"When my daughter started talking about the social worker I thought, 'Why's a social worker talking to my Amy, what's the problem?'" admits Michelle Carter, whose daughter attends Thorpepark Primary School in Hull.
"I went to school to find out what was going on, spoke to Geraldine (Ogunleye, the student social worker) and everything has been fine since," she adds.
"Geraldine filled me in on things I didn't know about Amy, who has very low self-esteem even though she seems confident. We've worked together and Geraldine has helped me help her."
Carter and her daughter are two of the many beneficiaries of Hull's innovative Student Social Workers in Schools Project, which integrates education and social work to enhance the life chances of children in one of the 10 most deprived areas of England.
It started in 2002, when Hull University and the University of Lincoln decided they wanted more diverse placements for their social work students.
In partnership with Hull Social Services and Hull Learning Services, local schools were contacted to see if they were interested.
Schools can see the benefits
According to Jane McLocklan, a teacher on the BA and MA Social Work Programme at Hull University, and part of the steering group behind the scheme: "The response from schools was positive. It gave a clear message that they wanted to strengthen links between education and social work, and adopt an integrated approach to meeting the social and emotional needs of children."
As a result, in the first year, 12 students completed placements in nine different schools while, in the second, 18 students were placed in eight schools.
Thorpepark Primary School has been involved from the start, with Mary Wallace, the head teacher, helping McLocklan set the placements. Since then, the school has had four on-site student social workers.
"We jumped at the chance to take part," says Lynne Clarke, Thorpepark's deputy head teacher. "We were all spending a huge portion of our time on social work and staff were dealing with the social disadvantages of this area. Many of our children come to school with a lot of baggage," she adds. "And we know that education in the area is undervalued."
Ogunleye, a student on the MA diploma in social work at the University of Hull, has just finished a four-month placement at Thorpepark. She spent four days a week at the school and one day a week working in Hull Social Services' childcare team.
At Thorpepark she has done a lot of work around bullying and with children upset by problems at home. "One child had been sexually abused and this kept coming up at school," she explains. "The child's feedback from the counselling showed how much he gained and how much he valued the support."
As well as one-to-one work, Ogunleye has run weekly groups, ranging from self-esteem building and anger management to anti-bullying and friendship building. Chat time was set up by a previous student and operates as a drop-in session, usually at lunchtime.
"Children can come on their own or with friends," explains Ogunleye.
"If it's something I can't solve straight away, I I explain what needs to be done and give the child an idea of how I'm going to solve it. This calms them and they can go back to class."
Clarke says everyone at the school has noticed the difference. "The immediate impact for staff was a reduction in the problems we deal with day-to-day. A lot of these arose from social service issues. Previously, we were gathering information before passing it to social services, which was taking a lot of time."
Children's behaviour and attitude to learning has also improved. "There is less upset in lessons so children can concentrate on learning, rather than carrying around things that happened in playtime," continues Clarke.
"The number of people we can call in to help with different things has actually grown and that is down to the social workers," she adds. If any of the staff pick up on neglect or physical harm, the student social worker is ideally placed to make a child protection referral.
Breaking down the barriers
"As Geraldine is based at our local social services department one day a week, she gets to follow up," explains Clarke. "It keeps us more in touch with what's happening and ensures information is passed much more efficiently."
Information sharing has also been helped because the student social worker shares an office with Clarke, the special education needs co-ordinator, and the home-school liaison worker, who focuses on attendance issues.
"There is constant interaction among us. Anything we think another person should know about, we can tell them because they're there," explains Clarke.
Working together has also broken down barriers among the professions.
"It has helped me understand teachers' priorities," reveals Ogunleye.
"I understand now that some lessons, such as literacy and numeracy, are a priority, and I try to work with children so they don't miss these lessons."
Lydia Jackson, link social worker for the students at Hull Social Services' childcare team, agrees. "It has given each of us an understanding of our different approaches to families. It has also made our services and advice much more accessible. The students have broken down barriers to families who had previously been a bit anxious, and given them a greater understanding of our role - that we visit families rather than remove children from them."
Clarke agrees. "Traditionally on this estate, social workers were seen as the enemy, the people who took your children away. Families now see the social worker as someone who is there to support them," she says.
This approach concurs with the Government's vision for children's services.
The Department for Education and Skills says it wants to see more multi-agency teams developed, with professionals working together to provide the support that children and families need, when and where they need it.
"The Children Bill includes measures to enable local authorities, primary care trusts and others to pool budgets into children's trusts and share information better. This will support health, education and social care professionals working together, often based in the same location, such as in schools."
Working together for children
In Tower Hamlets, east London, the Multi Agency Preventative Project has also introduced a joined-up approach between children's professionals working with school children. It targets Bangladeshi pupils at risk of becoming aggressive, disaffected, isolated or depressed, and girls at risk of self-harm. Social workers run training sessions and distribute literature to teachers to help them recognise signs in pupils that indicate they might benefit from help.
"We want schools to identify problems as early as possible so that we intervene before things get really bad," explains Maswood Ahmed, manager of the project. Designated link people in participating schools co-ordinate referrals to the project and he decides who is best placed to deal with the problem. Ahmed can draw on a range of staff including youth workers, clinical psychologists and social workers.
"The challenge for me is handling a team of people from such diverse backgrounds," admits Ahmed. "I spend a huge amount of time on team building and breaking down barriers." But the results are worth it. "Young people's behaviour and self-esteem are transformed," he reveals.
Michelle Carter, the parent from Thorpepark Primary School who was initially so sceptical, agrees: "It's a cruel world and children don't always know where to turn. I think the Government should build on the scheme and get more social workers in schools." P
Further information Jane McLocklan can by contacted on 01482 466613 or at J.McLocklan@hull.ac.uk. Maswood Ahmed can be contacted on 020 7364 2097 or at map@towerhamlets.gov.uk
CHILDREN'S VOICES
Children at Thorpepark Primary School in Hull explain what they've learned from their student social worker.
"Sometimes the things that we would like to change we can't, so we have to accept them and be proud. I learned about antisocial behaviour, being happy and making other people happy" Casey, 10
"To be more confident, also to be able to talk to someone to cheer me up at school. I think it's brought confidence to everyone" Sarah, 10
"Not jump to conclusions and not to be scared of anyone. I have also learned about friendship - not to change anything or anyone" Amy, 11
"I have learned that it hurts to be bullied. I have learned not to laugh when someone is talking, and not to be sarcastic" Kirsty, 10
"I have learned about friendship, anti-bullying, and about not to be a bully. I've also learned about being sad and happy" Jessica, 10
"It has affected the school because there are less bullies. I have learned to trust people, to build my confidence, to never give up" Rebecca, 10
"I have learned how to work, how to behave, to be kind, to be happy and about friendship. I did have a party" Rebecca, 8.
