The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) held its third annual Social Work Journalism Awards at its UK Conference in Manchester on June 10th.
These awards are supported by SWU as part of a wider joint campaign to improve public perceptions of social work. As part of this wider joint campaign to improve public perceptions of social work, SWU launched guidelines on media reporting of social workers in 2022. This guidance, produced in consultation with the UK press regulator IMPRESS, helps journalists report on social work in a more accurate, fair, and balanced way.
The BASW awards – in turn – celebrate journalism across the UK that demonstrated an excellent understanding of social work with creative, informed, and sensitive reporting. This year’s winners across the eight categories showcased powerful journalism that took an in-depth look at poverty, the state of social work, and lived experience stories.
Congratulations to Rosa Silverman at The Telegraph and Daniel Hewitt at ITV News on their Social Work Journalism Awards wins! SWU is proud to have worked with these two journalists on their entries which won the “Written journalism in national media” and “Broadcast journalism in national media” categories.
Rosa Silverman worked with SWU to take an in-depth journalistic look at the many daily challenges social workers face trying to protect children like Sara Sharif. Click here to read the full article “How Britain’s social services are failing – and Sara Sharif is the tip of the iceberg” which was published in The Telegraph on 12th December 2024. This article is part of a series that examines “the failing institutions, infrastructure, and other parts of the public sector that typify the idea of ‘Broken Britain’.”
Rosa said:
“What happened to Sara Sharif is heartbreaking and shocking. Stories like hers inevitably draw attention to the people who were meant to be helping her, and raise questions about what went wrong. Taking an in-depth journalistic look at the many challenges social workers face on a daily basis when trying to protect children like Sara can hopefully help the public reach a better understanding of the problems in the system.
“The interviews I did for this piece opened my eyes to how tough the job is, with social workers often forced to contend with inadequate resources and a huge burden of bureaucracy when they want to be able to spend more time in direct contact with families. Only by understanding and improving the conditions in which social workers operate can we hope to prevent more terrible cases like Sara’s.”
Daniel Hewitt worked with SWU to show how rising poverty and the housing crisis are piling pressure on services trying to protect the vulnerable. Click here to watch the full report ‘Burnout is real’: Rare access to the frontline of children’s social services which aired on ITV News on 4th December 2024.
This report included research from the largest ever survey of UK social workers, which SWU conducted for ITV News in 2024 among social workers working with children, young people, and families. This research highlighted that the UK is experiencing a poverty crisis for children and that poor housing conditions are having devastating impacts on families and children.
Daniel commented:
“All too often the only time national media reports on social workers is when something has gone horribly wrong. It is important to provide a balance, to shine a light on the enormous pressure the workforce faces at a time when demand for children’s social care is growing in size and complexity.
“All of the country’s crises arrive at the door of the social worker – whether it be housing, mental health, poverty – yet it is a profession often overlooked in discussions of the ‘frontline’. If we are to judge a society by how it treats the most vulnerable, we must ask ourselves how well equipped those caring for them really are.
“We are pleased that our investigation has given a small glimpse into the immense challenges the sector faces.”
Social workers, please take the new SWU and ITV News survey!
We’re conducting a new survey with ITV News and are asking all social workers in the UK to participate and share with colleagues.
This completely anonymous survey will gather evidence on the extent to which social workers are using their own money or helping people they support to access emergency funds or essentials like food, clothing, or heating. It should take you less than 5 minutes to complete.
Even if you haven’t been affected by the issue of paying for people’s essentials, please take this survey as your answers will help us understand the scope of this issue.
Your experiences will help build a national picture of the hidden costs of poverty and the pressures on frontline workers. The findings will be used to campaign for better support for families and for the professionals who go above and beyond to help them. At the end of the survey, there is also an option to volunteer to speak directly to ITV News. This can also be done confidentially.