WEBVTT

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The influence of the Care Act.

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We had but 30 odd years of community

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care and facts, the unfair access to care,

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fair access to care, criteria

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and that focussed
so much on needs and deficits.

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It was a very different way of working.

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And I remember with, talking with my
social work colleagues, it didn't really

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it was the way that we operated, but
it didn't really align with our values.

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And how we perhaps it was more
there was more gatekeeping

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going on around access to resources,
support.

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That type of thing.

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So we really we were really quite,

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hopeful and excited about the care bill,
which became the Care Act.

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And there was a whole shift of terminology
as well,

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which accompanied that,
which was really, really promising.

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So, I remember
I was principal social worker

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and head of adult safeguarding,
I mean, local authority at the time.

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Actually, I was principal social worker,
then took on adult safeguarding

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at the time.

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And so having adult safeguarding,

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having

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that shift to the same legal
footing as children's safeguarding

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and also cementing
the role of the Das as well

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in statutory services,
they were really significant developments.

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But crucially, I think establishing
the role of the principal social worker.

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That was just, you know,

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that was really transformative for me
personally as part of my career.

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And for others, that was great
because suddenly we had a dedicated role

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that was focusing on the quality
of the practice of social work.

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And remember, we'd gone through,
the College of Social Work,

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being developed and established,
and everybody was excited about that.

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And then suddenly the disappearance
of the College of Social Work,

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and we were wondering
who now is going to champion

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and the role of social workers
in the sector.

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And we had the introduction of the chief
social worker.

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And so from a social work perspective,
the implementation of strengths

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based on asset based approaches,
that has been really transformative.

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You know, focusing on individual strengths
and resources,

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moving away from that deficit,
that transactional way of working.

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That was a big culture shift in practice.