Thoughts On The Social World

Excellent day at Compass Jobs Fair which exists to help support and develop the social work and social care workforce. I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of fascinating people with inspiring stories, I have included their interviews to share with you:   1 – Russell Smith the Director of CarePair which provides a service to match carers […] The post 022 Compass Jobs Fair for Social Work appeared first on Thoughts On The Social World.

David Akinsanya is a successful campaigner for Looked After children. The reason for his work is due to his complex and troubled story. David was brought up in care and consequently experienced many troubling events. My interview with David discusses these events and how they have influenced David's following career and life story. David transpires a positive and emotive message to those in care, who have left care or those who work with children in care. He emphasises the significant impact of his social worker Jenni Randall - he feels that without her he would be in a very different position in life. David and Jenni now offer training for David Niven Associates titled 'Working with looked after children: an experiential perspective' for those working with children in care. A crucial thread running through the day is the importance of listening to the voice of the child. For information on this training contact David Niven Associates on info@dnivenassociates.co.uk or 0845 833 0859. David has addressed con

Faye Dicker of Freelance Bristol Mum and I discuss some of the headlines that have made the papers this week. Included are the risks and effects of older fathers, pushy parenting, drinking alcohol during pregnancy and obesity on the lives of children. These topics raise a lot of debate and differences of opinion, do you agree with our responses to the stories? Faye Dicker was a BBC Radio Bristol presenter but since having her daughter Jemima changed career path into freelance work. Since then she has set up 'Freelance Bristol Mum' to help network busy mums working from home. Secondly it was the 2 year anniversary of Daniel Pelka's death this week and so I had been invited to give many radio interviews on the subject. I have included my interview with Coventry and Worcester where I discuss the impacts and progression the case has had on social work and social workers.  

Interview with Chief Social Worker for adults, Lyn Romeo. She discusses her role and how the work of adult social workers supports vulnerable adults to live their lives in the way they want to with great success. However she feels this good work has been lost in the public eye and hopes in the future the positive stories and fantastic differences which are made to peoples lives can be transpired in the media. We discuss much more, including her advice for social workers, the benefits of social media, the struggles social workers encounter and how the best possible differences to families can be made. Lyn took up her post as Chief Social Worker for Adults in September 2013. She works collaboratively with the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families and together they work from the Office of the Chief Social Worker to: support and challenge the profession to ensure that children and adults get the best possible help from social workers provide independent expert advice to ministers on social work refor

An interview with an old friend of the programme Jane Evans who is speaking at 'This is my childhood' conference. We discuss trauma in childhood, parenting styles, domestic violence, mental health and substance misuse. These areas are all vitally important and Jane speaks from the front line about some of the issues she is dealing with on a day to day basis. She also discusses her book 'How are you feeling today baby bear?' which is being launched on Friday 21st February. Secondly I've included a BBC interview I gave to draw attention to the BBC documentary I appeared in regarding the horrific child abuser Ian Watkins of the rock band Lost Prophets. How are you feeling today baby bear?            

BBC Radio interview where, as an independent child protection expert, I am asked to discuss my opinions following the acquittal of celebrities in abuse cases. Secondly, I look at social media with regards to the role and responsibilities of Professional Social Work and the inherent issues that arise with regards to safeguarding children. Using the results of my own research I examine the ethical and operational considerations for Social Workers, and other front-line childcare professionals, when using social media both in work settings and personally. I share my findings of answers to the following questions: Q1: Online safety should be entirely down to parents? Q2: Many more resources should be created by social networking sites to protect the vulnerable? Q3: There should be no age limit to having a social networking account? Q4: Only law enforcement should be allowed to investigate social networking accounts for evidence?

Stalking in the UK Deona Hooper informs me of Social Work Helper and its role in aiding social workers to be represented more fairly in the media. I discuss stalking, it's impact and training for police, social workers, medics and teachers as well as the voluntary sector. Stalking became a criminal offence in England and Wales on the 25th November 2012. About 1 in 25 women under 60 are victims of stalking every year according to the Home Office. Stalking is closely related to domestic violence and abuse. The most common stalkers are male partners or ex partners. 3 quarters of women killed by a violent partner or ex-partner were stalked on the lead up to their death, and on average a victim will experience 100 incidents of stalking before reporting it to the police. The devastation of individuals and the damage to their life and their family. I raise awareness of the problem and talk about the David Niven Associates' Training programme. See also Stalking: a criminal offence but still a problem blog post.

Peter Garsden is the senior partner at Abney Garsden solicitors. He is my guest this week. We discuss the changing landscape for survivors since he set up the Child Abuse Department in 1994 which he is head of and is now the largest dedicated Abuse compensation department in the country. Their U.K. helpline is 0845 604 7075, visit their website. Peter gives his opinion on the recent celebrity abuse accusations and offers advice and support for survivors who are either seeking legal advice or those who are still struggling with their past experiences. Peter was recently awarded Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards. Since 1996 Peter has been Lead Solicitor in over 25 different Group Actions involving over 1000 Claimants, including the largest award achieved in the area of Child Abuse Groups of £2.3million on behalf of 165 Claimants who were abused at homes managed by Manchester City Council. In 1997 Peter helped to set up ACAL (Association of Child Abuse Lawyers), a Claimant based org

This week an interview with Annie Hudson, Chief Executive of the College of Social work. Previously Director of Social Services for Bristol, she discusses the role of the College, the challenges ahead for the profession, the image of social work and the impact of social media. Then an interview I gave to the BBC about the social worker recently struck off for gross misconduct and how the public view this action. I really value your feedback- so why not put a written review on Itunes? Or leave a voice message on SpeakPipe—one click beside every blog or podcast. Check out the upcoming conference 'This is my childhood; there will be no other' on April 4th in Bristol Thanks as always to Alba Digital Media who you could do no better in consulting for your developing presence on social media!

An excellent interview with Bridget Robb - Chief Executive at the British Association of Social Workers. We discuss the state of social work in the UK and globally, the political and environmental factors of social work and the role of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW). As a Former Chair of BASW I value it as the largest professional association for social work in the UK, with offices in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They promote the best possible social work services for all people who may need them, while also securing the well being of social workers. Included is also my BBC Radio Bristol Radio interview discussing cyber bullying and the profound damage it has on young people. The traumas can lead to suicide and social exclusion. I offer advice on how to support the person involved for parents and carers. My closing thoughts are on the Northern Ireland Historic Abuse Inquiry.

This weeks podcast focuses on communities, their importance and their erosion over the years and the knock on damage to society in general. I look at this nationally through the work of Shelter, new towns, homelessness and the changes high-rise buildings have made to communities. Internationally I look at changes caused by man and by nature, culminating in the interview with Salaash Morompi a Maasai tour guide at the Maasia Mara reserve about the changes in his community interviewed by my guest reporter in Kenya.        

John Devaney Director of Education, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Queens University Belfast  and Chair of British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (BASPCAN) discusses child protection and early childhood development.  BASPSCAN  and D.Niven Associates are jointly hosting a conference on Early Childhood Development in Bristol on 4th April 2014.  The keynote speaker is Dame Tessa Jowell.  Further details and early bird booking is available here.   In this weeks episode I  also reflect upon my own thoughts on two emerging situations, one in the Central African Republic and one in Switzerland.  

Shirley Ayres is my guest this week, she is a well established social media consultant, social worker, innovator and in her own words a care maverick and a 'super connector'. A social media enthusiast with a large following across digital media platforms including a video podcast.  She reflects on her work and networking in the social care sector. She talks of why nurturing social media is so important and how digital and social media can deliver services differently.   Followed by reflections on Christmas.   Do sign up for updates from the social world and future podcasts and blogs and please subscribe on iTunes and keep your kind reviews coming. Have a very happy and merry Christmas to you all.

A fascinating interview with a young film maker who talks of her time in the Pacific rim. Her interviews  and also some short documentary films she made. Also something that will make a real difference to sexual abuse - new sentencing guidelines for sex offenders. So two main themes today, both different but both fascinating and important in their own right. Thanks to all of you, the Social World Podcast  is now listened to in 16 countries and 13 US states. Please keep your comments coming, it's really appreciated.

Being Interviewed on Radio Today’s Social World Podcast  includes two radio clips from interviews I gave during the week gone by. Celebrity abusers and then--- Reflections on a tragic case. For the second part of the podcast, I talk about routes into social work and thoughts on the current newly qualified workers. Tell friends and colleague to download this from iTunes and please feel free to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Thanks for listening and reading---keep the feedback coming. Watch out for new training initiatives on using the Media !  

Parenting - the ups and downs. Interview with Jane Evans An interview with Jane Evans, a parenting expert who has a book out in February called How are you feeling today Baby Bear? Which examines the impact of domestic violence on 2-6 year olds and age appropriate strategies to discuss it. I then talk about and reflect on personal anecdotes of children at risk through poor parental assumptions.

Jonathan Singer on youth suicide; Thoughts on Sri Lanka I am delighted to have interviewed Jonathan Singer, a podcaster and  assistant professor of Social Work at Temple University, Philadelphia,  about his research on youth suicide in America. I hope to maintain close links with Jonathan as the weeks go by. I also reflect on the troubled country of Sri Lanka and my experiences there. This is provoked by the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit. The people are lovely however there is a significant issue with child sex tourism and ‘the disappeared’.

Faith based child abuse, Bullying  & Media Training I share thoughts on child abuse in relation to faith and belief. I also cover cyber bullying as next week is anti-bullying week.  Finally I reflect on a busy week giving media interviews to both radio and television. David Niven Associates is able to offer individuals and groups access to the media training they need to ensure they can represent themselves effectively in a positive way or deal with a crisis situation should they need to address the media at any time in the future. To subscribe to the Social World Podcast for my thoughts on the social world click here. See previous blog on the importance of media training in social work here.

The Social World Podcast After a good look at some of the inside pages in the media I discuss: A new book by a Swedish psychiatrist criticising liberal parenting and challenging a long held belief in Swedish society concerning the ways that children are disciplined (or not as the case may be). The comments by the just stepped down Attorney General saying he thinks it should be a criminal offence not to report child abuse. This is in the light of many occasions that have been reported where professionals such as teachers, doctors, priests etc have been aware of child abuse occurring but chosen not to report it. In the run up to the festive season we hear shocking reports of at least 80,000 homeless children in the UK. This is a report published by Shelter who point out the disgraceful conditions that some families have to live in and ministers who say that there’s already enough money being given to local authorities to sort this. To subscribe to the Social World Podcast for my thoughts on the social

The Social World Podcast In this weeks podcast I provide information and sites, ideas and thoughts about how to get help and information regarding missing children. Then an interview with Dr Neil Thompson talking of new e-learning initiatives which my company David Niven Associates has agreed to promote in association with Neil. Today’s podcast finally finishes with some short and sweet stories from the social world. To subscribe to the Social World Podcast for my thoughts on the social world click here - and leave reviews and comments.