1 / 8

Helen Donnellan, University of Plymouth

STUDENT SUMMMIT BASW The College of Social Work , London, 2011 Surviving & Thriving as a newly-qualified social worker. Helen Donnellan, University of Plymouth. Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker. “You do your two years in the trenches …. and then move out”

helene
Download Presentation

Helen Donnellan, University of Plymouth

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. STUDENT SUMMMIT BASW The College of Social Work,London, 2011Surviving & Thriving as a newly-qualified social worker Helen Donnellan, University of Plymouth

  2. Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker “You do your two years in the trenches …. and then move out” “A lot of the innovative work isn’t being done by local authorities” [NQSW] Key Themes • Transitional change • Developing confidence and job satisfaction • Working within the organisational structures • Finding support • Progression and career pathways

  3. Surving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker Transitional change “ I don’t think any training could really prepare you for this job ... ever” [ NQSW]

  4. Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker Developing confidence and job satisfaction ‘ …when you come back here qualified, you’re given a caseload and that’s the difference, you are responsible and the buck stops with you and that leaves a different feeling inside’ [NQSW] • The ‘reality shock’ • Being individually accountable • Balancing care and control • Taking a ‘care management’ approach

  5. Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker Working within the organisational structures “ You spend all your time thinking about how you’re going to get through this system and how to record it and make a square peg fit into a round hole..” [NQSW] “ It isn’t as though I haven’t done the work, the work has been done, I just haven’t got the time to write it all up every day” [NQSW] • ‘Direct work’ with service users • Roles and tasks • Managing bureaucracy • Using IT

  6. Surviving & Thrivingas a newly- qualified social worker Finding support “ There’s plenty of days when I’m laying in bed and I’ve got that knot in my stomach, and what I don’t like about this job is that no matter how much you do, you can never do enough … and that is kind of hard to live with.” [NQSW] “Brilliant! I will say the one thing that seems to hold social services together is the team, the team camaraderie, the support that everyone gets. You do feel part of something.” [NQSW] • Support for practice • Support for learning

  7. Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker Progression and career pathways “ Overall, there’s a good level of training offered. It’s a bit hit and miss though who gets on it and who doesn’t” [NQSW] “There’s a need for personal development stuff. You know, what’s the next step as a social worker, what direction do you want to go in? [Line manager] • Continuing professional development • Personal Development Plans

  8. Surviving & Thrivingas a newly- qualified social worker References Donnellan, H., Jack, G., Grose, J., Gilbert, A., (2007) PQ Evaluation Project - Stage I, Final Report to the Peninsula Child Care Programme Partnership Board, Unpublished Report, University of Plymouth Donnellan, H., Jack, G., (2008) PQ Evaluation Project Stage II: The PQ Consolidation Module for Qualified Social Workers, Leeds, Skills for Care Innovations Fund Donnellan, H., Jones, K., & Owens, C., (2009) The first year in practice: exploring reflective supervision - a practice toolkit for NQSWs and line managers, Leeds, Skills for Care Donnellan, H., Jack, G., (2009) NQSWs: the first year, Community Care magazine  http://www.community.care.co.uk/Articles/2009/02/11/107422/nqsws-the-first-year.html Donnellan, H., (2010)  Front Line Research Briefing for Child Care Social Workers: Child Development, Dartington, Research in Practice Donnellan, H., Jack G.,  (2010) The survival guide for newly-qualified child and family social workers - Hitting the ground running, London, Jessica Kingsley Jack, G., Donnellan, H., (2010) Recognising the person within the Developing Professional - Tracking the early careers of newly-qualified child care social workers in three local authorities in England, Social Work Education, 29:3, 305-318 (DOI: 10.1080/02615470902984663)) Donnellan, H., & Jack, G., (2010) Quality in Practice Series: Workload, Case recording, Personal Development Planning, http://www.community.care.co.uk/Articles Enquiries to: Helen Donnellan, School of Social Sciences & Social Work, University of Plymouth Tel: 01752 586711 E-Mail: helen.donnellan@plymouth.ac.uk

More Related