Improving social work
September 2010
The reform programme, outlined by Moira Gibb in the Social Work Task Force report, is still very much part of the Government’s agenda.

The Baby Peter social workers conduct hearing – the lessons learnt
September 2010
At the end of May, Maria Ward and Gillie Christou, two social workers directly involved in the care of Baby Peter Connelly, were suspended by the GSCC for two and four months respectively after being found guilty of misconduct.

PRTL case study: Roger Cook
September 2010
For this issue’s case study we ask GSCC registrant Roger Cook about his approach to PRTL. Roger is Head of CAMHS Tier 4 Commissioning, West Midlands Specialised Commissioning Team. He has been a practising social worker for 31 years.

Social workers not receiving enough supervision
September 2010
Social Work Connection readers are receiving less than two hours of supervision per month with some receiving none at all, according to the results of the latest poll.

College of Social Work
September 2010
A key part of the programme to reform social work is the plan to set up a College of Social Work. The Social Work Task Force, chaired by Moira Gibb, was convinced that social workers needed a body that could speak out on behalf of the profession.

International social work registration
September 2010
We are obliged by European law to have a system in place to allow social workers from outside the UK to register with us.

Profile of social workers in England
September 2010
The General Social Care Council published its Annual Report for 2009-10 in July this year. Along with setting out its aims and priorities for the coming years, we also included some interesting facts about the profile of the Social Care Register in England.

Case study: Meg Barbour
June 2010
In this issue we talk to Meg Barbour, someone with experience of using social work services who helps the GSCC to inspect universities offering the Social Work Degree.

Post-qualifying framework
June 2010
Social workers undertake a variety of specialised training which, although it may count towards your post-registration training and learning requirements, does not always count towards a professional qualification.

The importance of professional regulation
June 2010
The last issue of SWC contained a poll asking social workers if professional regulation is important, 808* of you responded to this poll. A massive majority of 92% (745) said that you do think it is important and the main reason cited is because it helps to make sure that social workers get the training they need to ensure their practice is of a high standard.