In the concluding episode of this series, we invite you to join Colleen Simon and Tienga Ngale for a reflective
conversation examining our journey in hosting the latest season of How Does The Social Work Podcast from Brunel University Social Work Programme.
Together, we explore the motivations that inspired us to host the podcast and share our personal experiences throughout this endeavour. We will also highlight some of the valuable lessons we have learned along the way in our
capacities as hosts and Tienga conveys his reflections as a student social worker, emphasising why students should seize the opportunity to become future hosts.'
Goodbye (Endings)
Social workers specialise in establishing relationships with service users founded on empathy and respect. However, what occurs when it's necessary to conclude a case, transfer it to another worker, or when a student's placement ends?
Today, our focus is on closures and farewells during placements, as well as the potential experiences that student social workers may have as they need to say goodbye to service users, and the placement team.
Neurodivergent on Social Work Placement
Neurodiversity is a framework that seeks to understand the functioning of the human brain by acknowledging the inherent diversity in human cognition as a biological reality. It is a term that encompasses various neurological differences such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and autism spectrum condition. In this episode, we will explore the concept of neurodiversity and discuss the potential challenges and unique perspectives that a neurodivergent student social worker may encounter during their placement.
Guests:
Jenni Guthrie – Autistic/ADHD social worker, writer. researcher and speaker currently working as a Principle Curriculum Lead on a social work Master's programme. Jenni is also the host of www.autisticsocialworker.co.uk Dalbir Chana – Final Year student social worker @ Brunel University.
Power & Fear
The Code of Ethics of the British Association of Social Workers underscores the significance of adopting an anti-oppressive approach, which is deeply rooted in social justice and empowerment frameworks (British Association of Social Workers, 2021). In this episode, we delve into the impact of power dynamics during placements and examine how students perceive and navigate feelings of powerlessness and fear, both of which are recurring themes throughout the placement experience.
Guests:
Ruvarashe Mandiveyi (MSc SW student @ Brunel University),
Rohima Begum (Apprentice programme Student SW)
Student Social Worker – A Male Perspective & Experiences on Placement
It is undeniable that men hold significant sway over the children they are responsible for, making a substantial impact on their development and well-being. Today, we are here to delve into the topic of men's involvement in the field of social work, specifically focusing on the experiences of male student social workers during their placements. To kickstart our discussion, we have the privilege of hearing from Aleski, who will shed light on the inspiration behind his publication, aptly titled 'Preparing for First Social Work Placement'.
D. Aleski Brandy-Williams is an experienced social work practitioner, guest lecturer, Youth Advocate and author of two books titled ‘My journey to becoming a Black Male Social Worker’ and ‘Preparing for First Social Work Placement’.
There is more about Aleski Brandy-Williams https://brandy-williams.co.uk/home
In this episode, we focus on all things relating to the practicalities of being on a placement. Touching on home visits, the timing of visits, safety, and risk assessments, as well as writing comprehensive case notes, timekeeping, management of tasks and working with multi-agencies.
Our hosts, Colleen Simon and Tienga Ngale are joined by Sophia Onuh and Michelle Boreland.
Sophia Onuh is an experienced SW & Lecturer in Social Work @ Yeovil College University Centre, and
Michelle Boreland is an experienced SW, MASH DTM & Practice Educator.
Aleski Brandy-Williams’ book on “Preparing for First Social Work Placement” as an introductory guide for aspiring social workers in the children and young people service was featured. The book can be found here: https://brandy-williams.co.uk/shop/ols/products/preparing-for-first-social-work-placement
In this episode, Colleen and Tienga are joined by Jenni Guthrie, the person behind the Autistic Social Worker website, to discuss how we apply theories, models, approaches and laws taught in class on placement. What does competence in this domain look like? Can we identify role models to emulate? Join us to discuss these issues and more.
Jenni Guthrie - Autistic/ADHD social worker, writer, researcher and speaker currently working as a Principle Curriculum Lead on a social work Master's programme. Jenni is also the host of www.autisticsocialworker.co.uk
In this episode, we explore the topic of communications on placement. Effective communication is the heart of social work practice but it is far from simple. How do we do it? How may you experience it on placement? Where might the potential difficulties and what can we do to overcome them?
Join our hosts, Colleen Simon and Tienga Ngale, and their guests, Nana Yabbey-Hagan (Practice Educator & C&F SW Manager), and Rohima Begum (Apprentice programme Student SW), who will grapple with these questions.
In this episode, we look at race and explore the experience of race and racism in social work placement.
Thinking about Cultural Competence and the experience of working with those you share the same culture with: could familiarity help in relationship building or could it be an obstacle?
Our guests are:
Shantel Thomas is an experienced SW practitioner, Clinical Professional & Course Lead @ Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation, and founder of the Anti-Racist Movement (A.R.M.)
Thedini Liyanage is a 2nd year MSc social work student from Brunel University.
Chito Okeke is a 1st year MSc social work student at Brunel University.
An interesting read from an article in the Community Care Newsletter suggests that ‘one in 10 social workers encountered racism from workmates at least five times, while almost 20% reported having increased anxiety as a result of their experiences, finds a poll of almost 2,000 practitioners.’ https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2022/03/18/one-third-of-social-workers-faced-racism-from-colleagues-or-managers-in-past-year-finds-survey/
In this episode, we focus on the student social worker and what they may need to make the most of their social work placement. Thinking about factors such as first impressions, values, behaviours, professional boundaries, commitment, dress code, managing expectations in terms of equipment and learning, preparedness, understanding of PCFs, Social Work England Standards and much more.
Our hosts Tienga Ngale and Colleen Simon will be joined by two wonderful social workers:
Maria Fashakin who is a Liaison and Diversion Practitioner/Mental Health Social Worker/AMHP/DV Ambassador and Harpal Sokhi who is a Newly Qualified Social Worker.
In this episode, we focus on the role of Practice Educators in a placement. It will include a conversation about what practice educators do, their key roles and contributions to the experience of students on placement and power relations that are ever-present. Our hosts, Tienga Ngale and Colleen Simon will be joined by our guests for this episode:
Jodie Howard is a current ASYE SW in a local authority. Jodie had both of her placements in non-statutory settings and had the experience of only a PE on placement and both Practice Supervisor and PE.
Molly Meakin is an Advanced Practitioner and experienced practice educator, currently working with the Safeguarding Adults Team in the London Borough of Hillingdon Social Services
Section 2.6 of the Social Work England Practice Placement Guidance has more on the roles and responsibilities of practice educators and can be find here: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/standards/practice-placements-guidance/
In this season, Tienga Ngale, our MSc social work student, Colleen Simon, Head of Social Work at the North West London NHS Foundation Trust, and their guests will de explore different aspects of social work students' placements.
In their first episode they speak with
In this episode our students, Rathigga Pushparajah and Tienga Ngale interview Dr Sharlotte Tusasiirwe about her recent article titled Is it indigenisation or decolonisation of social work in Africa? A focus on Uganda. The article was recently published in the African Journal of Social Work and it can be found here:
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajsw/article/view/224731
Dr Sharlotte Tusasiirwe, born in Uganda, is an activist, social worker and educator. She gained her Master's degree in Social work and Human Rights and a PhD from Western Sydney University, Australia. Her PhD focused on decolonising social work education and practice. Sharlotte has researched how African knowledge and Obuntu/Ubuntu philosophies can inform social work, a topic discussed in the article.
Rathigga and Tienga were particularly drawn to the article as it highlighted concepts critical to anti–racist social work practice, such as decolonization and colonisation. The author explains how colonisation affected social work practice in Uganda.
In this episode, our students Jade Blake, Rathigga Pushparajah and Georgina Georgina Ataa-Nyarko are joined by Solomon Amadasun from the School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Australia. The four discuss Solomon's work.
Solomon is a widely published author and has extensively researched social work practice in Nigeria. He aims to shed light on the fact that though willing, upcoming social workers are ill-equipped to apply the anti-oppressive approach in Nigeria due to the social and political climate in the country. In his writing, he discusses where the difficulty comes from and provides suggestions/implications to the social educators in Nigeria to adopt the outlook of strengthening the depth of anti-oppressive discourse both in the classroom and on placement
Article:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JHASS-12-2019-0082/full/html
Further Work:
Dr Zibonele Zimba has a PhD in social work and has published several articles on anti-racism in South African social work. He will be able to offer unique insight into the social and political contexts of anti-racist social work practice in South Africa.
Article:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brunelu/detail.action?docID=6234870#
Brief bio and overview of publications:
https://www.uj.ac.za/members/zibonele-f-zimba/
Dr Kamei Samson studied social theory, social psychology and Indian religions. He is engaged in research at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies and the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
We chose Dr Kamei Samson to partake in the podcast because we found his article, "Anti–Racist Social Work Practice in India", to offer excellent insights into anti-racist social work practice in India. To overcome India’s oppressive social work practices, he recommends that social workers should seek institutionalised solutions instead of focusing on the victim's personality. Unsurprisingly, he commented on social workers emphasising the clinical social work approach instead of dealing with social problems such as racism. This view can be commonly perceived in social work practice globally.
Teaser for season 3
To learn more about Ginger Giraffe, please see here: t.ly/Ovaa
To learn about Brunel MSc social work programme, please visit us here: t.ly/19bf
Dan Vale from Ginger Giraffe and Brunel MSc social work students, Reem Mahdi and Nikita Kahuhu interview Sarah Rose, a PhD candidate at the University of Edinborough and the author of the recently published article, Surviving or thriving? Enhancing the emotional resilience of social workers in their organisational settings
Dan Vale and Dr. Maryam Zonouzi from Ginger Giraffe together with Brunel University students, Ana Muqry and Mehwish Jahan interview Claire Brown and Dr. Michaela Rogers, the authors of Removing gender barriers: Promoting inclusion for trans and non-binary carers in fostering and adoption
