Social Work Links and Learning #172
22 June 2025
Introduction
Back for the week and lots going on. Not least because we had CQC in at work but I’ll leave those thoughts for other occasions! Also some prior warning that I’ll be away next week - not sure yet whether I’ll be able to publish a newsletter or not so if I miss a week, don’t worry. It was Learning Disability Awareness Week last week so a few links related to that. From this week, I’ll add a few words about the links I’m adding alongside them - just because sometimes it’s not obvious from the title alone. Let me know what you think and whether this helps (it does take me a bit more time so if it isn’t useful, I’ll stop!)
Quote of the Week
Blogs and Articles
The real-life story behind the film Lollipop - The Observer - Film rooted in care and complex trauma
Section 117 and Accommodation ‘Plus' - Centre for Adults' Social Care - Analysis, Information and Dispute Resolution - Section 117 and when housing becomes aftercare
New research explores staff perspectives on the challenge of managing self-harm in inpatient mental health settings - Storm Skills Training Researcher explores inpatient staff challenges with self-harm
The importance of complying (and showing you’ve complied with) the procedural protections of the Mental Health Act 1983 – Mental Capacity Law and Policy MHA 1983: why procedural duties protect rights
Universal Despair - Ermate A powerful reflection on systems, shame and survival
Welcoming the Casey Commission - Social Work with Adults - Gov.UK Launch of Casey Commission on adult social care reform from the Chief Social Worker (Adults)
Scandal-hit nursing regulator wrongly approved hundreds of nurses to work in UK, damning report reveals - The Independent Serious concerns over patient safety and regulation at NMC
Chris Hatton: repeated assessments serve only to ration and humiliate – Community Living People with learning disabilities face systemic harm in benefit system
Raising the Volume: Why we need to listen to young people in understanding and preventing sexual violence - IntSAC Young people co-produce research on everyday sexual violence
UK council placed 10-year-old in illegal children’s home costing £29k a week - TBIJ Court hears of poor care and restraint in illegal placement
Casey: DfE must urgently investigate fall in number of child sexual abuse cases recorded by councils - Community Care Casey audit warns of safeguarding failures in child sexual exploitation response
Top picks: Breaking down the barriers faced by people with learning disabilities - Learning disabilities - Patient Safety Learning - Links to 14 different studies about people with learning disabilities for Learning Disability Week
“Prisons Are Full of People Like Me”: Brain Injury, Criminalisation and the Role of the Probation Service — Probation Institute New research links traumatic brain injury to cycles of homelessness and prison - link is to download the article (free)
A Place of Safety: identifying good practice in mental health emergencies - NSUN New project explores good practice in mental health emergencies
Case study: learning disability and improving your mental wellbeing - Learning Disability Today. Learning disability, mental health, and the power of meaningful activity
Grenfell fire findings 'a turning point' for justice, dad says - BBC News. Grenfell campaigners renew calls for justice and accountability
‘He stopped me from talking to male colleagues’: new research shows how domestic violence so often starts with isolation and control - The Conversation New research tracks how domestic violence begins with coercive control
10 Years of giving children in care the gift of dignity - Madlug celebrates a decade of difference - Birmingham World Ending bin bags between care placements
Schools forced to provide medical care for vulnerable pupils - Schools Week Schools absorb health duties amid NHS cuts
Policy, Reports and Resources
Child safeguarding impact report - GOV.UK New evaluation reveals gaps and strengths in learning
Report of the independent ADHD Taskforce - NHS England - National ADHD Taskforce report calls for urgent system reform
Right to maintain contact in care settings - House of Commons Library A Parliament briefing on care home visiting rights
The Hidden Power of Sleep in Reducing Falls Risk in Care Homes - Care England Why sleep quality matters in care home safety
Sickle Cell Comparative Research to Inform Policy – Race and Health Observatory Sickle cell care gaps exposed
Oliver McGowan code of practice - GOV.UK Sets out standards for training on learning disability and autism for Care Quality Commission (CQC)-registered health and social care providers and their staff.
APPG Publishes Report on the Disproportionate Impact of Poverty and Inequality on Disabled People - APPG on Poverty and Inequality APPG calls out systemic inequality for disabled people
Audio and Video
Heston: My Life with Bipolar - BBC iPlayer Exploring bipolar, masculinity and getting older
Groundbreaking project gives a voice to people with learning disabilities – Channel 4 News When people with learning disabilities tell their own stories
Desert Island Discs - Lord Alf Dubs, politician and campaigner - BBC Sounds Lord Dubs reflects on a life of political courage and refugee advocacy
Research
Safeguarding adults: A concept analysis - Journal of Advanced Nursing This article aimed to examine the concept of safeguarding adults and establish an operational definition for application to practice, research and policy
Empathy, emotional intelligence and cohabitant caregiver stress: caring for persons with severe mental health disorders - International Journal of Care and Caring Study links cognitive empathy to less stress
Events and Training
Children's journeys to secure immigration status and British citizenship - Social Workers Without Borders and Kids in Need of Defense UK - 30 June - Free online training for social workers (may not be many tickets left but there is a waiting list)
SCIE Co-production Week Conference: 'Innovation through Co-production' - 1 July Free online event exploring co-production in social care
Get into Social Work - University of Suffolk/Suffolk County Council - 1 July Free online event for aspiring social workers
Reflective Questions
How can co-production be more than a buzzword — especially with people whose voices are rarely heard?
What do we learn from public tragedies like Grenfell about accountability — and how does it shape how we practice safeguarding today?
How do we bring our learning about life outside work, into work - or why don’t we?
Pot Luck
A read
Fire in the Belly - Emergence Magazine Living With Purpose in a Time of Unravelling
A listen
LeVar Burton Reads - Short Story Podcast
A watch
7 Nobel Speeches by 7 Great Writers: Hemingway, Faulkner, and More - Open Culture