Social work is a fulfilling and diverse profession, but often comes under unfair scrutiny in the media and online through misleading stories.
There are a number of myths about the role of the social worker in the UK. We spoke to Michael Greenhouse, Course Lead for MSc Social Work, to debunk some of them.
1. There is a lack of career progression
There is a common misconception there is a lack of career progression in social work.
Social workers use the British Association of Social Work Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) to guide their education and professional development in England. It sets out nine domains of capability social workers are expected to develop in and outlines different career stages. Someone may start their career at the PCF ‘point of entry’ stage as a student social worker, become a newly qualified social worker upon qualification, and then move onto the experienced, advanced and even strategic level social worker stages.
After this, social workers can progress and become senior practitioners, team managers, service managers, university lecturers, heads of service, a director of a local authority and beyond.
Someone who has qualified with a degree in Social Work can also practice in either the area of child or adult social work. There are a wide variety of interesting and unique specialisms within these two areas. For instance, a social worker could specialise in mental health, learning disabilities, safeguarding, child protection or working with children who are looked after among many others.
2. Social Work is not well paid
Another misconception is social work is not a well-paid profession.
As mentioned, social workers can develop and progress into a range of roles throughout their career and in turn enter a new ‘PCF stage’ where they could potentially earn more.
Newly qualified social workers typically earn salaries in the late £20,000 into the £30,000 range. More experienced social workers (such as senior practitioners) can earn into the £40,000 salary range. Social workers who become team managers, heads of service or directors can earn anything from £50,000 and beyond.
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3. Social workers take children away from their families
A social worker can sometimes be portrayed as someone who interferes and takes children away from their families. This myth is often popularised in the media or through high profile cases that focus on concerns in practice.
The reality is quite the opposite; social workers are there to support children, parents and their families and in accordance with legislation and policy, and believe children are best brought up within their own families. The last thing a social worker wants to do is remove a child from their family; it is very much the last resort, with only a court having the power to grant an order to remove a child.
Social workers will provide support where a child is in need, investigate where there may be concerns and always consider the child’s needs to be paramount. Social workers work in the best interests of a child but also work in partnership with and promote the rights of parents, providing support to them and the wider family. This aligns with social work professional values in that the profession strives to promote human rights and social justice and engage in anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice.
4. Social Workers work long, unsociable hours
The extent to which social workers perform long hours can be exaggerated in the media. Social workers are deeply committed to their role and the people they work with. The day-to-day role of the social worker can consist of completing direct work with service users, assessments, report writing, home visits, meetings and working with other professionals among other responsibilities. Typical working hours are seven and a half hours a day but there can be occasions where a social worker may work past these hours.
5. All Social Workers are female
Another myth is social workers are “all female”. The social work profession is open to all genders, and this is reflected in the number of social workers in the UK.
It is important to have a rich and gender-diverse workforce and ensure all genders are present, representative, visible and valued in the profession as this, in turn, has an impact on the diversity of the service users social workers support