On this week’s episode, I spoke to Becky Haasch. Becky is an experienced social work leader passionate about leading change, learning and connection in practice. We spoke about: * Becky’s journey into social work * The work that Becky currently does with social workers, teams and organisations * What it means for social workers to show up for themselves * What it means to be vulnerable as a social work leader * What social work leadership means to Becky And so much more… To connect with...

A solo episode sharing tips on how to manage the return to social work after maternity leave

On this week's episode, I spoke to Shabnam Ahmed. Shabnam is a highly experienced social worker, practitioner, trainer, innovator and all round true leader in social work. Shabnam is a strong leader and advocate for anti racist practice in social work and how we can and should be implementing this in our supervision. We discussed: * Shabnam's journey into social work * The 6 R's of supervision * The importance of supervision in creating anti racist practitioners * The anti racist...

On this week's guest episode, I spoke with Kate Cuthbertson. Kate is a wonderful, experienced and skilled social worker who has transitioned from practice into the world of social work coaching and supervision. Kate speaks with such passion and insight about coaching and supervision in social work and how they are both such significant contributing factors to effective social work practice and in building practitioners who feel supported and more able to cope. We speak about: * Kate’s...

On this week's solo episode, I opened a discussion encouraging you to think about how your team receive you as a leader. It's not just about how you lead, it's about how your leadership is received by your team. Listen to hear more. My eBook ' a guide to your first 4 weeks as a new social work manager' is still available for purchase. Click here.

In this episode, I spoke to Dr Alice Loving. Alice is an experienced practitioner and academic with a passion for working with families, providing expert parenting assessment and mentalization based video intervention. This style of intervention has been effective in bringing about lots of positive change for families in care proceedings and as a form of early intervention work to support parent and child attachments and interactions. Alice has developed and runs training on this training...

In this episode, I spoke to Matthew Davies. Matt is a Team Manager within an early help team in South Wales and is also the Founder of the Social Work Way, an app for Social Workers bringing together practice, learning and development and social work wellbeing. Matt is passionate about ensuring the voice of the children is heard in practice and in innovation. If you would like to connect with Matt, you can do so...

In this solo episode, I shared 3 tips on leading as a social worker and aspiring manager

On this week's guest episode, I was joined by Nana. Nana is a social worker, team manager, guest lecturer, co-host of The Social Worker and the Mentor podcast alongside so many other roles. It’s also actually the 2nd time Nana has been on the podcast! We spoke about: * Who Nana is and what he does * Nana's passion for advocating for social work * Nana's time in Parliament speaking about working conditions for social workers * Advice for social workers fearful of using their voices to...

On this week's solo episode, I shared 5 tips on how you can connect with your team as a new supervisor and/or manager. For the eBook, click here For the mailing list, click here

A solo episode talking about the importance of an induction in creating effective and confident new starters in social work

On this episode, I spoke to Suzy. Suzy is a 2nd year social work student, creator of a student platform Social Work Survival Files and an all rounded great example of what leadership as a social work student looks like. We spoke about: * Suzy's journey to becoming a social work student * Why Suzy chose to study social work * What has gone well and Suzy's biggest challenges on the degree so far * How social media has impacted Suzy's student journey so far? * Suzy's advice for any people...

This week's episode is a solo episode where I share my thoughts on what PCF 9 tells us about creating the change we want to see and ultimately how the future of our profession is in our hands. I share my thoughts on how as social workers we can create change, ways to do this and the impact of us doing this. I refer to PCF 9 as referenced through BASW here. As mentioned in the episode, if you are a new or aspiring social work manager, my new eBook is perfect for you! It is a guide putting...

On today's episode, I spoke to Donna. Donna is an experienced social work manager passionate about practice and the role that we have in people's lives. In addition to her practice experience. Donna is the owner of Social Work Toolkit, a platform making significant strides to support social workers in creating community and safe spaces. We discussed: * Donna's journey into social work and through social work so far * Donna's own experience of community in social work practice * Community...

Welcome to the first podcast episode of 2024! It's a solo episode from me and I share my reflections on 2023, goals for 2024 and what you can expect in 2024 from the Social Work Mentor and the Social Work Leaders podcast. I also share exciting news that I will be launching my first eBook in the next few weeks, for new managers, and I can't wait to share it. For first access, you can join the mailing list here. If you would like to collaborate as a podcast guest, do send me an email on:...

In this episode I spoke to Tooba. Tooba is a qualified social worker and the founder of the Thrive Social Work app, a wonderful innovation built for social workers to be more productive, to have a system that works for them and supports their wellbeing. We spoke about: * Tooba's journey into social work * How Tooba balanced social work and her wellbeing in practice * How important it is for our systems to work for us * The journey of the Thrive Social Work app * How social workers can...

Today's episode is a solo episode in which I share how we can use models of practice to strengthen the supervisory relationship. This is relevant for both supervisors and those being supervised. I discuss: * Why this topic is so important for supervisors and supervisees * Using Social Graces to strengthen the supervisory relationship * Using the Mandela Model to strengthen the supervisory relationship * A breakdown of both models and how to use them within the supervisory relationship *...

I had a wonderful conversation with Jason Barnes. Jason is an experienced social worker with a wealth of knowledge and experience. After 10 years of practising in England, Jason has returned to Ireland and enjoyed taking this opportunity to reflect on his social work journey so far. Jason is a firm believer in relationship based practice being the most effective way to work with families and to move things forward for those that we support and work with. We spoke about: * Jason's own...

This week, I spoke to Le'Siran. Le'Siran is a qualified social worker and social work leadership coach. Le'Siran shared her wealth of knowledge and experience on the podcast today and it was a real pleasure to have her on. We spoke about: * Who Le'Siran is and her early experiences * Le'Siran's journey into and through social work * How Le'Siran chose coaching as her path and what this journey has looked like * What coaching entails and how social workers can benefit from it * The value...

In this solo episode, I discuss our roles as social workers when it comes to challenging injustice in our communities and in the world. I hope this episode provokes some thoughts for you. Please share it with fellow social workers so that more of us can do the self reflection that is needed. Connect with me on Instagram: @theswmentor Sign up to the mailing list for the weekly newsletter and to keep up to date with all things Social Worker Leaders and The Social Work Mentor:...

On this episode, I spoke to Natalie Robertson. Natalie is a social worker who is incredibly passionate about Learning and Development and social workers looking after their physical and emotional wellbeing in order to be able to thrive in their professional and personal lives. In this episode we spoke about: * Natalie's journey into social work * How stress impacts our nervous system and why social workers need to understand this * Advice for new social workers, when it comes to stress...

In this episode, I spoke to Ash, social worker, experienced child protection practitioner and creator of New Generation Social Work. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and Ash truly conveyed his passion for our profession and his hopes for frontline social work to become more sustainable for many more social workers. We discussed: * Ash's journey into social work * Ash's biggest highs and greatest challenge as a child protection social worker * Why Ash had to make the difficult decision...

In this episode, I speak to Liz Andrew-Brake, an experienced social worker from New Zealand and based in Australia. We talk all things social work and supervision. Have a listen as we: *Discuss Liz's journey into social work and her own experiences of supervision as a child protection social worker *Explore what quality supervision is and the barriers to social workers receiving is * Discuss what supervisors and supervises can do to get the best out of their supervision * Hear what social...

This is a solo episode giving practical tips for social workers who are ready to take the leap into applying for their first supervisory or managerial social work role. I share my top tips for you to consider when applying. Do share any thoughts or comments on the episode.