Our role as professional advisors to Social Work England

As part of Social Work England’s role to protect the public, maintain confidence in social work and promote high standards of professionalism, we investigate concerns about the fitness to practise of social workers. On average, 1.6% of social workers on the register pass through at least one part of our process each year. We commit to consider all cases with context, proportionality and fairness.

One of the ways we do this is by employing social workers as professional advisors in our fitness to practise service. Professional advisors provide insights into the realities of daily practice for professionals and people with lived experience of social work. They bring experience and expertise from practising as social workers to the decision-making process.

We spoke to Laura Haggett and Paul Hollingdale about their roles as professional advisors.

Laura qualified as a social worker in 2011 and has worked in numerous statutory settings within adult social care. She is also an approved mental health professional (AMHP). Paul, who qualified as a social worker in 1991, has worked in several residential care, community social work and management roles. He is a social work lecturer, foster carer, associate hospital manager (mental health services) and former magistrate (family court).

What do you do in your role as a professional advisor?

Paul: “We help to analyse concerns that are raised about social workers. We are part of the decision making group that decides if concerns should progress from the initial triage stage of the fitness to practise process to the investigation stage.

"We also sit on review groups to consider learning from past cases. We host learning sessions for colleagues on different areas of practice, support workshops for employers and work closely with the regional engagement leads. We also meet with other regulators to share best practice."

Laura: “We provide advice to the triage and investigations teams about the role and responsibility of social workers. This helps them to put concerns into context and ensures their actions and decisions take account of the unique profession of social work.

"Social work is complex and explaining this in a way that is helpful is sometimes very hard. Because of the broad nature of social work you will never know everything. You can be in practice for over 20 years and still come across something new that challenges you. We also offer support and guidance more widely to the organisation on matters ranging from continuing professional development (CPD) to education and training."

How does your role benefit people in the fitness to practise process?

Paul: “We aim to provide objective professional insight to ensure the fitness to practise process is targeted and proportionate. We can suggest routes when additional clarification is needed to assess a concern.

"Social work is such a broad area of work. We understand that no one social worker can be an ‘expert’ in all matters. However, a critical skill for all social workers is knowing how to seek guidance and answers to questions.”

Laura: “We are passionate about bringing the profession to life, to provide context and explain how certain tasks and conversations might take shape in certain circumstances. We offer insights into the lives of those with lived experience of social work.

"We raise awareness of marginalisation and disadvantage of the people that social workers work with and in turn the people that Social Work England engages with as part of the fitness to practise process.

“We hope to bring reassurance to social workers and the public that we can make good decisions and support others in their decision making due to our knowledge of the profession. It’s about understanding what social workers do and what their responsibilities are in certain situations. We aim to increase understanding about the professional landscape within which they work.”

What are the most rewarding parts of your role?

Paul: “Supporting colleagues in becoming more aware and confident about the realities of a social worker’s role and advising on the huge range of legal and national guidelines that apply to their responsibilities. It is a privilege to work for Social Work England and I hope that I can continue to contribute to the reputation of the organisation and the profession.”

Laura: “Being able to raise awareness of the amazing work that social workers do including the challenges and complexities that come with the role. My career has been committed to public safety and working at Social Work England means that this continues to be at the forefront of all that I do.”

What advice would you give to social workers and the public about the fitness to practise process?

Paul: “It’s important that people carefully consider the best route for raising their concern, as it may not always be something that the regulator can investigate. Check the advice on the Social Work England website first. It may be a better option to raise your concern with the social worker or their employer first.

“I would advise everyone involved in the fitness to practise process to have confidence that all voices are heard and all voices are respected. This is the value of having a specialist regulator which really understands the social work sector and the people it serves.”

Laura: “I want everyone involved in the process to feel comfortable engaging with us. We are real people and want to hear everybody’s version of events. We understand that the process can sometimes be stressful, whether you are the person raising a concern, the subject of a concern or a witness.

“Please look at the sources of support on our website and talk to the team about how you are feeling so we can try as far as possible to work through difficulties together. We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to put forward their views to support a fair process. We want to gather all the evidence, from all angles.”