Rethinking the regulation of Social Work: changes, challenges and choices

This PhD by Publication focuses on social work regulation in England, the recent changes in regulator and the contemporary experiences of social workers as they encounter regulation in their working lives. Drawing on seven peer reviewed journal articles and one unpublished report (all published in the period 2016-2022), the thesis considers regulation in terms of social policy, fitness to practice experiences and legal principles, but also makes comparisons with sister professions and different national and international regulators in the Health and Social Work field. In contextualising these issues, the work draws on a wide range of literature from areas such as sociological theory, the sociology of professions, comparative policy analysis and notions of professional identity to try and understand why social work has experienced recent regulatory shifts and how this stream of centrally driven innovation has created the current landscape experienced by registrants. A range of methodological approaches are used to gather related primary data and examine existing secondary data to develop an understanding of the challenges current regulatory practice presents, including in-depth, one to one interviews with current practitioners about their experiences of regulation. Having considered these changes and the challenges they present, attention is given to the choices that could be made to improve regulation – especially from the practitioner perspective. The thesis promotes the idea of shifting the balance of regulatory activity away from fitness to practice areas to more positive, proactive, enabling endeavours that might help the profession manage the emerging complexity of contemporary practice whilst also offering greater protection to users of services. Applying concepts of ‘upstreaming’ and ‘formative spaces’, it is argued that by shifting the regulatory gaze to practice before problems occur – rather than always dealing with the after-effects - we can better protect the public. Arguments are made for the originality and significance of the work as a whole and include reference to an unpublished report constructed whilst the author was under secondment to the UK Department for Education to develop policy options for the latest regulator, Social Work England

An analysis of HCPC fitness to practise hearings: Fit to Practise or Fit for Purpose?

All professions regulated by the HCPC have ‘protection of title’. This means that only those on its relevant register can legally work as or call themselves a social worker. As such, the HCPC’s Fitness to Practise panel wields a lot of power over individuals brought before it, effectively being able to prevent them from gaining employment as a social worker or imposing conditions on their practice. This article reports the findings from a study which examined publically available notes of HCPC fitness to practise hearings. The aim was to analyse what happens when an initial investigation finds that there is a case to answer, what factors influence the findings of the Fitness to Practise panel and how the outcome of the hearing then affects the social worker subject to the HCPC process. Using thematic analysis, our findings suggest that the seriousness of the alleged misconduct does not necessarily relate to the severity of sanction applied. It is the social worker’s engagement with the process, her insight into the issues and her credibility as a witness that appears to have the most significant bearing on the level of sanction applied

‘It’s my time now’: the experiences of social work degree apprentices

The Social Work Degree Apprenticeship is the latest addition to an ever-growing proliferation of routes through the professional qualification. Mainly recruiting current social care employees, apprenticeships are broadly structured around a ‘day release’ model where work-based learning is highly valued and the academic content is compressed but supported through a variety of mechanisms in the workplace and university. This article reports on small-scale research on the characteristics and experiences of the very first cohort of these apprentices at a university in the North West of the UK, during the first two years of their studies. Data gathering overlapped with the move into a period of COVID-19 lockdown. Using a survey method, both qualitative and quantitative data are presented and contextually discussed under four key headings established through thematic analysis: advancement, the one-day apprentice, support and impact. The research reveals a highly qualified and experienced intake of apprentices who feel well supported and that positive impacts are being made on their practice. The article concludes with some observations on what needs to change to maximize the benefits of this qualifying route, whilst also reflecting on its attractiveness to employers in terms of cost and retention

The Procedural Fairness Limitations of Fitness to Practise Hearings: a case study into social work

The norm in fitness to practise proceedings (FTPP) is that where sanctions might be imposed procedural fairness requires a court-like hearing. This article questions that paradigm, using empirical research to focus on the FTPP to which social workers must account. Procedural fairness is a multi-faceted legitimising concept used to justify the design of decision-making processes. With FTPPs, the major justification is an ‘instrumentally’ focused model of procedural fairness which prioritises making decisions that look right, a goal which is delivered in the context of social work. But other justifications for procedural fairness are inadequately fulfilled, with in particular a ‘dignitarian’ respect not achieved due to the high levels of non-attendance by registrant social workers. Further, procedural fairness as ‘public accountability’ is undermined due to the relative lack of engagement of FTPPs with the perspective of the social work community. These findings hint that in the context of a poorly organised and resource-poor profession other hybrid forms of FTPP might have a stronger claim to procedural fairness than the court-like model

The Experiences of Care Leavers (Post-care Adults) in Social Work Education

This paper explores the experiences of social work students on qualifying degree programmes in the UK who have previously been in care or ‘looked after’. Using a sample drawn from three social work programmes in the North West of England, a semi-structured interview schedule was constructed, with the support of social workers who had been in the care system, to examine the individual journeys of 11 students. This paper aims to explore, with this group of students, how their experiences relate to their decision to apply for a place on a social work course, their experience of admission and the duration of the programme. The paper is of particular relevance to social work educators and makes specific suggestions regarding how current practice in social work education might improve

Moving the River: Rethinking Regulation in Social Work

Social work regulation in England has experienced a considerable period of change in recent years. The profession’s latest regulator, Social Work England, faces similar challenges to sister professions—and to social work internationally—to improve and focus regulatory activity to better protect the public. In examining activity around poor performance and fitness to practice (FTP), the author explores the potential for shifting the emphasis of a regulatory gaze to practice before problems occur, rather than always dealing with the after-effects (known as ‘upstreaming’). A case is also made for developing ‘formative spaces’—where organisations might construct interventions to address professional performance before recourse to regulatory structures. To examine the readiness of organisational structures to take on this task, a series of qualitative, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with experienced practitioners. Thematic analysis of the data illustrates a range of current strategies for dealing with these issues. In conclusion, this article promotes the idea of shifting the balance of regulatory activity away from FTP areas to more positive, proactive endeavours that might better protect the public and help the profession manage the challenges faced by the complexity of contemporary practice