Change is a constant in health and social care. Depending on how it is implemented, it can lead to a range of emotional and practical impacts on professionals and the people they support.
Both Children’s and Adult Services are facing significant reforms. This includes the implementation of the Families First Partnership programme alongside the independent national inquiry into adult social care, led by Baroness Louise Casey. Research in Practice continues to provide professional development that connects with the national picture, with resources to support Partners with Children's Social Care reforms and navigate changes within adult social care law and policy.
The ability for social care organisations to adapt and respond to the shifting social context is critical. This includes supporting professionals to engage with reflective supervision, build resilient teams, and promote compassionate leadership.
Explore Research in Practice resources to support leaders, managers and practitioners through periods of change.
Supporting Partners with Children's Social Care reforms
Explore learning resources to support practice across early help, targeted support and statutory services with the reforms.
Navigating change: New approaches to adult social care law and policy
Join upcoming webinars to support practitioners to engage with emerging developments and guidance around case law, policy and legislation,
Reflective supervision: Learning Hub
Engaging in reflective practice can improve the work we do and develop confidence and resilience.
The Reflective supervision: Learning Hub aims to build a positive culture of supervision throughout an organisation. It contains practical ideas and tips, learning from research and ideas about how to put learning into practice in supervision, including resources for practice supervisors to build emotional resilience with supervisees.
Building organisational resilience
What is organisational resilience and why is it important for wellbeing?
Explore a suite of resources that aim to build organisational resilience, retention and assurance. It includes a podcast that explores organisational resilience and video learning resources on taking a strategic lens to explore what a resilient system looks and feels like for the workforce and for people accessing support.
The Social Work Organisational Resilience Diagnostic
The Social Work Organisational Resilience Diagnostic (SWORD) offers evidence-informed approaches to support building organisational strengths and provides a range of tasks and strategies to help foster the conditions to better support the wellbeing of social care professionals supporting children & families, young people and adults.
View resources that include managing change constructively as a leader and using the Secure Base model.
Leading with compassion: Supervisors' Briefing
Compassion is an important quality for professionals working in health and social care. Creating a culture of compassionate leadership requires commitment across organisations.
Read a briefing for supervisors that explores what is needed to support the development of compassionate leadership skills. The briefing also provides practical tools to support the development of compassionate leadership skills across organisations.
Supporting learning and development practitioners
Learning and development plays a central role in building and sustaining resilient systems.
At this year’s Link Officers’ Annual Meeting on 24 September, we will explore how Link Officers can foster organisational cultures where continuous learning, reflection, and collaboration are embedded during times of change.
Link Officers’ Annual Meeting 2026: Thriving as a learning organisation in a time of change
How can learning and development practitioners maintain strong learning cultures during times of organisational change?
This year’s Link Officers’ Annual Meeting will explore how Link Officers can foster organisational cultures where continuous learning, reflection, and collaboration are embedded into everyday work.
Taking place on 24 September at The Studio in Birmingham and online on Zoom, this will be a hybrid event with the option to attend in-person or virtually.
Reflective supervision: Learning Hub
An open access resource hub to support practice supervisors and middle leaders who are responsible for the practice of others and supports organisations to develop a positive culture of supervision. Resources are relevant to both children's and adults services.
Building organisational resilience, retention and assurance
Research in Practice resources explore and support people working in children’s and adults’ services to consider what it means to build organisational resilience.
Leading with compassion: Supervisors' Briefing (2019)
This briefing explores what is needed to support the development of compassionate leadership skills in both supervisors and those they directly supervise and work with.
Link Officers’ Annual Meeting 2026: Thriving as a learning organisation in a time of change
Join us for this year's Link Officer Annual Meeting that will explore how Link Officers can foster organisational cultures where continuous learning, reflection, and collaboration are embedded in to every day work.