirsty Ayakwah, senior careers editor, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.

The first season went down a storm and was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.

Season two has covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.A

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking how an adults' social worker can secure a role working with refugees or co-ordinating disaster relief. 

This episode is hosted by Kirsty Ayakwah, senior careers editor at Community Care. If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you.

Read the transcript here.

Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.com Read past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.

This is the second part of our conversation with Yohai Hakak, senior social work lecturer and MSc lead at Brunel University, London. If you haven't listened to the previous episode then do go back and have a listen!

The episode begins with Yohai talking about his PhD subject, going on to share his experience working as a mental health social worker back in Israel where he was born and raised. 

He shares insights from his work at a psychiatric hospital in Jerusalem as well as discussing a journal article he wrote on the involvement of social services in interfaith marriages. 

A fascinating listen.


Read Yohai's research article, 'Battling Against Interfaith Relations in Israel: Religion, Therapy, and Social Services'.

This episode was hosted and produced by Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care.

Welcome to the first episode of the new miniseries "Social Work Around The World" from the The Social Work Community Podcast.

In the first episode, social work senior lecturer and MSc lead from Brunel University Yohai Hakak, talks to Sharmeen Ziauddin, careers editor at Community Care, about the research he is leading with his social work students.
The research looks into the migration of social workers to and from the UK. Yohai explains what led him to conduct the research and some of his findings.
This is the first of two episodes with Yohai, the second episode is about his experience in Israel so do have a listen to that when it drops.

Access the transcript here.

There are the studies that Yohai mentions so if you are interested in taking part, have a look:

Focusing on international social work students studying in the UK: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/brunel/international-social-work-students-in-the-uk

A study examining how international social workers are bridging cultural differences. Social workers who migrated from any, either before or after qualifying as social workers can participate:
https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/brunel/the-international-social-worker-advantage-strategies-for-naviga

You can find more information about the project and download the papers published based on it, including questionnaires from some of the countries mentioned in the episode: The migration of social workers to and from the UK


Have you joined the Social Work Community? If not, you can sign up for free if you are a social worker or social work student.

In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking: what are the pros and cons of working in a local authority versus a trust?

This episode is hosted by Kirsty Ayakwah, senior careers editor at Community Care. If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you.

Read the transcript here.

Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.com Read past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.

Welcome to Season Three. In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast, senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah speaks to two social workers that started their careers in a different profession altogether.

Monisola Osibogun and Pam Shodeinde are both social workers in children’s services who both started their careers in law.

We find out why they transitioned from law to social work, what core skills they’ve been able to take from the profession into social work and what keeps them in the sector.

Read the transcript of the interview here.

About the podcast

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.Kirsty and fellow host, careers editor Sharmeen Ziauddin, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.

The first season went down a storm and was nominated in this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards.

Season two has covered whether we need more men in social work and interviewed a practitioner with 47 years’ experience about what keeps her in the profession.A

lthough the podcast is available on major podcast platforms, Social Work Community members will get special early access to each episode.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.Otherwise, check out the Social Work Community Podcast on the following :

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker
• Audible (Amazon)

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

Welcome to our new mini-series : ‘Ask The Experts’ where we put your career questions to three social work experts

In this episode, hear from Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly, Claire Barcham and Kayleigh Rose Evans respond to a question we received asking how to secure a new job after receiving a negative reference, navigating the profession as an international social worker and where to access help.

Click here to read the transcript.

This episode is hosted by Ruth Hardy-Mullings, head of content at Community Care. If you have a question you’d like our experts to answer or if you felt the advice has helped you secure your next social work role, we want to hear from you. Read the full transcript here. Send us an email at: [email protected] You can follow all the Ask The Experts questions and responses on: www.thesocialworkcommunity.com Read past questions from social workers with a career question and read the responses here.

We are back with another live episode – this time from adult social care at Wiltshire Council. The session took place at Community Care Live 2024.

This is a really special episode where you will hear direct from an adult who not only works within Wiltshire through Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living but also uses services that Wiltshire Council provide. This session is about how service users and practitioners can work together in co-production to enable disabled people in Wiltshire to be able to live the life they want.

 In this session they talk about practical ways to enable this to happen, such as changing assessment forms, different approaches and language. They explain how working together has improved the lives of adults with disabilities. The unique innovator and pioneer approach is really working and the hope is that those who work in adult social care will benefit from listening to this session.

You will also hear the Q&A session at the end. Don’t forget this podcast episode also counts as CPD.

The workshop was hosted by Kaylie Chapman - principal social worker at Wiltshire Council's adult social care.
Taking part were:
Dan Wilkins - Head of transformation and quality assurance
Leila Dickson - Assistant team manager in the advice and contact team
Abbie-Jo Lawrence - Pioneer from Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living
Rachael Hanwell - SEND resource facilitator at Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living

This episode was presented and produced by Sharmeen Ziauddin - careers editor at Community Care.