Join the National Advisory Forum

Help us shape social work regulation

Are you a social worker, or someone with lived experience of social work? You can use your voice to contribute to our work.

We are now welcoming applications for our National Advisory Forum.

This is a unique opportunity to get involved in social work regulation as we move into our second 3 year strategy.

How to apply

To apply, please complete an expression of interest form.

Email the completed form to Jack Harrison on jack.harrison@socialworkengland.org.uk. You must do this by midday on Thursday 29 June 2023. We won’t consider applications we receive after this deadline.

We accept and welcome video applications. We’ll consider these equally alongside written applications.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to give feedback at the application stage.

If you want to speak to us about the role or need help with your application, contact jack.harrison@socialworkengland.org.uk.

What is the role of the National Advisory Forum?

The role of the forum is to act as a critical friend to Social Work England. Members bring a wealth of lived and learned experience to regulation. They also drive co-production across the organisation, embedding it in our ways of working.

For more information about the National Advisory Forum, you can:

• read about the role of the National Advisory Forum
• read the terms of reference
• watch this interview with members of the forum

Who can apply?

We welcome applications from (both of the following):

• registered social workers
• people with lived experience of social work

In particular, we welcome applications from (any of the following):

• social workers based in the private, voluntary or independent sector
• independent or agency social workers
• social workers working in statutory social work (including NHS trusts)
• social workers who identify as having a disability
• parents or carers whose children have (or had) involvement with children’s social work
• older people who have had experience of social work services
• people from the LGBTQ+ community

This is because we have lower representation in the forum from these groups. However, we’re not only recruiting from these groups. We encourage you to apply, even if your experience looks different.

There are some criteria you need to meet. For us to consider you, you must be (all of the following):

• knowledgeable and have lived and/or learned experience of social work
• able to attend meetings 6 times a year and (where relevant), have an agreement with your employer to attend meetings and undertake work as required
• passionate about improving the social work profession
• willing to challenge and offer constructive criticism
• organised and able to work to agreed timescales
• respectful of others
• able to communicate with a diverse range of people
• able to understand the role of regulation
• supportive of our aims and embody our values

Drop-in sessions

We’re running 2 informal online drop-in sessions for people who are interested in submitting an application.

These will take place on:

• Thursday 15 June 12pm to 1pm
• Tuesday 20 June 6pm to 7pm

These sessions will give you a chance to speak with current members of the National Advisory Forum and members of our engagement team.

Book your place here.

If your application is successful

If your application is successful, we will invite you to a recruitment session and a short informal interview. This will be on either Tuesday 18 or Wednesday 19 July.

Both the recruitment session and interview will be done virtually. We use Microsoft Teams.

Please contact jack.harrison@socialworkengland.org.uk if you need support to attend a recruitment session or interview.