Temporada 1
So . . . What Is This Podcast About?
So… what actually IS social work? You probably have an idea. Maybe you picture a social worker taking children into care. Maybe you think of care packages, safeguarding, hospital discharge or care homes. Maybe you just think… I honestly have no idea. And that's exactly where we're starting. Because social work is much bigger and much more complicated than most people realise. In this first episode of Let Me Explain: Social Work, we get right back to basics and ask what social work is actually for. Who decides what “better” looks like? What happens when someone's choices clash with what professionals think is safe? How much of someone's situation is really about the individual — and how much is shaped by poverty, housing, discrimination, policy, culture and the systems around them? And perhaps the uncomfortable question: What happens when the people trying to help also hold power? We'll look at where social workers work, what social work actually involves, Neil Thompson's PCS Model, professional power, human rights, inequality, judgement and the messy space between legislation and real life. Because social work isn't just about knowing what to do. It's about asking why. And sometimes the most important thing a social worker can do is stop, look at the situation differently, and ask: “What if we're looking at this the wrong way?” This is where Let Me Explain begins. SWU & BASW SWU is the only UK trade union for all social workers, and is run by people qualified in social work. BASW is not a trade union. SWU provides trade union membership, including advice and representation in relevant employment matters. SWU can be the union you want it to be — whether that is representation when or if you need it, campaigning on the issues that matter to you, or training and support to develop your confidence as a Union Contact in the workplace. SWU has an arms-length relationship with BASW. To become a member of SWU, you need to be a BASW member and can opt into SWU for an additional membership fee. Find out more about SWU: SWU Social Workers Union - SWU Social Workers Union
This is the podcast trailer, and before we begin, I should probably warn you... It will be chaotic. Social work can be complicated. There is the jargon, the legislation, the theories, the policies, the assessments, the systems, the ethical dilemmas and the questions that don't always have straightforward answers. This podcast is here to try and make sense of it all. Let Me Explain: Social Work explores the complicated parts of social work in a way that is accessible to everyone. Not just social workers. Not just students. Everyone. Because you shouldn't need a social work degree to understand the things that might affect your life. Across the podcast, we'll explore social work, care, safeguarding, capacity, human rights, power, poverty, social justice, death, grief, risk, decision-making and much more. There will be longer episodes where we take time with the bigger questions, alongside shorter Jargon Buster episodes designed to answer one simple question: What does that actually mean? I don't have all the answers, and I won't pretend to. Sometimes the answers will be complicated. Sometimes we'll end up with more questions than we started with. But we'll try to make sense of it. Together. New episodes every week. Launching beginning of October. Welcome to Let Me Explain: Social Work. Social work. Explained. Hopefully.