Social Work England’s latest campaign honours the importance of “unseen social work”

Social Work England has partnered with Turner Prize-winning artist and former social worker, Helen Cammock to create a series of thought-provoking plaques to spotlight the often-unseen role of social workers and the positive impact they have on millions of people.

The artwork titled ‘Social Work Happens Here’ has been displayed during Social Work Week across locations in England where social workers work, to celebrate the profession.

The sites were selected as these are places people might not expect a social worker to work and include Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridgeshire, London Ambulance Service in Waterloo and Momentum Children’s charity in Surrey.

They form part of the latest phase of Social Work England’s ‘Change the Script’ campaign which shares real stories of social work to help share more accurate portrayals of social workers and their role in society.

This phase focuses on social workers in “unseen roles” as new research shows media coverage doesn’t reflect the varied profession, with only 9% of news coverage about social work mentioning the wider areas social workers work in*.

Despite this, social workers support people in a wide range of contexts not shown by the media. Data shows that over 3,300 social workers support people in hospital, more than 7,000 support people with disabilities and nearly 12,000 work in mental health services**. Social workers also support people in settings such as schools and the justice system.

Helen Cammock said:

“The art piece celebrates the profession, its varied nature, the skills of the people in it and the transformative impact it makes to people’s lives. I had the privilege of speaking to social workers in a variety of roles to provide inspiration for the artwork.”

“This project really spoke to me, especially reflecting on my own experiences of working in a range of social work contexts for over a decade. The social work profession has an enduring presence committed to care, support and protection but this new work also acknowledges the challenges faced by the profession and individual social workers. It is an acknowledgement of the commitment and constancy of social workers - seen or unseen.”

One of the locations Helen’s artwork appears on is the London Ambulance Service in Waterloo, the workplace of David Russell, a mental health social worker who helped to inspire the piece.

David said:

“I work with a paramedic responding to 999 calls across the capital, caring for people in mental health crisis and helping them stay safely out of hospital whenever possible. It’s a unique role – and many people are surprised to learn that this is social work.

“What matters most to me is the impact we can have on a person in those moments. We can help someone feel safer and less alone. We can treat and care for them at home or find them the support they need. It’s a privilege to do this job and to make a difference every single day, often when someone is facing one of the hardest moments of their life. That’s why I’m proud to be part of this campaign and to see this plaque displayed at my workplace, showing just how varied and vital social work truly is.” 

Social Work England’s Chief Executive, Colum Conway, said:

“We want to celebrate the positive impact social workers have on people and communities across society. We hope our campaign, along with the plaque created by Helen Cammock, helps bring greater visibility to the difference social workers make every day.”

To find out more about the campaign, visit our Change the Script page