Roles And Responsibilities Of Social Work

In this assignment I will examine the roles and functions of social workers in England and Wales with consideration of current changes in social policy as a result of the baby P tragedy. Firstly I will identify the key roles and skills of social workers and secondly relate it to social policy, then I will describe and explain the core principles and values of social work and lastly I will describe and analyse service user and carer expectations in relation to social work.
Social workers take on various roles, frequently acting as a broker or advocate, helping in the support that people require through creative use of all available means. Social workers aim to improve parenting and support the pies development of children and young people who

Trained social workers intercede into the private and family life in order to safeguard individuals from harm to themselves or others and encourage human development, security, inclusion and participation in society. Social work is a recognized professional discipline that works with other professionals to play a vital role in helping children, adults and families to take control of and to improve their lives. According to Communitycare (2010) all professionals are responsible for identifying circumstances where a registered social worker needs to become involved when vulnerable adults or children need protection from abuse, neglect and if the need arose removing them from their home. A child or adult could cause considerable harm to themselves or others and when parents or guardians are no longer fit to look after their children. Social work inspires resourceful ways of working to resolve the challenges of vulnerable people and aims to encourage empowerment and in assisting people in taking action to improve their lives (Thompson 2015). The profession works with individuals in various different

Social policy has changed quite substantially over the last few years due to the deaths of Victoria Climbie, Holly Wells, Jessica Chapman and most recently Peter Connelly (baby P), their deaths caused public outrage. Victoria Climbie’s death brought about changes in the Children’s Act 2004 and introduced Every Child Matters (2003). The Children Act 2004 provides the legal basis for how social services and other agencies deal with issues relating to children. The Act was designed with guiding principles in mind for the care and support of children. Those principles are there to allow children to be healthy, safeguarding children in their environments, aiding children to enjoy life, help make a positive input to the lives of children and helping to achieve financial stability for their future. Every Child Matters is a UK government initiative for England and Wales that was launched in 2003, partly due to the death of Victoria Climbie. It relates to the well-being of children from birth until the age of 19 and is based on the idea that every child, irrespective of their individual circumstances or background, should have plenty of support throughout their life. They have 5 key principles to the policy which the government believe children should have support with. These are: To be healthy, to stay safe, to enjoy and achieve, to make a positive contribution and to achieve economic