New Social Workers

Chairperson:                     Kerry Cuskelly

Secretary:                           Beth McGettrick

University Liaison:         Lorraine Phillips

Committee Members:   Niamh O’ Rourke, Conor Boksberger 

Introduction:

Our Mission is to provide a forum of support for new social workers in Ireland to provide a high quality service to clients and to promote the connection between academia and practice through reflective practice. We define new social workers as student social workers in a graduate or undergraduate programme and professionally qualified social workers who have less than three years experience.”

Origins of the New Social Workers SIG:

The process of setting up the group began after the 2010 IASW conference. The group was officially recognised by the association in 2011. One reason for setting up of the group was that student social workers felt a strong disconnect between their experiences on placement and in the classroom. One Masters class voiced the opinion that their first placement challenged the values and ideas they were taught. The IASW conference on the 23rd of April 2010 “Reclaiming Social Work” brought up the issue of the need to strengthen the relationship between the academic setting of social work and the practice setting. This conference also brought up many current issues for social work, including a lack of professional cohesion, empowerment, and support. The core members felt that it was important that these macro issues, which are common to all social workers, as opposed to issues occurring in specialised areas in social work, should be addressed and acknowledged more. It is also important that new social workers have a platform from which to illustrate the positive contribution they can make to the profession of social work both in terms of educating the general public and other more experienced social workers.

 Why should people join?

To be a responsible social worker, engaged in activism at the macro level, to get support in their time as a new social worker, to be able to have a voice on issues that directly pertain to them, to help bring about awareness and change to improve the experiences of new social workers and of clients, to promote pride in social work, to gain valuable experience in being a professional, to connect theory and practice in their studies and work, to promote reflexive and reflective practice and the development of professional social work. 

Initial Objectives of the New Social Workers SIG:

1. To provide support for new social workers in their learning and transition from being a student social worker to a professionally qualified social worker.
2. To empower new social workers to help their voices be heard and help them share their valuable opinions and knowledge.
3. To bring about awareness and change for issues that affects new social workers.
4. To help strengthen the relationship between social work in academic settings and in practice settings.
5. Look at supervision for new social workers (both on placement and when working). Who gives supervision? What is examined in supervision sessions? How much supervision is received?
6. Provide an online forum for sharing and learning for new social workers.
7. Examine how universities could improve in preparing students for social work practice.
8. Look into options for support groups, lectures, and other ways of helping new social workers provide a quality service.

Current Situation:

The group has launched a website for NSW members. It can be found at www.newsocialworkers.com. A link can also be found on the NSW SIG page in the IASW website. It is intended to be a way for members to communicate with each other in relation to social work practice, discussions on linking theory to practice, examining social work values and ethics and how these transcend into actual practice, issues affecting students on placement and issues affecting social workers new to social work practice. The website is still in its initial stages and will change in accordance with the needs and suggestions of the NSW members. The group is currently actively recruiting members for general membership. 

Representation at council:

Representation at council is being rotated among Kerry Cuskelly, Beth McGettrick and Lorraine Phillips. 

Plans for 2011:

• The recruitment of members to the group.
• Making contact with social work students through social work departments in universities around Ireland in order to educate them about the IASW and the NSW SIG in order to mobilise social work students to becoming active members of the profession.
• Having peer support/peer supervision meetings where student social workers and newly qualified social workers can have a safe, informal forum in which to discuss issues pertinent to their practice.
• Organising a seminar on an issue pertinent to members e.g. supervision, the role of social justice in social work, critical consciousness of social workers. 
• Holding regular committee meetings.
• Developing the NSW website to meet the needs of its members.