Mrs CD started a job as a social worker this year and has already had enough mainly due to the pressures put on her and her colleagues by poor management. She had previously worked 14 years as a residential manager at a children’s school so had some insight to what she would be getting into from the client contact side but is totally disillusioned by working for local government.
It’s really getting to her and has taken a few days off sick on the doctors advice. She has asked management support but there attitude is very much ‘this is the way it is’, so she is now looking to leave even if that means working in Aldi ( the pay wont be much less!).
Has anyone else on here got a social work degree and is using the skills for a different job?

Do a CBT course, become a high intensity IAPT therapist (NHS band 6-7), working with mental health community patients, using CBT (funnily enough). Although I only know about the adult side, CAMHS will have similar roles.

I know a few social workers and I wouldn’t do it for any money, which is a shame as the role itself really appeals to me, but the management, blame culture and cuts make it near enough impossible to be effective IMO

Thanks. She has a physiology degree too.
Your second paragraph pretty much sums it up for Mrs CD.

Just know she’s not alone, a friend who been a social worker for all his working life gave it up a few years back, just couldn’t take the stress created by the lack of support and work load pressure. I look on and find it terrible that ppl like him, who were committed to trying to help ppl are being forced into leaving a career they worked hard to enter (you don’t become a social worker for the money). Unfortunately his situation won’t help your wife, as his partner supports him a struggling artist now (though he works part time too).

Is she in Derbyshire?

Physiology degree? How about a Biology MSc or a PGCE?

is another local authority nearby which be better/different?

“The danger is if social workers feel overwhelmed with workloads or have no career direction, councils end up in a vicious cycle or having to recruit every two or three years because workers don’t want to stay.

“Retention of staff is as important as recruitment.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25034030

sorry that was meant to be psychology
PGCE – out of the frying pan into the fire isn’t it?

ebygomm – I read that article yesterday and it’s very true.

Having seen the system in Derbyshire they don’t seem to be that bad – superb bunch as we adopted through them last year.

Psychology degree + her experience = HR.

While I’m often cynical about the power HR functions enjoy in organisations, the really good HR people are pretty exceptional in my view.

The wife worked in local authority in front line child protection before now moving to working for a fostering agency. Still social work, better money and much better management. She’s much happier (as am I!)

A few people I know with social work backgrounds are working with charities e.g. Barnados or smaller local charities – might be an avenue to pursue.

Work for Third sector rather than LA? Pretty insecure work if there are only short term contracts but some charities get longer running contracts. Local housing charities, hospices, homeless, that sort of thing.
My wife in similar situation, shocking cuts going on, management unsupportive or helpless under their own pressures.
It is amazing how much of society is being dismantled without protest. We all seem to be in our own “thank god it’s not us” shell.

The wife worked in local authority in front line child protection before now moving to working for a fostering agency. Still social work, better money and much better management. She’s much happier (as am I!)

She has an interview for a fostering services position later this week, still local authority though.

Bit more relaxed working in different fields such as adults, older people or criminal justice (I assume your partner is working in child protection) so she could try that? Still the same funding pressures though and it’s only going to get worse. I have a decent manager and decent colleagues which helps and I imagine working in Scotland in Social Work would be preferable to working in England – sweeping generalisation but people here are generally more left wing and sympathetic to the public sector. She could of course try the third sector but pay will likely be inferior and the work is often short term – as councils typically fund a lot of the third sector this will be subject to more pressure in the future. Disagree about pay though – I get paid well and have excellent terms and conditions.

Mrs Beagle in the same boat. She’s 7.5 months pregnant and being put on more than ever. She dreads days off because of what she has to come back to. Very little, if any, management support. She works in children with disabilities team. Senior management suggest employees are in the wrong job if they happen to be stressed and have no desire to understand the realities of the front line, unless of course its a case where risk has crystallised.

She is great with children, especially those with disabilities, she is caring and conscientious in her job. Degree and masters behind her and now dreams about working in a coffee shop/waitrose.

She looked at Bernados, missed out on the final interview for a dream post 5 years back with them. Everything there now seems to be short term contracts though.

As mentioned, its a crying shame highly qualified, caring people want away.

Mrs CD’s in a children with disabilities team too, her experiences sound identical to Mrs B’s.

Massive problem across social work – always has been. MrsMCTD works in the child protection end of things – her first proper job after qualifying was in a team that had just had a very high profile death.

A lot of workers who struggle at the really sharp end seem to do OK with a spell in fostering/adoption teams to catch their breath and then go back to it

OP – if she has problems coping with her workload, she needs to be raising it with her manager and documenting every conversation and keeping every email. She needs to be making sure that she is getting proper supervision, and documenting that as well, especially if she is not getting supervision when she should. Depending how newly qualified she is and which local authority, she may still be needing/getting post qualifying training and supervision?

Might be worth seeing what advice BASW can offer as well

Psychology degree + her experience = HR

Interesting. I have a psychology degree and I work in HR. Why do you think a social work background would be useful? Not saying it wouldn’t be, just don’t see it myself.

I’ve a friend who is a qualified social worker – but she works in family therapy now, which she thinks is more rewarding.

OP – if she has problems coping with her workload, she needs to be raising it with her manager and documenting every conversation and keeping every email. She needs to be making sure that she is getting proper supervision, and documenting that as well, especially if she is not getting supervision when she should. Depending how newly qualified she is and which local authority, she may still be needing/getting post qualifying training and supervision?

She is newly qualified and has raised the workload issues several times but gets little support. The others barely cope and they have the experience to deal with the paperwork quicker.

What MoreCashThanDash says. As a newly qualified worker she must still be doing the post qualification training which does add to the workload. She really needs to be documenting everything like requests for help etc.
Mrs toppers was a child protection social worker until very recently. She loved it and never struggled with it but decided that as we were going to have another baby that she wanted something ‘nicer’ to do every day so she made the move to adoption which she is really please she did. She did have the advantage of an excellent manger and a really good team dynamic that was very supportive of each other. She is/was extremely proactive with her case notes and all other paperwork so unlike a lot of her colleagues hardly ever spent time at home doing paperwork. Supervision is vital.
Mrs T was however a social work support worker before she did her degree so had quite a lot of experience before moving up to a front line role. She was a senior practitioner by the time she moved to adoption and was regularly supervising newly qualified workers and students.

Edited a long post as it probably won’t add a lot; i hope the op’s other half finds the right path and doesn’t let the pressure she currently feels impact on her in the long term.

For alternative careers list all the things that you have done but remove some of the detail/context,

IE

She had previously worked 14 years as a residential manager at a children’s school

14 years management experience in x,y,z
Experience in HR process etc.

Then look at those against job ads or find a good recruitment consultant (well a not truly awful one) and try and bring out all of her skills into something that is transferable to other sectors.

Quick update that Mrs CD has got a new job working in adoption services. Same local authority but it sounds like a very different role.
Now I just need to get myself a job before the PILON runs out.