The Delicacy of the Social Work Profession

Early childhood is a large stage on a child’s life that starts from birth and continues till the 8 years. During these years there are three different phases regarding their development. These phases are from 0 till 3 years, from 3 till 5 years and from 5 till 8 years. To support and guid these phases of the children and their families there are many professionals and adults who work together (Johnston, Jane, Nahmad-Williams, Lindy, 2009). All these professionals have an important role to play in the lives of children. There are numerous professions when it comes to early years childhood, such as educational professionals for early years and after, workers at nursing houses for children, child’s psychologists and social workers (Smith, Jemma, 2019). All the above roles have a significant value in the early years of a child’s life. In this essay we’re going to examine the profession of social workers and the importance of being one.

Social workers support individuals, families and young children through difficult times and ensure that these people are safe from harm, either mental or physical. They maintain professional relationships and act as guides and advocates. They have to take difficult decisions and use their judgement to make the right choice even if it’s not the desirable outcome that may was requested from the people in need (Prospects.ac.uk, 2019). Working as social worker can be challenging sometimes as this profession attracts a lot of attention from the social media. For that reason the government puts a lot of effort to develop a strong workforce who will fulfil all the qualifications (Prospects.ac.uk, 2019). Social workers can work in statutory or in non-statutory roles. In a statutory role, the social worker has to adhere the existing laws to protect the ones in need. On the contrary, the non-statutory roles don’t demand enforcing the laws. Instead they support and advice people, such as alcohol and drug addicts (Prospects.ac.uk, 2019).

Working with young children and their families is a very delicate profession. A social worker should be capable of accomplishing any hard situation. As a result a social worker need to asses the needs of the child and develop a relationship with it and it’s family. In addition, he or she should has a plan and regularly work on it. Also a social worker should identify the needs of the child and make sure that these needs are met. And last he or she should visit the families and the children in their houses regularly (Service, 2019).

To work in social care means that the social worker meets all the criteria. These criteria are the skills that a social worker need to have such as, emotional resilience and an understanding of the social work theory and the research around it. An other aspect is to be well informed about the risks indicators that can be harmful for the children (GOV.UK, 2019). A social worker should make logic decisions and show the ability to record accurate assessments of the family and the child. And last, he or she should be well aware of the Professional Capabilities Framework(PCF) (GOV.UK, 2019). The PCF is the profession-owned backbone of social work education and professional development in England. First devised by 2012 and then refreshed during 2017 and 2018 (BASW, 2019).

It’s important now to make a reference about ethics regarding social work in general. The professional association for social workers in the United Kingdom is the British Association of social workers. The profession of social work is based on some principles which are stated by the Code of Ethics (BASW, 2019). The association has the duty to ensure that all the social workers adhere their ethics obligation and safeguard the rights of the people who use social service (BASW, 2019). Working ethically is the first aspect a social worker should have. This profession is based on human and democratic factors, that means a social worker should have dignity and respect of the equality of all people (BASW, 2019).

Ethics can be divided in three main aspects. These are the human rights, the social justice and professional integrity (BASW, 2019). Social workers should respect the rights of all people, support their decisions and promote their dignity. Also, social workers should support the strengths of every person and recognise the empowerment each individual has (BASW, 2019). When it comes to social justice, social workers have the obligation to protect people from discrimination, such as race, age, ability, socio-economic status, political opinions, gender, culture, religion and sexual orientation (BASW, 2019). They should be able to protect all the people who work with from diversity. An other principle is the integrity that every social worker should own. They should be trustworthy, work in an honest way, be reliable and explaining their role in all the clients. Furthermore, they should never abuse their position for any personal benefit. Last, social workers should use balanced and reasonable judgment, without any personal or others values influence (BASW, 2019).

The use of reflection in all the professions and how the professionals can learn about it and develop further their practice is nowadays really important. Reflective practice is a core concept in social work and is perhaps the most well-known theoretical approach in all applied education, health and social care fields. Its origins lie especially in Schon’s (1983) formulation of how professionals engage in ‘reflection in action’ by thinking about their experience and what they are doing while they are doing it and afterwards using ‘reflection on action’ to think about and link their practice to knowledge (Redmond, 2006) (Taylor & Francis, 2019). Schon’s (1983) classic formulation for reflection had the intention to challenge the perspective of the professional practice is a technical activity which does not include any rules. He claimed that professionals use reflection to deal with any uncertainty in their work and learn through their experience (Taylor & Francis, 2019). Reflecting on the ideas of practice is necessary part of social research (Trevethick, 2002). Social work’s theory foundation is important for all the work we do in practice. Social workers need to critically reflect on the theory that they bring into practice (Taylor & Francis, 2019). Unequal power dynamics, concerns around oppression and issues with stigma are all societal problems that social workers need to engage with no just on a micro-level, but also on a macro level.