Social work conference programme

Speakers: Shantel Thomas & Dr Sylvia Smith

The workshop aims to empower social work practitioners and advocates to recognise and address racism and intersectional oppression in their practice. By fostering innovation and inclusion, participants will explore actionable strategies to amplify the social work voice for systemic change.

Learning Objectives: Understand how racism and intersectional oppression impact social work / Learn innovative and inclusive practices for addressing systemic inequities / Identify one action to foster inclusivity and drive change in participants’ spheres of influence.

Shantel Thomas is the founder and chief visionary of the awarding-winning Anti-Racist Movement (ARM) and host of the ARM-OUR podcast. A.R.M is an independent national platform for Black women in social work and won under the social justice advocate category at the 2024 social worker of the year awards. A.R.M provides a dedicated sacred space for women to confront and dismantle the pervasive forces of racism, misogyny and intersectional oppression. It serves as a sanctuary for healing advocacy and community-building.

Shantel is the head of discipline and MA course lead for social work in the department of education and training in an NHS Trust. She is an independent training consultant and previously held the role of UK anti-racism lead at BASW. Shantel has been instrumental in creating spaces and platforms for connection, validation, and empowerment for individuals who have historically been marginalised. Her doctoral research on the experiences of Black women in leadership positions serves as a vital contribution to the ongoing dialogue on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Dr. Sylvia Smith is independent consultant with almost 40 years post qualifying experience in social work, and a core member of A.R.M. She has led teams and developed a significant academic career, which culminated in completing her Doctorate in Social Work. She currently teaches and supervises doctoral candidates. Her association with A.R.M came somewhat reluctantly, as she wondered if she had anymore gas in the tank. Dr Smith is

happy to say that working alongside these beautiful women who are committed and driven to make a difference, allows her to feel her involvement in ARM is the perfect way to give back, share her knowledge, experiences and build something of significance for future generations. She feels honoured to be part of such a vibrant and meaningful collective. 

Speakers: Josephine Schofield & Lisa Matthews

Given the impossible task of assessing age, it is unacceptable that the social work field has no evidence base on undertaking this work. In our "first of it's kind" research, we look at the methodologies of social workers who are making decisions in age assessment, and provide practical and easy to implement recommendations that will strengthen the process for both social workers, and the young people they are assessing.

By the end of this workshop, practitioners will gain an understanding of;

• What evidence social workers have been using to assess age,
• What issues have arisen in past legal challenges
• What strategies can be put in place to improve practice

Josephine Schofield has been described in court as "a preeminent expert with formidable experience in age assessment" after spending most of her career working in this field. For the past 5 years, she has been working independently offering training and support to local authorities who are caring for separated migrant young people, as well as undertaking independent age assessments. More recently, she was commissioned to update the national Age Assessment Guidance which is due to be published in 2025.

Lisa Matthews is the Policy and Campaigns Manager at Young Roots, a London-based charity working with young people seeking asylum and who are refugees aged 11-25. She works directly with young people on Young Roots policy priorities which include the right to safety, age disputes and refugee homelessness. She previously worked for more than a decade running Right to Remain, helping people to understand the asylum and immigration system and their rights, and building community campaigns. She has also worked as a legal caseworker, as a refugee integration caseworker, as an asylum support advisor and in refugee mental health.

Speakers: Dharman Jeyasingham & Josh Behan-Devlin

The workshop will present findings from recent research about children and families social workers' engagement with digital technology in current practice, and its impacts on social workers' sense-making and communication with colleagues and families. Examples of digital technology that will be explored include devices (e.g. smartphones, laptops) and applications (e.g. videoconferencing platforms, social media, messaging systems).

The workshop will facilitate discussion among participants about practitioners' experiences of engaging with digital technology and their views about its impacts on social work practice.

Dharman Jeyasingham is a lecturer in social work at the University of Manchester. Dharman has over 20 years' experience of teaching social work and has conducted research on various aspects of social work including the impacts of digital technology on children and families social workers' practice.

Josh Behan-Devlin is a social worker, PhD candidate and Research Associate at the University of Manchester. His PhD research concerns children and families social workers' digital and mobile practices.

Speakers: Lorena Noto, Caroline McDonald & Elaine Lyttle

We will share an excellent example of multi-agency working with one of our families who were subject to child protection registration. We will link this example to the importance of working with families within their community and the key role of social work in developing relationships and investing in community orientated social work with partners. This includes working in collaboration with statutory partners, education, third sector community colleagues and the family themselves. 

Caroline McDonald is a 'home grown' social worker, having started out in her local authority 27 years ago. Initially she worked in housing and social care until she qualified as a social worker in 2016, since then she has worked in a local authority children and families team. In Caroline's current post, she is a team leader. In the past five she has qualified as a practice educator and also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Child Welfare and Child Protection. 

Lorena Noto, originally from Germany, trained to be a social worker in the UK. Lorena qualified as a social worker in 2022, since then Lorena has worked in a locality children and families locality team in an area of high deprivation. Lorena has excellent communication skills, she is committed to relationship-based practice and her practice is child centred and inclusive to care planning.

Elaine Lyttle, from Glasgow, is an expert by experience with many decades of social work involvement. Elaine is passionate about professional working in partnership with families and building respectful relationships. Elaine has overcome significant adversity throughout her life but more recently through child protection processes, Elaine is an inspiration to us all!

Speakers: Yvonne Birks

Opportunities for exploring new knowledge and personal development are essential in any career and an important retention method. We will deliver an interactive workshop introducing the attendees to the School for Social Care Research and the Curiosity Partnership. We will outline our existing research portfolio, new research and opportunities both for research involvement and personal development. Some of our practitioner researchers and award holders will talk about their personal experiences and we will use the World Cafe method to consult practitioners about how we can make research impactful and support their evidence-based practice.

Speakers: Prof. Robin Miller, Dr Luke Geoghegan & Maris Stratulis

Social work’s underpinning values suggest that the profession should seek to bring about positive changes in society to address embedded injustices and inequalities alongside improving the effectiveness and inclusiveness of its own practice and organisations.  This session will explore the role of social work leadership as a catalyst of practice change and how the profession can have a stronger influence on shaping policy and wider society. 

The session will draw on the first international research handbook on leadership in social work and social care. This will be published in Spring 2025 and brings together contributions from over 70 authors based across the world including those with lived experience. 

Professor Robin Miller is an applied academic with an international reputation in relation to implementation, integration and leadership. He has developed numerous development programmes for senior leaders and practitioner leaders and also researched the role of citizen leadership in health and care. Robin is the UK Demonstrator Lead for the IMPACT (IMProving Adult Care Together) Centre. He is the lead editor of the first international research handbook in leadership in social work and social care and is lead guest editor of the BJSW Special Issue on Leadership being published in late 2025.

Dr Luke Geoghegan is the Head of Policy and Research at BASW and is a registered social worker. He is responsible for overseeing the provision of policy guidance to a core audience of 22,000 members as well as developing research partnerships. Previously he worked for ten years as a Chief Executive Officer for a charity and has also held a range of senior social work roles in local government. Contact: 

Maris Stratulis, National Director, BASW England, is a registered social worker and has worked in a variety of operational and strategic social work and emergency response leadership roles, both in the UK and overseas. She is the co-editor of Out of the Shadows: The Role of Social Workers in Disasters (2022), the first book to be published focusing on the role of UK social workers in disasters.

The Independent Social Work Committee launch their Charter for Independent Social workers.  The charter outlines the principles and values underpinning social work practice.

The author Jo Fox will talk you through this resource which aims to provide support and guidance for independent social workers.

Speakers: Dr Michaela Rogers & Dr Claire Cunnington

Critical reflection underpins effective and ethical social work practice. However, mechanisms for embedding critical reflection within practice are not consistent nor clearly established across all fields of social work. 

This workshop will introduce the Social Work Online Team Training (SWOTT) Toolkit, a team-based model of Continuous Professional Development  (CPD). Each toolkit is a mechanism for change enabling the shift from a model and culture of individual, managerial supervision to one rooted to team-based learning and critical reflection. 

Developed at the University of Sheffield, SWOTT Toolkits have been developed to translate research into accessible resources for CPD and changes to practice. The structure of each toolkit combines individual online training with a group critical reflective session and is an integrated team-based resource for CPD. 

Michaela Rogers is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Co-Lead for the Sheffield Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Research Network at the University. She co-chairs the Domestic Violence & Abuse Special Interest Group for the Association of Child Protection Professionals. Rogers is co-editor of Practice: Social Work in Action (BASW’s journal). Her practice experience spans 30 years in a range of public sector settings and includes over fifteen years working in the domestic abuse sector before moving to children’s social care working in safeguarding and fostering. Rogers’ research and publications portfolio contributes to the fields of domestic violence, equalities and diversity, and social work, with an emphasis on the experiences of marginalised groups, help-seeking and access to services. She has published work on a range of social work topics and recently, Rogers has published an edited collection, A Comprehensive Guide to Gender-Based Violence (Springer Nature).

Dr Claire Cunnington is a interpersonal violence researcher at the University of Sheffield and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and exploitation. Her film ‘Flow’ (https://player.sheffield.ac.uk/events/flow) co-produced with other CSA survivors, NHS England and the Department of Health was a finalist in 2 International Film Festivals, is endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing and subtitled in 22 languages. She's currently writing a book about a Victorian child exploitation scandal. 

Speakers: Lisa Richey

The purpose of the session is to give an awareness of neurodiversity and neurodivergence and how they relate to social work practice. There have been developments in the awareness of neurodiversity and neurodivergence regarding social work practitioners accessing support from local authorities. I will discuss the Kent Research Partnership Fellowship and the impact of the research that I have been working on. I will discuss the methods, the findings and implications of the research and how it directly impacts those in social work roles. I will give a presentation of the research conducted and then ask for audience participation in questions and queries in which I will give any answers or further information. I will also direct the audience to further resources and information for neurodivergence for their own support.

Lisa Richey has a BSc in Speech and Language Sciences and a MSc in Social Work. Lisa is a registered social worker working at East Sussex County Council in an Adults Team. Lisa is a neurodivergent social worker with a diagnosis of Autism and ADHD. Lisa was successful in an application to the Kent Research Partnership’s funded fellowships which she has been working on part time as well as working in the community as a social work practitioner. Neurodivergence, linking theory to practice and supporting social work practitioner retention is of keen interest.

Speakers: Annabel Smith, Sarah Harris & Del Baxter

Elevating the social worker in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) requires a comprehensive strategy held at both a national and local level incorporating a framework that integrates local visions, research, and national input. It refers to recognizing the valuable role that social workers play in providing holistic care and support to children and adolescents facing mental health challenges. This includes advocating for increased recognition, support, resources, and professional development opportunities for social workers within the CAMHS interdisciplinary team, in order to enhance the effectiveness and impact of their interventions and ultimately improve outcomes for young clients and their families.

This session aims to highlight the critical role social workers play in providing comprehensive care to young individuals with mental health issues and will delve into the strategies and initiatives necessary to enhance the effectiveness and impact of social workers in CAMHS. Ultimately, this session emphasizes the need for increased recognition and support for social workers in order to improve outcomes for children and adolescents in mental health care.

Annabel Smith is the Professional Lead for Social Care in HPFT's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and is currently in the final stages of a professional doctorate in social care with The Tavistock and University of Essex studying the experiences of social workers in CAMHS.  Annabel is passionate about social work within clinical settings and having struggled at the start of her CAMHS career to find her feet and confidence, has become motivated to support other social workers find their space within this sector and to celebrate the many positives that social work brings to this field.

Sarah Harris - Consultant Clinical Social Worker - Sarah is a Consultant Clinical Social Worker in CAMHS and is passionate about Social Work and its ability to truly see individuals, whilst holding the complexity of their system and working alongside their families to affect change.  She believes social workers are powerfully positioned to repair attachments, process pain, stabilise risk, and enable young people and families to thrive. Sarah is supporting her colleagues to build a core identity for Social Work within CAMHS, including value for the unique skills and the innovation of new ways of working with young people and families. 

Del Baxter - Consultant Clinical Social Worker - Del is a Consultant Clinical Social worker and Practice Educator currently working for HPFT for over 9 years. Gaining substantial experience in community CAMHS, she now works within Hertfordshire Family Safeguarding. She is passionate about social care system’s response to families with parental neurodivergence. Subsequently she has successfully gained a place on the Professional Doctorate for Social Work at the Tavistock Institute, London where she hopes to research this impact further. Her experience of parenting, fostering and kinship adoption allows her to daily ‘walk the talk’, giving opportunity for a unique authenticity within her practice with families."

Speakers: Patriche Bentick & Pamela Shodeinde

Creating 'Safe Spaces' for Social Workers to develop their Social Work identity, particularly around the Social Graces, AOP, ADP and Anti-Racist Practice.

This workshop will support Social Work Students/ASYEs to lean into a place of vulnerability to think about the morals and values that has drawn them into the profession. It is hoped that with the use of self, we can visualise the social worker we want to be, keeping this in mind whilst taking the steps forward.

It is essential that as a profession, Safe Spaces are created as part of an ethical consideration for the need of people of Black and Ethnic Minority groups. These environments create opportunities for listening, learning and collaborative, working aimed at honouring and respecting the dignity of all people.

Ultimately, Safe Spaces can enrich Social Work practice, ensuring that it aligns with principles, equity, justice alongside organisational and community empowerment.

Patriche Bentick is a qualified social worker. She has been working with Children and Families for 18 years, including 12 post qualifying years in Child Protection and Children Looked After. 
 
Pamela Shodeinde is a qualified social worker. She has worked with Children and Families for 10 years including 5 years post qualifying with a Child Protection specialism.
 
Both Patriche and Pamela are passionate about social justice, and the implementation of Anti-Oppressive, Anti-Discriminatory and Anti-Racist practice.

The symposium provides an opportunity for Independent social workers to connect with their peers and with the ISWC.

Speakers: Graham Price, Sally Nieman, Emma Perry & Gerry Nosowska

This workshop will enable people to think about personal experiences of age, ageing and ageism. We will then move from the personal to the professional to explore the contribution of social work in later life.  We will then draw on the voices and experiences of older people and practitioners involved in a BASW Special Interest Group to consider how we can challenge ageism and strengthen social work in later life. In particular, we will highlight our campaign to reduce ageism by ensuring that any older person who faces the loss of the place they call home because of care needs can get access to a named experienced social worker for advice and support. 

Graham Price is an Expert by Experience. He is an older person who is completely blind, and he also has experience as a carer. Graham is a member of the BASW Adults Practice Group and a contributor to Birmingham and Birmingham City Universities. He was a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the Social Work with Older People project and is a member of the BASW Special Interest Group on Social Work and Ageing. As part of his activism Graham writes poems, and his poems and reflections have recently been published in the British Journal of Social Work. 

Sally Nieman is a social worker and best interests assessor, with a background working in local authority adult services, mostly recently in the London Borough of Camden. She currently works for London Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) as Programme Manager (Practice Lead). Sally is a co-chair of the Special Interest Group on Social Work and Ageing. She has recently completed a PhD in social work and social policy, which explored the influences on social work practice with older people in care homes. 

Emma Perry is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Gloucestershire and a part time PhD student. She has been qualified for twenty years and spent several years working with older adults in a variety of roles and teams within a local authority. Her interest in ageing and later life has been furthered since moving into academia and Emma is a strong advocate for teaching this important part of the life course within social work education. Emma is currently part way through a PhD exploring older adults experiences of new relationships in long-term care settings.

Gerry Nosowska is a social worker and Director of Effective Practice, which provides support for practice improvement. She worked in practice and management in local authority social care services, and then for Research in Practice. Gerry is a co-chair of the Special Interest Group on Social Work and Ageing and represents the International Federation of Social Workers Europe on social work and ageing. She co-hosted Helpful Social Work podcast from 2016-2024.

Speakers: Katy Cleece & Parisa Quaynor

Research engagement activities often falter on fundamental gaps between researchers and the researched. We argue that rethinking models and principles of engagement – in a person-centred way - is a pre-requisite for effective work in this area.

We will deliver a session, which is engaging and informal (yet serious) delivered by a trio who offer very different skills and backgrounds- a mix of practitioner, academic and lived experience. We will demonstrated how social workers and communities can both occupy and lead in spaces traditionally seen as reserved for academics, and how coproduction is both achievable and effective in a variety of situations without the need for specialist resources. This will have a blend of powerpoint presentation and audience participation further modelling our collaborative approach, and delegates will be left with ideas and opportunities which can be embedded into any area of social work. 

Katy Cleece is a social worker experienced and skilled in both the adult and children's social care arena. Currently employed as Social Work Research Lead in the NHS, with specialisms in offending, substance use, child exploitation, whole family approaches, mental health, physical activity, and community led research. 

Parisa Quaynor is a lived experience peer researcher. Initially engaged in research through a project in the community, she has gone on to train and develop other community members and social workers in the model. Currently exploring internship to research experiences of mothers in substance use rehab, she also has pending infographic publication on maternal mental health and the impact of children's social care. Founder for recovery running group ""Just run for today"" and junior parkrun Run Director. 

Speakers: Dr David Pitcher, Beverley Burke and others

This workshop will be presented by the Social Workers' Educational Trust [SWET]. A major issue for many experienced social workers is how they can do advanced further research [Masters and PhD] while still practising full-time as social workers. Questions of time, role and finance all come in. As a profession, we want to encourage new knowledge, but not [usually] at the expense of experienced practitioners leaving practice. 

The workshop will ask three questions:

• How do I begin?
• Doing the research
• Communicating the findings and maximising the benefits of the degree and learning

David Pitcher has recently retired after 40 years in practice with Plymouth City Council, Cafcass and CAMHS. He continues to do sessional social work. David is the chair of SWET, and has been a trustee for 17 years. David completed his own PhD while working full-time as a social worker. 

Speakers: Professor Sarah Vicary

This session will show how joint evidence-based practice guidance for interpreters and social workers, including training resources for CPD/initial qualification/refresher available free.

Sarah Vicary is Professor of Social Work and Mental Health at The Open University. Her research interests lie in the generation, dissemination and application of legal roles in Mental Health Social Work (MHSW) and are at the forefront of explorations of regulatory practices that restrict human behaviour. Underpinned by professional registration as a social worker, Sarah provides sustained authorship of field-leading outputs offering MHSW expertise and guidance impacting on government, regulatory policy makers and practitioners. Sarah is co-investigator on INForMHAA. 

Speakers: Dr Angie Bartoli

Research that solely concentrates upon the transitional journey from the role of social worker to manager is scarce. It is recognised that this first transition into management is crucial to the future success of mangers and is a period when new mangers fail or perceive themselves as having failed or under achieved. Workshop participants will be introduced to a transitional model into social work management. The model is based on theory and research with newly appointed social work managers across the UK which draws upon relationship-based practice, this workshop introduces a model of practice towards a smoother transition into management. The model is based on three key strands identified by new managers as significant when transitioning into this role: professional development, line management support and peer support networks. Transition into management is differently experienced but this model will propose that it is smoother when conceptualised as a phased transition.  Workshop participants will be introduced to this new evidence informed three stage model and be provided with an opportunity to consider how this model can be utilised and how emerging or new managers can be supported in this vital role.

Angie Bartoli is a qualified and registered social worker with significant experience in safeguarding children, supervision and management in both the voluntary and public sectors. She has also worked at a regional level as a safeguarding children board training manger and nationally with the Department of Education, the Football Association and as a former Vice Chair for BASW England. Angie has been a social work educator for over 17 years and currently works at Nottingham Trent University. She is also a qualified ILM Executive Coach.

Speakers: Tracy Liu

Introduction to Tracy Liu, A&R officer to talk you through the Advice and Representation service and how we might be able to support you as an Independent social work member

Speakers: Michele Welch

Independent Social Work and Supervision Workshop run by ISW Michele Welch

This session aims to explore the unique challenges and opportunities within independent social work and the vital role of effective supervision in ensuring professional accountability, personal resilience, and the highest standards of practice. The session will provide participants with practical insights into managing the complexities of working independently and strategies to create or engage in robust supervision frameworks that support ethical and effective practice.

The session will combine presentations, group discussions, and interactive activities. Participants will engage in case studies and reflective exercises to apply learning to real-world scenarios. Resources and templates for supervision plans will be shared. This dynamic and practical session ensures attendees leave with actionable knowledge to strengthen their independent social work practice.

Michele Welch is an experienced social worker and counsellor with over two decades of professional practice. Psychodynamically trained and trauma-informed, she integrates elements of Jungian and relational counselling, focusing on how past and present relationships shape emotional well-being.

As an Independent Social Worker, Michele specialises in adult safeguarding, supervision, and consultancy, with a focus on workplace protection, vicarious trauma, ethical practice, and professional development. Her approach emphasises the role of connection, self-awareness, and reflective practice in fostering professional and personal resilience. 

Registered with Social Work England and the BACP, Michele is passionate about supporting professionals and organisations to cultivate safe, relational, and inclusive working environments that promote ethical and effective practice. 

Speakers: Jon Hyslop

It is common to hear today’s commissioners and social work managers talking about the importance ‘community assets’ – frequently in terms of support for clients that costs nothing. In reality, it takes a great deal of time and effort to get these projects off the ground, and then to sustain them. Social workers are often curious about what they can do to help. This will be the focus of the workshop.

The workshop will have three main sections, followed by a Q&A:

1. Community profiles. Working with the community to understand its own needs, using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The role of small grants.
2. Looking at the development phase, and the process of building alliances with local groups and individuals that will get projects off the ground.
3. Transition to sustainability. Common legal structures. An introduction to public service, social enterprise and philanthropic funding models.

Jon Hyslop qualified in 1994, and began his social work career developing and running community mental health projects as a part of the ‘community care’ initiative. He recently left academia after 14 years teaching on social work programmes, where he developed and delivered a module on community work. This engaged learners in forming and implementing proposals to meet the needs of local communities. It was broadly based around the type of work we’ve been doing with Community Glue CIC since we started in 2010.

Speakers: Reima Ana Maglajlic, Christian Kerr & Michaela Rogers 

Participants will find out about the scope and aims of the two BASW Publications – Practice and British Journal of Social Work. The workshop will also explain how both Journals are managed by the social work community, including experts by experience. 

Participants will become familiar and learn key advice on opportunities to write about social work practice and research, and/or become a peer reviewer for these Journals. 

The atmosphere sought will be relaxed and conversational to encourage discussion. Participants will have opportunities to reflect on their own experiences of and plans for writing about social work practice and/or research. This will be organised through brief individual reflective time and small-group exercises. Presenters will also allow ample time for Q&A during and at the end of the presentation. 

Reima Ana Maglajlic is a Reader in Social Work and Head of Department of Social Work and Social Care at the University of Sussex. Her work focuses on the practice, policy, and research co-production at the intersections between social work, community mental health, and political conflict. Within practice and academia, she has worked across South-East Europe, in the UK, as well as internationally. Together with Prof. Vasilios Ioakimidis, Reima is a Co-Editor of the British Journal of Social Work (until July 2025). 

Christian Kerr is a social worker and Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Social and Community Studies at Leeds Beckett University. He has been a mental health support worker and community worker, and has practised as a professional social worker with adults with mental health issues, learning disabilities, neurological conditions and brain injuries. He has written and published on children's services reform, education reform and dissenting social work practice. He has a keen, critical interest in policy reform and the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence in social work and wider society. 

Michaela Rogers is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Co-Lead for the Sheffield Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Research Network at the University. She co-chairs the Domestic Violence & Abuse Special Interest Group for the Association of Child Protection Professionals. Rogers is co-editor of Practice: Social Work in Action (BASW’s journal). Her practice experience spans 30 years in a range of public sector settings and includes over fifteen years working in the domestic abuse sector before moving to children’s social care working in safeguarding and fostering. Rogers’ research and publications portfolio contributes to the fields of domestic violence, equalities and diversity, and social work, with an emphasis on the experiences of marginalised groups, help-seeking and access to services. She has published work on a range of social work topics and recently, Rogers has published an edited collection, A Comprehensive Guide to Gender-Based Violence (Springer Nature).

Speakers: Robert Lewis, Sarah Vicary & Martin Webber

This panel discussion will focus on the current and future role of social work in mental health services across the UK. 

Speakers: Dr Wendy Coxshall, Kayleigh Wharton & Maris Stratulis 

This workshop will focus on: 

• The role of social workers in disasters including in the context climate change.
• Learning from the experiences of people and communities impacted by disaster to create change.
• Making the shift from reactive approaches focused on individual need, to community. driven solutions that promotive collective rights and responsibility. 
• Challenging environmental injustice to promote wellbeing. 

Dr Wendy Coxshall is Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences (Social Work) and Hope UCU Green Rep School of Social Sciences, Liverpool Hope University. Wendy is a registered social worker, researcher and educator. She has a Master’s in Social Work (UEA) and PhD in Social Anthropology (University of Manchester). Wendy is committed to human rights, social justice, supporting families, and community-based social work and research. Wendy’s interest in human rights interventions in ‘disasters’ and ‘recovery’ developed from her research (1998-2008) on ‘reconstruction’ and ‘reconciliation’ after political violence in Peru (1980-2000) and later on mining in Peru. Wendy’s current work focuses on climate justice and ecosocial work, ‘food’ systems, and the role of communities and social work in climate disaster risk reduction (UN Sendai Framework). 

Kayleigh Wharton – Social Worker and  Practice Manager in Halton Borough Council. Kayleigh is a registered Social Worker having successfully completing the Master of Arts in Social Work at the University of Central Lancashire. She qualified as a Social Worker in 2013 and have worked the duration of her career in a generic adults team. She has progressed from being a Student Social Worker to the Practice Manager during this time. The local authority where she works is placing a focus on Social Work in Disasters and Emergency Planning – which all staff are encouraged to be involved in. Kayleigh has a personal interest in this work and is actively involved in attending meetings and workshops as the representative of the local authority.

Maris Stratulis, National Director, BASW England, is a registered social worker and has worked in a variety of operational and strategic social work and emergency response leadership roles, both in the UK and overseas. She is the co-editor of Out of the Shadows: The Role of Social Workers in Disasters (2022), the first book to be published focusing on the role of UK social workers in disasters.

Speakers: Prof. Shulamit Ramon and Dr. Nadiya Kabachnko

There are currently officially recognised wars, leading to a large number of refugees, unaccompanied children and asylum seekers, some of whom come to UK. However, this issue has received insufficient attention in UK social work education and practice.

The aim of this workshop is to share with the participants the experience of these three groups in the UK, including the personal experience of a refugee from Ukraine, existing research, and the experience of teaching on this topic to UK social work students.

Prof. Shulamit Ramon is a registered social worker and a chartered clinical psychologist, professor of social inclusion and wellbeing at the University of Hertfordshire. She comes originally from a country currently at war, and has researched the issue of social work in war- torn context since 2003 in more than one country, followed by publications on this issue.

Dr. Nadiya Kabachenko has studied social work in an EU funded project led by Prof. Ramon which took place between 1993 to 2000. She has led the social work course in Kyiv Mohyla Academy until the  current invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and is a refugee in the UK since 2022, while continuing to teach online the Ukrainian social work course. 

Speakers: Jane Shears, Kate Cuthbertson & Catrin Noone 

A study in 2022, based in Northern Ireland, found that social worker wellbeing, burnout and loss of professional identity were the primary reasons social workers registered for coaching with the Professional Support Service.

This presentation shares the findings of a mix methods research study focusing on four areas:

• Uptake of coaching services by social workers in different nations; 
• Motivations for using the service;
• Experiences of coaches and coachees in the PSS services: this focuses on personal and professional development, benefits and challenges;
• Extent to which coachees’ expectations are met.   

The presentation concludes with looking at opportunities to extend coaching skills into evidence and value-based interventions in social work practice and education.

Jane Shears is Head of the Programmes Delivery Team with the British Association of Social Workers, and Global Commissioner for the International Federation of Social Workers Ethics Commission. She continues to practice as a front-line mental health social worker, and Practice Educator, in a local authority in England and has firsthand knowledge and understanding of issues facing practitioners and practice educators on a daily basis. She is a member of the UK Social Work Practitioner Research Network and continues to be actively involved in research contributing to evidenced-based interventions and the wellbeing of the wider social work community.

Kate Cuthbertson has worked in the Social Care sector since 1999. She qualified as a Social Worker in 2009 from Bournemouth University.Kate has worked in Children’s, adults and commissioning services, in roles up to Deputy Service Manager level both in the UK and Internationally. Working for Local Authorities, NGOs and the charitable sector. 

Kate is a qualified BIA and Practice Educator as well as a Certified Coach and has a GradCert in Family Therapy. Kate is currently undertaking research into coaching and social work as part of her dissertation for her Coaching and Mentoring MA with Oxford Brookes University.

Speakers: Beth Vecchione, Amelia Channon & Cicero Daniel

This session will focus on how the Arts can support young people to thrive. It will explore how the arts can have therapeutic effects, providing them with a platform to creatively express themselves, whilst feeling a belonging and building positive relationships with safe adults and peers. 

Key objectives will be:

• To explore how we can use the arts as social workers to support young people to express themselves, share their voice and to feel a belonging. 
• To explore how we can work with community initiatives holistically when working with young people to maximise impact on our young people.
• To understand how innovative practice can lead to new and impactful projects for young people.

Beth Vecchione: After qualifying as a social worker in 2017, Beth wanted to address the lack of creative and community focused support available for young people. This led her to found Care to Dance - a social enterprise that uses dance and trauma-informed approaches to support care-experienced young people, to help them feel a sense of belonging and to process what they’ve been through in a safe space, without fear of judgement. Beth is also undertaking a PhD to explore the effects and benefits combining the Arts and trauma-informed approaches can have for care-experienced young people. Beth is a qualified social worker, PhD student and founder of Care to Dance. 

Amelia Channon has worked with children and families as a qualified social worker for the last five years. Having danced from a young age, Amelia trained in ballet, and continued to learn a range of other dance styles beyond this. Care to Dance combines her love for dance with her drive for promoting children’s wellbeing; she is a true believer that dance is a powerful means of allowing children to express their inner feelings, thoughts and experiences.

Cicero Daniel is our Inclusion Lead and is care-experienced. Now 18, Cicero is passionate in sharing his lived experience to lead systemic change, to ensure that young people in care are heard and seen. He wants to drive good practice in social work and share the voices of young people who can struggle to be heard. Cicero has a great level of experience in terms of facilitating his own podcast and co-delivering workshops with Frontline Social Work Charity and Teeside University.

Speakers: Rosemary Oram 

This session presents results from a study of professional practice in parenting assessments involving Deaf BSL parents in child protection. The capital ‘D’ distinguishes the cultural-linguistic minority members of the community, who communicate in BSL, a visual spatial language and the fourth official language in the UK, endorsed by the BSL Act (2022). Practice based evidence suggests that there is a high incidence of child removals from Deaf parents within the context of child protection but there are no prior studies exploring whether current parenting assessments are culturally or linguistically appropriate for this group. 

The learning objectives will include: 

• Raising awareness of the implications of the cultural-linguistic status of Deaf parents in child protection 
• Improving cultural competence of social workers when encountering Deaf parents
• Highlighting how Deaf parents should be supported in parenting assessments within safeguarding

Rosemary Oram is in the final year of her doctoral training in social work at the University of Manchester. Her professional background includes social work and research. She worked in both the statutory and voluntary sectors for many years as a specialist social worker with deaf people of all ages.

Speakers: Dr Caroline Bald

Learning Objectives: 

1. Raise awareness of the enabling opportunities of digital technologies 
2. Reflect on the common ethical and economic dilemmas 
3. Raise professional influence through critical professional knowledge and skills in using digital technologies
4. Establish a community of practice for UK-wide communication and collaboration. 

The workshop will open with a poll of views and experience of working with digital technologies in practice. Discussion will be supported by sharing a Linktree with examples of digital practice in the UK and internationally together, introducing ethical dilemmas and takeaway national guidance (BASW, four regulators, and IFSW). 

The whole session will be audio recorded and prepared as a blogpost using AI technology and participant review and reflection. 

Speakers: Richard Murphy

The session will present my PHD research and invite participants to reflect on how social work practice can witness inherent dignity in situations in which a person experiencing the limits to their bodily control, illness, disability or social disadvantage and injustice. I will ask them to draw on their own experiences in doing this.

I will raise these questions first then present my research which I carried out with the BOAZ community in Hampshire. This will give examples of how inherent dignity is experienced in community and relationships. I will use PowerPoint to present. Then ask them to discuss in small groups before feeding back. 

Richard Murphy is a qualified social worker. He has worked in child protection and mental health. This has included as an approved mental health professional and undertaking a  role as Mental Health Act 1983 and Mental Capacity Act Lead for Solent NHS Trust. He continues to undertake Deprivation of Liberty Best Interest Assessments and is a specialist member of the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health). He is currently undertaking his own PHD research in the area of dignity and communities of people who have members with Down syndrome. This is inspired by his work and the lives of two of his four children who have Down syndrome. 

Speakers: Jade Stacey 

AI is a dynamic and rapidly advancing and has the potential to transform health and social care, by providing some solutions to the known challenges within services, for example long waiting lists and high service pressure.  The careful assessment and incorporation of AI has the potential to help NICE better achieve our core aim of helping to deliver the best care to people, fast, while ensuring value for the taxpayer. 

The purpose of this session would be to share with attendees NICE's new AI statement of intent which sets out our approach to developing and testing methods to support the use and evaluation of AI. It covers 3 priority areas: AI based methods to support evidence generation; guidance for evaluating AI based technologies; and increasing internal efficiency at NICE. 

By understanding how NICE uses AI attendees will be able to consider how AI can be applied to their service areas and also what should be considered when considering the use of AI based technologies in practice.

Jade Stacey is a registered social worker and Implementation Consultant within NICE’s Impact and Partnership Directorate, covering London and the South East.  Working across health, public health and social care, her role is to provide advice and support in the use of NICE guidance to achieve high-quality care and improvement in health and wellbeing. 

Before joining NICE, Jade worked as a social worker for over 10 years in adult services across local authority, charity and NHS settings.  Jade specialised in palliative care and most recently managed an inner London memory service. 

Speakers: Lilly Trapp, Kate Harris, Rachel Murphy, Chris Metcalf, Lisa Richey & Oana Trebell 

In response to a call from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) to create social care research partnerships, six teams across England were awarded funding to build research capacity in the social care workforce. This workshop brings together social workers and social care professionals from across five of the partnerships to share their personal experiences of being involved in the partnerships. In the first part, contributors will share why and how they became involved in research (i.e., Fellowship, research project). They will highlight the barriers and facilitators to involvement, the lessons learned from their experiences, and how research has impacted their careers. This will be followed by an interactive Q&A session where each contributor will host small table discussions with workshop participants. Participants will rotate around the five tables, with each contributor representing a different career stage and professional expertise to reflect a broad spectrum of the workforce and relevant experience. The workshop will end with a summary of the discussions and sharing of research opportunities currently open to the social care workforce. The content of the workshop maps on two conference themes: sustainability in the profession and innovation in practice.

Kate Harris is a Social Worker, and currently works as an Evidence Champion on the ConnectED Project, supporting use of research evidence in our decision-making in Adult Social Care. Kate has worked in different teams in Adult Care over the last ten years, including Safeguarding and Commissioning. Before qualifying, she worked in Domestic Violence and Homeless services, and she continues to be particularly interested in how we can work together effectively across organisations. 

Rachel Murphy is a qualified Social Worker and Research Development Manager at North Yorkshire Council, working within the Health & Adult Services Research Team and the Health Determinants Research Collaboration Team. Rachel has completed an NIHR Pre-Doctoral Local Authority Fellowship and is currently undertaking an NIHR Doctoral Local Authority Fellowship, completing her PhD alongside remaining involved in the Council’s research development work. 

Chris Metcalf has worked in social care for 29 years, originally within learning disability and mental health services working in residential and respite care, day services, and outreach services. For the past 17 years Chris has worked in the Assistive Technology team within Norfolk County Council. Initially as part of a small team of practitioners tasked to set up the fledgling service, then as an assessor, installer, and trainer. 

Lisa Richey is a Social Worker and currently holds a Research and Training Fellowship in the Kent Research Partnership. 

Oana Trebell is a Social Worker and Research Practitioner in the Peninsula Adult Social Care Research Collaborative.

Speakers: Dr Caroline Bald

Women involved in the criminal justice system often face a unique set of challenges, shaped by gender, socio-economic status, and trauma. The over-representation of women with histories of abuse, mental health issues, and substance misuse, combined with the under-resourced services designed to meet their needs, necessitates a gender-responsive, trauma-informed approach to social work practice. This workshop will provide participants with practical tools and insights for working effectively with women in the criminal justice system, focusing on three key areas of practice: trauma-informed care, advocacy for gender-responsive policies, and collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams.

Dr Caroline Bald is a registered social worker and lecturer researching social work education, inclusive research and digitalisation. She is the co-chair of BASW England's criminal justice group. Caroline is a member of the NIHR brain injury social care incubator and chair of the charity, Brain Injury Social Work Group.

Speakers: Lisa Brett, Vida Douglas, Annabel Smith & Chloe Cooper-Brown

A lively and informative presentation on innovative approaches in the development, delivery, and outcomes of a pilot project to increase the number of employers accessing Social Work Degree Apprenticeship at the University of Hertfordshire. 

Key stakeholders in the pilot – representatives from the University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust ( HPFT) and Cygnet Hospital, Stevenage – will share their learning, discussing the benefits of accessing Social Work Apprenticeships, how challenges were overcome, and the potential to apply key learning points to further develop Social Work Apprenticeships in the health sector. 

To support learning, case studies, feedback and testimonials from a range of stakeholders participating in the pilot , supported by an interactive open question session will be provided, promoting the opportunities for increasing Social Work Apprenticeships in health-based social work. The session will introduce a new ‘Statutory Task Sufficiency Assessment’ – a  quality assurance tool to evaluate work-based learning to meet Social Work England’s requirements for practice placements.   

Lisa Brett is a Social Work England Registrant Inspector, Practice Educator, ASYE Assessor and Mentor.  She is a Teaching Fellow, having worked as a Senior Lecturer and Module Lead for Practice Education  and Placements at Teesside University. Lisa provides consultancy to universities to increase the range of employers able to access Social Work Apprenticeships and reduce barriers. She provides training and expertise on applying national standards and the creation of assessment tools.  Lisa shares knowledge and learning on placement development by delivering workshops, providing consultancy and advice, writing articles and through social media. 

Dr Vida Douglas is the Professional Lead for Social Work at the University of  Hertfordshire.  She is a qualified Social Worker   professional educator and Senior Teaching Fellow.    Having held various roles in higher education , including Senior Lecturer and Principal Lecturer.   Vida has also worked for the Higher Education Academy as the Academic Consultant.  Vida developed her interest in learning and teaching , joining the  National Institute for Health and Care Excellence( NICE), as an Associate Director for Education.  Vida has been instrumental in the development and implementation of the PVI Pilot at University of Hertfordshire. 

Annabel Smith is the Professional Lead for Social Care in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and is currently in the final stages of a doctorate in social care. 

Annabel is passionate about social work within clinical settings and having struggled at the start of her CAMHS career to find her feet and confidence, has become motivated to support other social workers find their space within this sector and to celebrate the many positives that social work brings to this field. 

Chloe Cooper-Brown, Head of Social Work and Safeguarding Lead, Cygnet Hospital. Having previously worked in adult community mental health and CAMHs inpatient eating disorder services,  Chloe worked at Cygnet Stevenage since January 2023, initially as a social worker covering female forensic and PICU wards.  She worked in  post as the Head of social work and safeguarding lead for site since January 2024 and has  been working to build local connections in Stevenage.  She works closely with  the other heads of social work across Cygnet developing  a pathway for social work apprenticeships as part of a wider goal to raise the social work in the independent sector.

Speakers: Beth Tarleton, Margaret Spencer, Danielle Turney, Gillian McIntyre & Susan Collings

Speakers: Dr Lesley Deacon, Chantahl Rodwell & Kate Aspray

The session will showcase the Facilitated Practice-Based Research (FPR) approach, presented by Dr Lesley Deacon, which supports social workers in transforming their practice wisdom into research using principles of Universal Design. Members of the Social Care Research Ambassadors (SCRAs) 2024/25 cohort will share their experiences conducting research on neurodiversity in social care, focusing on the challenges and opportunities this work has presented. The workshop will highlight how their co-produced exploratory research reframes existing skills, promotes inclusion, and influences organisational culture.

The involvement of neurodivergent researchers and practitioners ensures that lived experience is a cornerstone of the session. Participants will engage directly with presenters’ reflections, fostering an inclusive and dynamic learning environment.

This session aspires to inspire attendees to integrate co-produced research into their practice and champion innovation that drives equity and diversity in social work. Participants will leave equipped with ideas and strategies to shape their own future practice and contribute to a more inclusive profession.

Lesley Deacon is an Associate Professor of Practice Research, Vice Chancellor's Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow, NIHR ARC NENE Social Care Research Fellow, Senior Fellow AdvanceHE, and a registered Social Worker.

Lesley has developed an approach to empower practitioners to be part of practice research – Facilitated Practice-based Research (FPR). This model is neurodiverse and trauma-informed and consists of a facilitated, research programme in which a group of practitioners work together to co-design, co-construct, and co-implement a piece of group practice research relevant to current practice issues. Research findings are then implemented into practice.                                       

Chantahl Rodwell is the Co-production Lead for Cumberland Council.

Kate Aspray is the Social Work Development Manager for Newcastle Children's Social Care.

Speakers: Jacqueline Bell, Sarah Markham, Lyn Romeo

It is widely accepted that social approaches are vital in mental health. And yet, we are seeing that mental health social work roles are becoming more at risk – with policy makers overlooking their value and some roles disappearing because of financial uncertainty (particularly in NHS Trusts). 

This is a time when we need to stand up and use the social work voice for change to advocate for mental health social work. We are at a key moment with ongoing government planning for the health and social care services, and we have an opportunity to get mental health social work higher on the government’s priorities. 

This session will promote understanding of mental health social work and why it is so essential, how we can advocate for mental health social workers more widely, and how mental health social workers can be supported. 

Sarah Markham is a runner and a mathematician with many years of (still living) experience of social workers. She is a keen advocate for truly rights-based and informed ethical practice in social work and an enthusiastic member of Think Ahead’s Lived Experience Partnership. She also loves all cute furry animals.

Jacqui Bell is an experienced mental health social worker, is trained as an AMHP, and is Think Ahead lead Practice Specialist. Jacqui qualified as a social worker in 1993, working mainly in East and Central London throughout her career. She has been a frontline practitioner and practice educator, a senior practitioner and team manager, in teams including community mental health teams for adults and older adults and people with learning disabilities. Jacqui also holds a role as an independent vice chair of a fostering panel. She also undertakes independent work assessing prospective adopters. 

Lyn Romeo was the first ever Chief Social worker for adults in England. A qualified social worker for over 44 years, she has worked in children and families, adult social care, mental health and palliative care as a practitioner, manager and leader.  She has also been a Social Services Inspector.  She has promoted relational strengths-based practice as imperative in supporting and enabling people to have the best possible lives.  Lyn stepped down from her role as Chief Social Worker in early 2024 and since then has become a trustee for several charities including Think Ahead, a board director on a housing and care provider for older people and a director on BASW Council. She is a visiting professor at Kings College London.

Speakers: Lindsey Hughes & Carol Davies

The purpose of the workshop is to raise awareness with social workers of this rare genetic neurological condition whilst promoting best practice. The promotion of the practice guidance literature for social workers working with adults who have Huntington’s Disease will be provided at the end of the session. Using the new practice guidance for social workers it will include:

• Definition of Huntington’s Disease
• The main symptoms of the disease
• How social workers can work effectively with people having lived experience of Huntington’s. This will be delivered by a person with lived experience of the condition and will address how to support the person effectively whilst being aware of how the dynamics of family life can change ie from husband/partner/wife/child to carer.

Lindsey Hughes is a registered Social Worker with 22 years post qualifying experience. She started my career as a Healthcare Support Worker, working in a Specialist service for people living with Huntington’s Disease. This experience shaped her professional development and she is now very privileged to be employed as Specialist Huntington’s Disease Advisor with the Huntington’s Disease Association. As a HD Advisor, Lindsey works closely with individuals and families living with Huntington’s Disease and provide information and guidance to professionals. She is very proud to have been part of developing these Social Work guidelines for Huntington’s Disease in collaboration with BASW.

Carol Davies, Specialist Huntington’s Disease Adviser (Mid/South Wales and Hereford)

Qualifying in 2000, enjoying a varied career, Carol represented the social work profession within BASW Cymru for twelve years as a committee member and later within varied roles as an employee. In other roles, gaining transferable knowledge of mental health and HIV provided good grounding for this present position with the Huntington’s Disease Association. Since 2024, having gained a brief understanding of the complexity of Huntington’s, at risk or those having lived experience often fell through the cracks of service criteria and provision. Working alongside other allied professionals, we address this to improve the lives of those affected by Huntington’s.

Speakers: Sam Baron, Tonimarie Benaton, Rachael Rooke & Camilla Ventre

Speakers: Saskia Lightburn-Ritchie

This session will present the Engage Approach, a Whole Family, Whole System approach to tackling domestic abuse. Participants will learn to focus intervention and engagement on the cause of the harm - the perpetrator and how to hold people with harmful behaviours to account, whilst prioritising the safety and safeguarding of adult and child victims.

This practical session will cover key current theories around working with those who harm and offer an insight into the impact on victims. Clear guidance for practice will support participants to take this impactful session into their workplace.The session is a mixture of theory and practice, is delivered lecture style with time for Q & A. Learning outcomes include understanding perpetrator and domestic abuse typologies; recognising victimology as it relates to perpetrator behaviour; increased confidence in using knowledge of patterns and behaviours to inform decision making.

Saskia Lightburn-Ritchie is the Founder and CEO of Domestic Abuse Experts. Saskia leads with her lived experience of domestic abuse and over 30 years direct practice and leadership experience in the Domestic Abuse Sector. In 2017 her daughter died by suicide as a result of Domestic Abuse and the Engage Approach was developed as a complete response to some of the key issues faced by adult and child victims. 

As a presenter Saskia weaves her family's multi-generational experiences of trauma whilst providing robust and evidence based responses to more effectively tackle this complex and nuanced issue.

Speakers: Hannah Kingsford

This session aims to be a presentation / talk that will focus both on the presenter's experience as a practitioner-researcher, and the project that the presenter has been conducting. The project has been carried out by a social worker completing a full-time research fellowship as a secondment from frontline practice. The project aimed to contribute to existing research around burnout in social workers, and to identify issues that particularly affected the local area (the project was carried out in the south-east of England), and to also identify practical solutions on a local level.

Hannah Kingsford qualified as a social worker in 2018 and has worked in both adult mental health and learning disability specialist teams. In 2023 Hannah was awarded a fellowship for social care practitioners, aimed at improving our research knowledge, and increasing research capacity in local social care organisations. She worked full-time on this research fellowship between April 2023-April 2025, before returning to frontline practice in May 2025, with the plan start training as a practice educator in September 2025. Additionally, in November 2024 Hannah was awarded the silver award for practitioner-led research in the Social Work of the Year Awards 2024.

Speakers: Nadine Boyne

This session empowers social workers to align personal wellness with professional excellence through the SAVI Approach (Self-Aware, Authentic, Valuing, Intentional). It introduces the five-phase SAVI process—Decide, Discover, Dream, Design, and Do—as a transformative framework to enhance self-awareness, navigate professional challenges, and thrive in their roles. By addressing common struggles such as burnout, emotional labor, and systemic pressures, the session inspires attendees to move beyond survival mode, fostering resilience, satisfaction, and growth in social work practice.

Nadine Boyle a Social Worker, Development Coach, and Founder of Social Work DISCovery™, with over 20 years of experience in children’s social care. Nadine’s mission is to empower social workers to thrive through the SAVI Approach (Self-Aware, Authentic, Valuing, Intentional), fostering resilience and excellence. A passionate advocate for professional growth, she designs and delivers training, coaching, and mentoring programs to help individuals align personal wellness with professional success. She is a future bestselling author of “Social Work Is Not Self Harm” (a working title). Nadine is committed to transforming the culture of social work into one of intentionality, inclusion, and thriving.