BASW Cymru has been in conversation with the Older People’s Commissioner for last couple of weeks about the appalling number of deaths in care settings. We have also shared our concerns about the essential role of social workers in upholding the human rights of older people and ensuring the voices of older people in care settings are heard.
BASW Cymru met with social worker and 20 year BASW member Jonathan Pearce this week to find out what it’s like to be a palliative care social worker in Wales.
BASW England and Research in Practice for Adults (RiPfA) have launched two new projects that will develop professional capabilities and continuous professional development (CPD) for social workers working with older people and adults who have learning disabilities.
During the first part of my time as Chair I had the pleasure of working alongside Luke Geoghegan, who was elected to Council at the same time as me, as Chair of the Finance and Human Resources Committee. After being re-elected with me in 2016, Luke stood down having become our new Head of Policy and Research, where he is developing a tremendous programme of work together with Policy and Research Officer, Godfred Boahen. Between 1998 and 2008, Luke was the Chief Executive at Toynbee Hall, the first Settlement in London’s East End, where Clement Attlee worked before the First World War. I feel a strong connection with the East End Settlements now myself, living near to them and being a frequent visitor to Oxford House and St Margaret’s House in Bethnal Green. This is a companion post to my previous “From Attlee to eligibility criteria”, in which I looked at the balance in social work between collective and individualised approaches. Here we focus on the former, beginning with an exploration of how the Settlement Movement helped to develop social work as community work.