Three images, including a women's suffrage campaign poster, a feminist poster with the text 'protest' and the pink cover of a zine called 'Shocking Pink"

The new book 'Reframing Women Printmakers' explores the importance of creative printmaking to women's activism, including suffrage campaigns, early Japanese feminists, women's printmaking collectives and zine making in the Riot Grrrl era....

Labour’s great nature sellout is the worst attack on England’s ecosystems I’ve seen in my lifetime | George Monbiot The horrifying planning bill, which rips up environmental protections, was drafted with CEOs in mind. We know because Keir Starmer told us, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

It's hard to get your head around the scale of the environmental vandalism the Labour government is hoping to unleash. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is up there with Trump's executive orders. And the reason is the same: corporate power.
This week's column.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If you think it is easy to get PIP then you’ve never applied for it or tried to apply for it or assist those who have. It is a, if not THE most soul destroying and humiliating of experiences.

Radical and critical social work Open access / Introductory reading

Please feel free to add any relevant #OpenAccess resources to the padlet below and share across your networks! 👇👇👇 #RadicalSocialWork #CriticalSocialWork
padlet.com/Cuskellk/rad...

Good decisions: supporting children aged 16 and 17 who need help when they are homeless A study of the local authority response to homeless children and young people.

Our new research reveals that homeless 16- and 17-year-olds need better access to independent advocates to help them understand their options, including becoming a looked after child: www.gov.uk/government/p...

BASW children and families group member, Denise McLean spoke to @channel4news.bsky.social this week providing a social work perspective in response to findings showing that thousands of babies are referred to social services every year in England due to domestic abuse.

A graphic to promote a new, free CELCIS Emerging Insights webinar entitled 'Children's Services Reform Research study: Improving transitions for care experienced young people', taking place on Microsoft Teams on 20 February, from 10:00am – 12:00pm. 

For the third webinar in our series exploring themes from the Children's Services Reform Research, we'll discuss what the study tells us about improving transitions from children's to adult services for care experienced young people. Sign up now: https://buff.ly/4gquKED

Interventions that support unpaid carers of adult mental health inpatients: a scoping review Unpaid carers of adult mental health inpatients often lack support for their well-being and feel excluded from decisions about patient care.This scoping review aimed to: synthesise the peer-reviewe...

Our review of interventions that support unpaid carers of adult mental health inpatients that was published online 3 years ago, has now been published in print in the Journal of Mental Health. It's still available open access online, so please do take a look! Thanks.
doi.org/10.1080/0963...

Book. Black background. In pink The Social Work, Cats and Rocket science guide to rights based practice

Rights based practice? What’s that?
We’ll tell you via our A-Z.
Out at Easter.

Barnardo’s receives record £18m donation to build dozens of care leaver homes - CYP Now Barnardo’s has received its largest ever donation, an £18m gift from a trust set up in the name of a 1920's philanthropist behind the Aston Martin car brand.

Barnardo’s receives record £18m donation to build dozens of homes for care leavers

www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

NEW: In collaboration with The Huntington's Disease Association we've published a guide to social work with adults who have Huntington's Disease.

The document contains essential practice guidance and useful resources for social workers.

Download here 🔗 basw.co.uk/policy-and-p...

A line in the sand: Moving from surface improvement to foundational shifts to develop effective responses to extra-familial risks and harms This article presents representative accounts from efforts in six social care departments in the UK to use innovation to improve their responses to young p

New year, new article....
one that will shape my work for years to come.

Using a 3 year ethnography
@michellelefevre.bsky.social @klanghoff.bsky.social Gillian Ruch & I draw a line in the sand & call for foundational reform in responses to extra-familial harm

academic.oup.com/bjsw/advance... 🧵

Social Work Zine Making Workshop Come and explore the history of social work zines and get creative by designing and making our own collective zine for social work week 2025

Get creative & explore the history of social work zines at our workshop on March 19th in Brum. Design & make our own collective zine for social work week. Don't miss out! #creative #ZineMaking #SocialWorkWeek2025 www.eventbrite.com/e/social-wor...

A graphic to promote a new, free CELCIS Emerging Insights webinar entitled 'Children's Services Reform Research study: Improving transitions for care experienced young people', taking place on Microsoft Teams on 20 February, from 10:00am – 12:00pm. 

For the third webinar in our series exploring themes from the Children's Services Reform Research, we'll discuss what the study tells us about improving transitions from children's to adult services for care experienced young people. Sign up now: https://buff.ly/4gquKED

Flowchart diagram from The King's Fund showing a cycle of attitudes and behaviours in social care for young people. The cycle starts with high attrition for younger people, leading to limited onboarding and induction, followed by an expectation that young people won’t stay long, contributing to existing attitudes towards younger people, which makes young people feel unsupported and continues the cycle.

There is a high turnover rate for young people in social care. We interviewed 16 young social care workers in our long-read published last year, to explore their experiences in social care and plans for the future. https://buff.ly/4hKSN2g

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

New 3.5yr PhD opportunity at UCL with @equalise.bsky.social supervised by myself, @yvonne-kelly.bsky.social, @baowenxue.bsky.social & @profkatsmith.bsky.social on inequalities in pathways to employment in young people. Closes 25th Feb
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

Children still being sent far from home for mental health care in England Figures show practice continues eight years after pledge to end it, potentially impeding young people’s recovery

Children and young people in England with serious mental health problems are still being sent for treatment many miles away from their homes because bed shortages in some areas remain so severe, despite a pledge to end such practices eight years ago.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

One in four children in England need social care services by 18, study reveals New research shows scale of crisis, sparking fears over impact of poverty and funding cuts on young people

My new research with Matt Jay shows 1 in 4 of all children require services because they do not achieve a basi level of wellbeing
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

YouTube video by MMU Department of Criminology and Sociology Challenging (In)Justice

m.youtube.com/watch?v=x0YV...
A powerful animation about the injustice and discrimination faced by black children in care and in the youth justice system

Book Launch - Safeguarding Children and Witchcraft Labelling in Social Work Join us for the launch of the updated Safeguarding Children and Witchcraft Labelling in Social Work, a vital resource for child protection!

A few tickets remaining for the launch of the 2nd edition of this book. Venue Old Street Gallery, London 10/02/2025. @tinyiry.bsky.social @basw-uk.bsky.social @nimaljude.bsky.social @socialworkengland.bsky.social Grateful to #AFRUCA for organising. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launc...

‘Epidemic’ of violence against women and girls in UK is getting worse – report National Audit Office says government attempts to tackle misogynistic violence are hampered by poor coordination

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Temporary housing linked to deaths of at least 74 children Official data show that 58 of those children were babies under the age of one.

BBC News - Temporary housing linked to deaths of at least 74 children - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Family courts: 'Watershed moment' as press allowed to report From Monday, journalists can speak to families about ongoing cases and report what they hear in court.

Journalists can now report from family courts in England and Wales in what the UK's most senior family judge has called a "watershed" change.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘I can’t sleep, I’m terrified’: the rise in mothers having their babies taken away within days of giving birth in England Charity finds ‘inhumane’ system is forcing women to defend themselves in court, sometimes from their hospital beds, while in fear of having their newborn child taken from them

This is an indictment of Social work
This is "against all best practice. They have acted without transparency, without care and ­without compassion"
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Locking up children under the Children Act 1989 – some thoughts on Clause 10 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Pupil barrister Carolyne Willow explores the implications of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on safeguarding and liberty deprivation for vulnerable children in care.

I wrote about government plans for the deprivation of liberty of looked after children (Clause 10 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill):
thebarristergroup.co.uk/blog/clause-...

Improving outcomes through pre-birth work and assessment Explore new Change Project resources to support pre-birth work and assessment.

Research in practice via Twitter- The Pre-birth Change Project brought together academics, practitioners & leaders in children's social care to discuss practices, procedures and protocols in relation to pre-birth work. Explore new tools & resources, developed with @ChildFamJustice. ow.ly/zmtj50UKTqV

The latest issue of Critical and Radical #SocialWork explores the paradox of care and control.
Read the special issue Social Work and Social Control here bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
#SocialControl #swresearch

YouTube video by Video Abstracts BJLD Researching Together

A video abstract introducing our most recent research & publication

@bjld.bsky.social @learningmet.bsky.social @manmetuni.bsky.social

youtu.be/eeT2jPb8VUg?...

Young people’s lived experience of relational practices in therapeutic residential care in Australia Young people living in therapeutic residential care face major challenges that can prevent them from forming healthy relationships and connections wit…

Shared on Twitter- www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What do young people want and need from their relationships in therapeutic residential care?

Black mould, wet clothes and sharing a bed – that’s the reality of the cold snap for my kids and me | Gemma Low-income families like mine have run out of corners to cut. When I spend more on fuel, other areas are drastically affected, says Gemma, a Changing Realities participant

'I cannot wait for warmer days. I’m at the bottom of a dark hole and there is no way of getting out.' - Gemma from @changingrealities.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...