More than 1,200 social workers registered for The Social Work Show

The Social Work Show returns to Manchester next Monday on 3 October at The Hilton, Deansgate.

The event runs from 9.30am–4.30pm with visitors able to arrive at any time throughout the day.

With over 1,200 social work professionals already registered, the live conference will feature more than 30 workshops, seminars and films covering the latest practice in social work with children, young people and families, adult social care and mental health.

Seminars and workshops will be hosted by leading figures in social work from local authorities, voluntary sector organisations, universities and more.

Renowned author, Dr Neil Thompson, will be hosting seminars on workplace stress, discussing who has responsibility for it, as well as ‘How to survive in social work’. Neil will be working alongside event sponsor, Vigoroom UK – a new wellbeing platform for employers and employees, with over 1,000 resources helping social work professionals to manage stress, as well as physical and mental wellbeing, including videos, activities, workouts and challenges.

Social work organisations including Social Workers Union and BASW England will be hosting seminars including a Q&A session on ‘How to improve stress and working conditions for UK social workers in 2022’, with a presentation on the 2022 findings of the working conditions for social workers survey.

BASW Professional Officer Rebekah Pierre is also set to discuss the role of the social worker in disasters and their role played during the pandemic in ‘Out of the Shadows: The role of social workers in disasters including the pandemic’. Rebekah will discuss the ‘Out of the Shadows’ book, which focuses on the voices of both social workers and survivors who have experienced disasters including Hillsborough, Grenfell, as well as the Manchester Arena Bombing.

Representatives from Social Work England will also be at the event presenting a session on Peer reflection and CPD requirements. They will be exploring how the new expectations for CPD recording can bring benefits – including wellbeing – to social workers, organisations and the people who receive service.

Members of children’s charity, Become, will also be hosting workshop on their latest report: ‘Sky’s the Limit: Reimagining ‘Leaving Care’, discussing a new vision of support for care-experienced young adults which started from the desire to completely reimagine ‘leaving care’.
Read more: https://www.socialworktoday.co.uk/News/Charity-calls-for-reimagining-of-what-%E2%80%98leaving-care%E2%80%99-should-look-like

Founder of the Care Leavers Association in England, Phil Frampton, will also examine rising levels of trauma experienced in modern civilisation and how, as a society, we have neglected studying children’s agency as individuals and collectives in his seminar ‘Child protection and children’s rights in the 21st Century’.

Other seminars will include ‘Evidence-based research and why it’s relevant to social workers’ by What Works for Children’s Social Care and ‘Working collaboratively to address traumatic responses and emotional responses in children and young people’ with Child and Family Training.

There will be a range of exhibitors attending from across the UK, including local authorities Bradford City Council, Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Coventry City Council, Falkland Islands, Manchester City Council, Oldham Council, Powys County Council, Rochdale Adult Care Service, St Helen’s Borough Council, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and Wigan Council.

Visitors will be able to network with exhibitors, colleagues and academics at the event and celebrate good practice in children’s social work, adults’ social work and mental health.