We are delighted to announce the winners of the SWU Assignment: World Social Work Day 2024 Essay Competition

BUEN VIVIR: shared future for transformative change | World Social Work Day, 19th March 2024, #WSWD2024 | IFSW, Social Workers Union (SWU)

Four social work students / apprentices have each won a prize of £500 for their excellent essays.

Congratulations to Adeola Ojora of the University of York, Isabel Lockwood of Manchester Metropolitan University, Naomi Winnifrith of Oxford Brookes University, and Sana Sultana Doctor of Staffordshire University who wrote the winning essays!

The SWU Assignment: World Social Work Day 2024 question was: 

“Why does reflective supervision matter in social work? How does it support social worker wellbeing and practice?”

Each winning entrant will receive £500. Thank you to all the social work students and apprentices who participated in the competition this year and shared their thoughts on this current and crucial topic.

John McGowan, General Secretary of SWU, said, “I am delighted in the interest shown in this assignment. This topic of ‘Reflective Supervision’ and the importance of this for social workers appears to have been very popular this year and resonated with student social workers and apprentices who submitted quality entries.”

McGowan added, “SWU is proud to have worked on the recent Reflective Supervision Best Practice Guide and as a union to promote the importance of supervision. It is good to see that future social workers have a deep understanding of this, and this is important for new social workers.”

Click here to download the four winning essays as a PDF.

You can also click here to meet the markers for the 2024 SWU Assignment and read the winning essays from previous years at the bottom of the SWU Assignment webpage.

Thank you to our panel of markers

Lynne Gargiulo, Trade Union Official / Advice and Representation (A&R) Officer for SWU and BASW, remarked, “It was an absolute privilege to mark the SWU Assignment essays.  All entries were a pleasure to read with well-presented and broad ranging theoretical concepts, models, ideas and analysis of such a vitally important area. The winning entries stood out as thought provoking, current, value based, and demonstrated a high quality of research and analysis. It was so good to see from reading these essays that our next generation of social workers fully understand their rights to reflective supervision and the critical importance of this for wellbeing and practice, which is never more important than in the current challenging social work climate.”

Rebecca Austin, social worker and member of the SWU Executive Committee said, “It has been a pleasure to read the SWU Assignments from this year’s competition. I was keen to take part having been so enthused from reading previous years winners and this year did not fail to impress!

“I was particularly struck, not only by the strength of argument to the importance of reflective supervision but also by the desire to understand ‘on the ground’ challenges practitioners might face when trying to achieve this in practice. There was some rich discussion around the climate Social Workers operate within, which as Social Work practitioner really spoke to me, and my experiences. Importantly, having this depth of understanding around the context in which we operate, hopefully supports future social workers being able to navigate some of these challenges. This includes being equipped with the knowledge of practicing in such climates and also clearly being able to articulate the importance of reflection supervision – not as an add on, but as an essential component to workforce wellbeing as well as the continued effort to broaden our understanding of the issues our clients face as kind and compassionate practitioners.”

Professor Jermaine Ravalier, Head of the School of Health and Social Care Professions at Buckinghamshire New University, commented, “Thank you to all the social work students and apprentices who participated in this year’s SWU Assignment competition. It is clear to me from reading your essays that the next generation of social workers is keenly aware of challenges they will be facing within the profession and embraces the reflective model of supervision as a support mechanism. Social workers are making a difference every day and I hope the Reflective Supervision Best Practice Guide we recently launched in Edinburgh will improve working conditions, wellbeing, and practice for the social work community.”

Winning quotes from the four winners


Adeola Ojora of the University of York said:

“I am deeply honoured to have been chosen as one of the winners in this year’s essay competition, and I am especially thrilled that the panel found my perspective compelling. During the process of writing this essay, I have gained useful insights on the importance of reflective supervision in social work practices. The lessons learnt will be invaluable throughout my career as a social worker, thanks to the amazing learning opportunity provided by the Social Workers Union!”

Isabel Lockwood of Manchester Metropolitan University said:

“I am really happy my work was selected for this prize and appreciate the opportunity to reflect on and write about Supervision as such an important aspect of social work. I am really looking forward to taking my reflections forward and learning more on my first placement in October.”

Naomi Winnifrith of Oxford Brookes University said:

“Thank you so much to the SWU for organising this competition which shines a light on this important topic – I was delighted to be chosen as one of the winners. Researching this essay helped me to articulate and evidence my belief in the central importance of relationships in social work. Reflective supervision should be a space to acknowledge, contain and clarify the strong emotions that these relationships invoke thereby helping us to maintain wellbeing and become more thoughtful and safe practitioners for our clients.”

Sana Sultana Doctor of Staffordshire University said:

“Earning this recognition from the Social Workers Union makes me happy and honoured. Reflective supervision, a key element of social work, improves practitioners’ professional practice and supports their well-being. I will consider this opportunity as one of my major milestones in my academic’s journey as a social work student. It reaffirms my admiration for this field and my firm commitment to bettering the lives of others through reflective supervision.

I am grateful for my academic tutor Jake and my professors in the university for their guidance and support in this course. I have learned a lot with their guidance and backing. I dedicate this honour to my late parents, sister and mentors. This is a motivation for me to keep looking forward to explore more knowledge in this field and continue advocating for reflective supervision and its integration into social work practice to improve the well-being and efficiency of social workers.”