Social Worker

Introduction

Social workers help, support and protect people who are vulnerable or at risk, or have social and emotional problems. As far as possible, they help people to help themselves and not be reliant on professional support or intervention. There are many different types of social worker, and their typical work activities depend on their employer and the area in which they work.

Back to Top

Work Activities

Most local authorities have specialist teams made up of field social workers. They are office based but visit clients in the community to offer advice, practical assistance and emotional support. For example, a field social worker may be part of a team specialising in:
• child protection
• children and young people who have been excluded from school
• elderly people
• people with mental health problems
• people with physical or learning difficulties
• carers in the community
• people with HIV or AIDS
• offenders who are on probation.

Building a trusting relationship with the client is a very important part of social work. Over a period of time, the social worker will become very familiar with the client's problems, assessing the client's needs and then providing or arranging support or services for the client.

For example, social workers may help clients to claim benefits, plan budgets, obtain legal advice or deal with housing authorities. Depending on the client's needs, the social worker may arrange services such as counselling, therapy or home care assistance. This may involve social workers in liaison with other local authority departments, or statutory and voluntary organisations that work in partnership with local authorities.

Residential social workers help and support people who, for various reasons, cannot live on their own or with their families. People who may need residential care include children of all ages, elderly people, and adults with physical disabilities, learning difficulties or mental health problems. Offenders may have to live in a hostel as a condition of their probation order, or they may need the supportive environment of a hostel to help them readjust to living in the community.

Residential social workers arrange any support services the residents need. They may plan and manage group activities, helping residents relate to one another and to maintain or develop their social skills.

Some social workers work with people with mental health problems. They give advice and practical support, and may arrange for clients to be supported by services such as day care centres, home care assistants, self-help schemes and supported accommodation.

With further training, a social worker can become a mental health officer.

A mental health officer can section (compulsorily send) a client to hospital; this is a last resort, taken if the social worker considers the client to be a risk to themselves or to others.

Some social workers are hospital based, supporting people who are ill or who have to look after sick relatives or friends. Medical social workers can also be found in some health care centres, general practices and outpatient or special clinics. They work closely with other professionals, including consultants, nurses and psychologists to assess the patient and to decide what type and level of support the patient will need after their discharge from hospital. Medical social workers are then responsible for arranging all the help and support the patient needs to be discharged safely and to improve their quality of life after they leave hospital.

Other social workers identify and deal with problems that prevent children from attending school or making the most of their education. They investigate problems like bullying, truancy and underachievement.

Back to Top

Personal Qualities and Skills

As a social worker, you must be committed to working with people and helping them to solve their problems. You must have a sympathetic and caring nature, as well as the ability to empathise with clients and to win the trust of people from all kinds of backgrounds.

Good communication skills are very important. You should be able to listen carefully, and ask the right questions to find out more about the client's needs. Report writing is an essential skill; you are also quite likely to need some basic IT skills to produce your reports.

Social workers must be observant, able to read situations and identify problems. You should be non-judgemental and avoid imposing solutions, you must also be able to make difficult decisions and enforce the law. You must be firm, and able to act quickly and calmly, for example, if you think a child is at risk from abuse or neglect.

You will also need strong negotiating skills, not just when you work with clients but also to arrange support services from other local authority departments or private agencies.

This career can be emotionally and intellectually demanding. Some clients may be hostile and verbally or even, on occasion, physically aggressive. You must be resilient enough to rise above the problems you encounter. You must also be able to defuse potential confrontations, using a calm, firm professional manner.

You must be able to manage and prioritise your own workload. You should have good team skills, to work closely with other professionals.

Many social workers are part of a team, depending on their employer and the area of social work they are employed in. For example, you may work with doctors, nurses, psychologists, residential care assistants and the police.

Travel throughout the local area is usual, therefore a full driving licence can be a requirement of the job.

Back to Top

Pay and Opportunities

Pay rates for social workers vary.

The pay rates given below are approximate.

Social workers in Scotland earn in the range of £28,000 - £35,000 a year. Practice team leaders earn between £35,000 - £43,000 a year.

Most social workers work a 37-hour week, Monday to Friday. However, early starts, late finishes and work on a rota basis with other team members to cover nights and weekends, may be required.

Local authorities employ most social workers in their social work departments.

Field social workers are often part of specialist teams, for example, specialising in child protection, elderly people, mental health problems or carers in the community.

Local authorities employ most medical social workers in hospitals, although they can also be found in health care centres, general practices and outpatient or special clinics.

Some voluntary and charitable organisations also employ social workers (in paid positions), supporting and enabling the most disadvantaged groups in the community. Large organisations like Children 1st (formerly the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, RSSPCC) and Barnardo's employ qualified social workers.

Back to Top

Adult Opportunities

It is now illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

In order to qualify as a social worker, it is necessary to have completed an Honours degree in social work or to have taken a degree in another suitable subject followed by a two-year postgraduate course.

For most social work courses, entrants are required to have 6-12 months' relevant experience. This may be paid or voluntary.

The Open University offers a BA (Honours) Social Work (Scotland) degree by open and work-based learning. The programme is only available to staff who are working in social care agencies in Scotland and are sponsored by their employer.

If you have a non-graduate qualification in social work, you can study part time for an Honours degree while working in a social care job. You should get time off for practice placements. This route is much less common as your employer has to sponsor you, providing you with suitable placements and funding.

Some local authorities offer training schemes leading to a social work qualification. Contact the social services departments in the local authority areas you are interested in for information.

• 14% of social workers work part-time.
• 20% have flexible hours.
• 4% of employees work on a temporary basis.

Back to Top