First look at the Social Work Week 2023 programme

Social Work Week 2023 will take place from Monday 20 March to Friday 24 March 2023. This will be the third Social Work Week in England, once again complementing World Social Work Day on Tuesday 21 March, which recognises the dedication of social workers on an international stage.

This year’s Social Work Week programme includes 18 headline sessions curated by or supported by us, Social Work England, and features an exclusive mix of renowned speakers, panel discussions and workshops. Many organisations and individuals with an interest in social work will also be running their own sessions and activities.

Tickets will be made available in January, but we’re delighted to share a first look at the headline sessions below. Remember to reserve space in your diary. Further information including presenters and registration links will be shared on the dedicated Social Work Week section of our website in early 2023.

To be the first to hear about tickets, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Headline sessions

Monday 20 March

10am to 11am: Social Work Week opening session – This is us – reflections on social work, co-production and regulation

Join members of our National Advisory Forum, a group of people with lived and learned experience of social work, as they explore their experiences of social work, discuss what social work has meant in their lives and their hopes for the future of the profession. They will also share their views about co-production in regulation and the future of co-production within Social Work England’s work.

11.30am to 12.30pm: A challenge for social work: workforce reform and retention

Join social work leaders from across the sector to reflect on key issues of the last year with a focus on workforce and retention and the future of the social work workforce.

1pm to 2pm: The professional identity of social work

Hear from an expert in sociology followed by a voice from the profession as they explore the professional identity of social work.

3pm to 4.30pm: The power of words in social work – report writing with power, accountability and inclusivity

Join this practical session to improve your awareness of the power of language in social work report-writing. This session will explore themes of inclusivity, avoiding ambiguous language, challenging bias and understanding our responsibilities in life story work and the recording of people’s experiences.

Tuesday 21 March (World Social Work Day)

10am to 12.30pm: Racism on repeat, platitudes, proximity and progress

Join us as we look at how we can create forward movement on tackling racism in the workplace, in communities and in our social work practice. This session will explore cultural competence as a way of supporting individual practitioners and how it can be used within the workplace and communities.

The session will also explore learning from the Anti-Racist Steering Group since their formation and the publication of the findings of their survey of nearly 2,000 social workers in March 2022, which highlighted the toll racism is taking on social workers in England.

Wednesday 22 March

9.30am to 11am: Hospital social work – the role and achievements of social work practice in a hospital based setting

Hear from non-statutory hospital social workers on how they improve support, care and protection for vulnerable children and young adults and their families. The session will explore how social workers navigate the boundaries between health and social care and focus on the challenge of adhering to social work values, and retaining professional identity when working in a health dominated context.

1pm to 2pm: Themes and lessons learned from reviews and the role of regulation

Join experts who will be discussing and exploring common themes and lessons learned from national reviews including domestic homicide reviews, child safeguarding practice reviews and safeguarding adult reviews, alongside the role of regulation.

2pm to 3.30pm: Raising awareness of co-production good practice in higher education

This session will explore how co-production in social work courses helps prepare students for their placements, and how experts by experience have been providing students with richer, more authentic and real life scenarios. We will also discuss the value that such models bring in driving up professional standards.

4pm to 5.30pm: Improving social care with LGBTQ+ young people

This session explores findings from a research project on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) young people placed in care. It will share new knowledge generated by the LGBTQ+ Young People in Social cAre (LYPSA) research project, led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with What Works for Children’s Social Care.

6pm to 7pm: Continuing professional development (CPD): the first 3 years

This session will explore CPD, focussing on what we have learnt in our first 3 years, including insight from the profession and the CPD review.

Thursday 23 March

10am to 11am: Reflections and responses – Social Work in England: State of the nation

Join us as we share 3 years of learning from our new state of the nation Social work in England report - reinforcing the vital role of social work in society, recognising its successes, and, perhaps most importantly, considering the challenges the sector must now collectively address.

11.30am to 12.30pm: Social work regulation and practice education

Join the representatives of Britain’s 4 social work regulators as they discuss their experiences of social work regulation, practice education and how they can work together to influence policy.

1pm to 2.30pm: Transitional safeguarding

This session presents an introduction to the concept of transitional safeguarding, how this approach can influence service development, and considers why it is essential for social workers to retain a one identity profession. During the session we will hear from Oasis Project, a charity in Brighton providing drug and alcohol support, about their work to set up the Hope Service, which works specifically with 16 to 25 year olds.

2.30pm to 3.30pm: Social work behind the gate – reflections from a prison and multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) social work team

This session will share reflections on establishing a new specialist prison and multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) team, to work specifically with serving prisoners and multi-agency public protection arrangements offenders. Drawing on case studies, we will explore the challenges, the progress and future plans.

4pm to 5pm: What difference can a social worker make to an older person’s life?

Hear about the experiences of a group of experts by experience, researchers and social workers who are researching what social workers do in practice to support older people. The session will explore the value of social work practice to older people and carers, the barriers and enablers, and the potential and actual impact social workers have.

Friday 24 March

9.30am to 12.30pm: Liberty and human rights for adults with disabilities: putting social work values into action

This session will explore how to support people to make their own decisions and understand their human rights. The session will look at the Human Rights Act and Mental Capacity Act, the value base behind the Mental Capacity Act and how social work values will be vital during the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards.

1pm to 2pm: Seated yoga - part of your toolkit for wellbeing, focus and life

When we think of tools to support our social work or social care practice, we can also think about tools to support our wellbeing. This interactive workshop session provides some time and space to focus on your wellbeing and share the benefits, possibilities and practice of seated or chair yoga.

2.30pm to 3.30pm: What is the value of co-production? Exploring the value of co-production through stories

To mark the end of Social Work Week, we host a reflective space to explore the value of co-production through stories. You'll have an opportunity to explore what value co-production brings, and to offer your own further knowledge and insights.

Sector-led sessions

Thank you again to everyone who submitted an expression of interest to deliver a session during Social Work Week 2023.

Details of the sector-led sessions will be shared on our website in January 2023.