Piloting a Social Work Practice

In the Spirit has been awarded the contract to pilot the London Borough of Hillingdon's Social WorkPractice. The government is piloting ways of improving services for Looked After Children. The aim is to test whether a model of smaller, social work led organisations can improve outcomes for children in care and particularly to give them more consistency in relation to their social worker.

In the Spirit's Social Work Practice

As a group of independent social workers we are keen to emphasise the need to work with children, young people and their carers in an open, honest and holistic way; we believe that the Social Work Practice pilot we provide is a way for us to demonstrate our direct work with looked after children, their carers and the professionals involved in their care plan.

As a practice we have been contracted by Hillingdon to discharge the statutory duties and responsibilities it has in relation to children in care. We remain totally accountable but we are independent of the council and are not constrained by its structures

• Child- centred - this is our foremost principle in care planning and service delivery
• Undertaking social work functions for the children/young people that the practice will support
• Implementing and reviewing a child/young person’s Care Plan to ensure their needs are met in consultation with the IRO
• Choosing and supporting foster carers or residential placements, or placing a child/young person with family or friends
• Notifying the LA of any safeguarding concerns Involving a child or vulnerable adults
• Keeping case records in good order
• Taking a multi-disciplinary partnership approach
• Focusing on outcomes for children

Benefits for young people

• NO MORE CHANGES - You will have one social worker throughout the life of the pilot;
• MORE DIRECT WORK – your social worker will get to know you and build up a honest, relaiable and trustworthy relationship
• DECISIONS WILL BE INSTANT - as a small company, decisions will be made more rapidly and closer to the child or young person.
• AVAILABLE – you will have their mobile and will be able to speak to someone from the company outside of normal office hours 

Benefits for staff working in the SWP

• NO MORE BURNOUT - Flexibility in working hours, small caseloads which are allocated in allocation meetings.
• HAVE YOUR SAY – emphasis on direct, therapeutic work
• IMPROVED MORALE – gym membership, flexible working, health insurance, stakeholders pension, monthly training days, regular supervision
• FLAT STURUCTURE – being part of a small team, there are opportunities to innovate and create new ways of working, peer support,, ablity to work on own inititative in the best interest of the child or young person.