Finalists for the BASW Social Work Journalism Awards 2025

The awards celebrate creative, informed and sensitive reporting that demonstrates an outstanding understanding of social work.
journalism awards

The journalists on the shortlist deserve to be praised and recognised for their work

BASW CEO, Dr Ruth Allen

BASW is pleased to announce the finalists for the BASW Social Work Journalism Awards 2025 in recognition of high quality journalism featuring social work across the UK. 

The new award is part of a wider campaign by BASW and the Social Workers Union (SWU) to improve the public’s perception of social work. Entries and nominations were sought across eight categories covering mainstream print, broadcast and trade journalism, as well as podcasts and television programmes. 

The shortlisted finalists have been invited to attend an awards reception at the end of BASW’s annual conference in Manchester on 10 June. The finalists are:

Written journalism in national media

  • Rosa Silverman, for an insightful feature diving into social work’s challenges following the headline grabbing death of a child – Daily Telegraph
  • Jessica Murray, for an article on UK training scheme aiming to help social workers dealing with disabled parents – The Guardian
  • Jessica Bradley and James Beale, for an article investigating the delays to fitness to practice cases for social workers and the impact it has – The Times

Written journalism in regional media 

  • Graeme Brown, for a campaign on highlighting child poverty in Birmingham and the West Midlands – Birmingham Live 
  • Charlotte Young, for an article looking into the plight of asylum seeking child migrants in Kent – BBC South West 
  • Richard Youle, for an article on the growing use of agency workers in Carmarthenshire – The Tenby Observer

Broadcast journalism in national media 

  • Carolyn Atkinson­­­­, for the item Locked up: woman held in mental health facility for 45 years – BBC Radio 4, File on Four
  • Dan Hewitt, for an exclusive look at burnout in social workers – ITV
  • Andrew Marr, for an item on over-stretched children’s services, interviewing frontline professionals – LBC Radio

Broadcast journalism in regional media 

  • Lucy Kapasi, for her look into immersive 360 degree training that gives social workers a front row seat to frontline, on ITV Central
  • BBC Spotlight team, for highlighting the collaborative work between the Safer Futures Family – BBC Spotlight
  • Jon Wright, for an item on greater understanding of disabilities – BBC Radio Suffolk

Trade press news

  • Mithran Samuel, for chronicling the legacy of a social work strike – Community Care
  • Hannah Crown, for an article challenging how to make social work leadership more diverse – Children and Young People Now
  • Lauren Nicolle, for an investigation into the consequence of fabricated or induced illness accusations – Learning Disability Today

Lived experience (nuanced depiction of people social workers support)

  • Tamsin Melville, for the BBC Spotlight South West collaborative work with the Family DASA Project (domestic abuse) 
  • Ayshah Tull, for interviews with children in care moved far from home – Channel 4 news
  • Ashley John-Baptiste, for his work called Detained and restrained: Britain’s vulnerable kids – BBC Radio 4, File on Four 

Podcast

  • The Relational Social Work podcast, season 2, episode 11 – What role does children’s services have in a tumultuous world?
  • Pod Save the UK podcast, episode Nish Kumar the new James Bond? – for a segment interviewing Lemn Sissay and Rebekah Pierre on children in care
  • Social Work Matters, for the episode Let’s talk about burnout 

Drama

  • Joan – ITV 
  • Lost Boys and Fairies – BBC One
  • Adolescence – Netflix

There will also be an additional special award given on the night for outstanding contribution to journalism featuring social work. The judging panel includes leading social workers and journalists with knowledge of the sector. 

Dr Ruth Allen, Chief Executive of BASW, said: “The BASW Social Work Journalism Awards aim to celebrate responsible and accurate journalism across the UK and to encourage thought-provoking, informed and creative reporting of our profession.

“We are in our third year now and I’m delighted it has grown in it’s impact and awareness, as depicted by some very strong entries and nominations. The journalists on the shortlist deserve to be praised and recognised for their work.”

John McGowan, General Secretary of the Social Workers Union which is supporting BASW in the awards, said: “It is important that we recognise quality journalism. Negative stereotypes about social work perpetuate misunderstanding of our profession in the public and stop people gaining support when they need it.

“These journalists have demonstrated a deeper understanding of our profession and are leading the way in reporting on social work.”