Meet the North Yorkshire Branch's new Professional Officer - Wayne Reid

Wayne Reid replaced Liz Howard as the supporting BASW England Professional Officer for the North Yorkshire branch from January 2026.

In this session, Wayne will provide an insight into his Social Work background, his role at BASW and how he can support the branch going forward.

Wayne Reid is a Professional Officer, Social Worker and former Anti-racism Visionary at BASW England. He qualified as a Social Worker in 2010 and his frontline social care experience spans over 26 years. Wayne has worked for private fostering agencies; the Probation Service; a youth offending team; a community mental health service; a child protection service and with care leavers. Wayne previously compiled and curated a national social work newsletter (Wayne’s Weekly), which ran for several years.

Wayne’s diverse role at BASW England involves supporting national groups focussed on: criminal justice, professional capabilities and development and Black and ethnic minority social workers. Wayne’s work with students, NQSW’s, diverse social work professionals and a cross-section of organisations is extensive. This has involved guest speaking, workshop facilitation; leading national campaigns and mobilising social work activism.

From his experience, Wayne believes academic and ‘life education’ are essential to improve an individual’s quality of life and life chances. He adds: “Social work is a vital multi-faceted international service that: coordinates support for the most vulnerable people in society; assesses and manages risk; addresses problematic behaviours and relationships; champions equality and social justice; optimises peoples’ strengths, promotes human decency and creates meaningful opportunities for social mobility”.