Campaign launches to tackle negative perceptions of social work
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
A campaign is set to launch to raise awareness of the role of social workers and tackle negative public perceptions of their work.
A particular target is TV and film makers to make them aware “of the consequences negative depictions of social workers can have” to ensure they are portrayed more accurately.
The promotional drive is being launched by Social Work England to coincide with its Social Work Week (18-22 March) programme of events to promote the role.
The social work regulator has published the results of a survey of attitudes of the role among more than 3,000 members of the public and around 100 social workers.
Social workers interviewed “believe their work is often misunderstood by broader society, which leads to the negative perception of social workers”.
“This misunderstanding is believed to be the fault of the media: both entertainment and news,” researchers found.
“The majority of social workers feel that the news media focuses on the failings of social workers while ignoring the cases in which social workers succeed in supporting vulnerable individuals and families.
“Likewise, some social workers commented that entertainment featuring social workers is often called inaccurate, as some mention that in these portrayals social workers would arrive to a family’s home to take away their children, which is not an accurate representation of the purpose of social workers and the authority they hold.”
Only one in 10 social workers think they are well respected in society.
It's time for the entertainment industry to #ChangeTheScript around social work🎬
— Social Work England (@SocialWorkEng) March 18, 2024
This #SocialWorkWeek2024, we’re calling for a more accurate portrayal of social work and the positive impact social workers have on people’s lives every day. pic.twitter.com/qXFNYly5PF
Among members of the public surveyed three quarters believe social workers want the best for people and more than three in five believe social workers make a “big difference to people’s lives”.
But only around a half believe social workers are “experts in understanding and meeting people’s needs”.
One in five believe that social work could instead be done by professionals without specialist training.
Interviews with respondents found that some “conflate social workers with social care workers”.
A third of the public are unaware social workers must complete a recognised training course or qualification. Only around half of the public know they are regulated and just a quarter know their professional details are publicly available on the social work register.
Young people’s understanding of the role is a concern, the regulator found.
More than half of 18–24-year-olds do not know what groups of people social workers support, compared to just over a quarter among all ages.
“We are committed to continually working to better understand the complex landscape of social work practice and the perceptions held by the public,” said Social Work England chief executive Colum Conway.
“Promoting confidence in the profession is one of our strategic aims as a regulator and this research helps us to build a more comprehensive picture of how current perceptions can boost and undermine that confidence.”
Separate research by Social Work England, based on surveys and interviews with more than 1,300 social workers, found that two in five are reporting low morale in the profession.
This differed depending on employer, with two in five NHS social workers reporting high morale, compared with a third of agency workers and one in five council staff.
Despite concerns around the public perception of their role more than four in five social workers are proud to tell others about their job, this survey also found.
