The Survival Guide for Newly Qualified Social Workers
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The Survival Guide for
Newly Qualified
Social Workers
Second Edition
Hitting the Ground Running
Helen Donnellan and Gordon Jack
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
is reproduced with kind permission of the National Childrens Bureau.
First published in 2009 as The Survival Guide for Newly Qualified Child and Family Social Workers: Hitting the Ground Running
This second edition published in 2015 with a revised title
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright Helen Donnellan and Gordon Jack 2008, 2015
Front cover image source: Thinkstock. The cover image is for illustrative purposes only, and any person featuring is a model.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying of any pages, storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Donnellan, Helen.
[Survival guide for newly qualified child and family social workers]
The survival guide for newly qualified social workers : hitting the ground running / Helen Donnellan and
Gordon Jack. -- [Second edition].
pages cm
Revision of the authors The survival guide for newly qualified child and family social workers.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84905-533-8 (alk. paper)
1. Social work with children. 2. Family social work. 3. Social service. I. Jack, Gordon. II. Title.
HV713.D66 2015
361.30941--dc23
2014016303
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84905 533 8
eISBN 978 0 85700 955 5
Contents
Acknowledgements
Extracts from questionnaires and interviews with the social workers who have taken part in our research studies appear regularly throughout the text, highlighting many of the key themes which have emerged. We are extremely grateful to all of the participants who gave so freely of their time and who shared with such openness and honesty their experiences of working on the frontline.
Preface
Who is this book for?
As the book is intended as an introduction to social work for new entrants to the profession, it will be of interest not only to newly qualified social workers (NQSWs), but also to students in the final year of their qualifying programmes, the managers and supervisors of NQSWs, and training and staff development personnel responsible for formal programmes of early support for NQSWs, such as the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) in England.
New entrants to the social work profession
This book aims primarily to provide advice and guidance for NQSWs taking up their first post in any setting in the UK. It is designed to ease the transition from student social worker to qualified professional by providing the practical guidance and support needed in the first year or two in post. It gives attention to the requirements for formal NQSW programmes and the frameworks which underpin continuing professional development across the UK.
Final year social work students
The impetus for this book came from the development of new qualifying and post-qualifying frameworks for the social work profession across the UK. Qualifying students now spend a significant proportion of their education and training on placement, in a variety of workplaces, so it is helpful to know how organisations operate and what to expect in looking ahead to their first social work post after qualifying. This book provides a helpful overview of the rewards and pitfalls of the all-important transition from student to employee.
Managers and supervisors of NQSWs
Much of the advice and guidance in this book is based on the development of best practice. An effective social worker will be one who recognises the benefits of ongoing learning and seeks out opportunities to reflect on their practice. This book therefore offers those who supervise and manage NQSWs an opportunity to reflect on a number of questions and key issues which typically arise for new entrants to the profession so as to evaluate the ideas and methods they currently use in order to improve their own practice.
Training and staff development personnel, and ASYE coordinators
Professional codes of practice place a duty on organisations that employ social workers to promote their continuing professional development. This book can therefore be used as a reference for trainers, mentors, supervisors, course leaders and others who have a role in supporting, developing or monitoring the progress of NQSWs. It will also help those in training and staff development units to make some of the links between qualifying programmes and their workplaces in the delivery of formal NQSW programmes, such as the ASYE in England.
How is the book organised?
There are four parts in this book, arranged chronologically, which mark out progressive milestones along the route from the initial thud! of professional status as NQSWs hit the ground and start running, then warming to the task, jumping the hurdles and making their way safely to the finishing line at the end of the first year or two in practice, better prepared for the next lap.
