This day in social work history ⏳ 15 April 1912 – Campaigner Barbara Robb born in Yorkshire. A pioneering advocate for rights of older people, she founded AEGIS & edited Sans Everything: A Case to Answer (1967), a landmark work featuring contributions from social workers.

This day in social work history ⏳ 7th April 2005: Mental Capacity Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It would not come into force until 2007, when it was gradually introduced (fully introduced October 1 2007).

This day in social work history ⏳ 1st April 2009: Care Quality Commission (CQC) took over regulation/inspection of health and social care providers in England. Formed of 3 predecessor organisations, Healthcare Commission, Commission for Social Care Inspection & MHA Commission.

From this month, our 'This day in social work ⏳' series can now also be found in the @BASW_UK Professional Social Work Magazine. 🙌🙌

This day in social work history ⏳ 26th March 1950: Martin Short, Emmy Award winning Canadian actor, born in Ontario. Short completed a degree in social work at McMaster University in 1971, before moving into acting.

Upcoming @socwkhistory.bsky.social webinar: 'Histories of Compliance and Resistance: Social Workers and Immigration across Europe and USA' - 20th April. Details here. All welcome. www.kcl.ac.uk/events/histo...

This day in social work history ⏳ 16th March 2015: Think Ahead, the social work qualifying programme with a focus on Mental Health, launched in England by Norman Lamb, Minister for Care and Support. www.theguardian.com/society/2015...

This day in social work history⏳ 12th March 1948: Virginia Bottomley, Conservative member of the House of Lords, and former social worker and Secretary of State for Health, born in Dunoon, Scotland.

Upcoming webinar - Histories of Compliance and Resistance: Social Workers and Immigration across Europe and USA - 20 April 2026 19:30 to 21:00 (BST). Details and booking here: www.kcl.ac.uk/events/histo...

This day in social work history ⏳ 1st March 1971: First edition of the British Journal of Social Work (@BJofSW) published. It included a comment on the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, and a book review of “Marriage and Mental Handicap”. Available here: academic.oup.com/bjsw/article...

This day in social work history ⏳ 27th February 2014: Just two weeks after the Narey report into social work education is published, another government commissioned report into social work education is published: The Croisdale-Appleby report. www.gov.uk/government/p...

Histories of Compliance & Resistance: Social Workers & Immigration across Europe & USA 🌍 📅 20 April 2026 🕢 19:30–21:00 Speakers: Mimi Abramovitz, Cybelle Fox, Emilio J Gómez Ciriano, Patrick Vernon. All welcome. Details⬇️ www.kcl.ac.uk/events/histo...

This day in social work history⏳ 13th February 2014: Martin Narey’s controversial report into social work education in England published. 'Making the Education of Social Workers Consistently Effective'. The report was commissioned by Michael Gove. www.gov.uk/government/n...

"Histories of Compliance and Resistance: Social Workers and Immigration across Europe and USA" Monday 20 April 2026. Online. All welcome. Now booking. An international joint webinar from the Social Welfare History Group (USA) and the @socwkhistory.bsky.social (UK). www.kcl.ac.uk/events/histo...

This day in social work history ⏳ 28th January 2003: Victoria Climbie Inquiry report published, led by Lord Laming, tasked with looking into the death of the 8 year old who had been tortured and murdered by her great-aunt and her boyfriend (died February 25, 2000).

Personal reflections from @malcolmp25.bsky.social on our recent event on social work networks, past present and future 👇👇

Social work history, values and global leadership. The IFSW recognises our network's "important role in connecting past struggles, achievements, and ethical foundations with contemporary and future social work practice. www.ifsw.org/social-work-...

This day in social work history ⏳ 15th January 2021: Former teacher Josh MacAlister, now Children's Minister, appointed to chair the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, dubbed a “once in a generation opportunity to reform systems and services”.

This day in social work history ⌛ 14th January 2022: The National Assessment and Accreditation Scheme for social workers in England officially scrapped, following widespread resistance in the profession, union boycotts, and a cost of more than £24m.

NEW BOOK ALERT Based on historical research into soical work by Viv Cree and Bob Mackenzie. "Social Work with Unmarried Mothers and their Children: Learning from the Past" www.routledge.com/Social-Work-...

Last year Sir William Utting kindly agreed to become the first Patron of the Social Work History Network, prompting the following reflections: blogs.kcl.ac.uk/socialcarewo...

This day in social work history ⏳ 21st December 1948: Samuel L Jackson, American actor, activist and former social worker, born in Washington DC. Jackson worked as a social worker for two years in LA after he was suspended from college for activism related to curriculum reform.

This day in social work history ⌛ 20th December 2024: Two former social workers made life peers, joining the House of Lords, after standing down as Labour MPs in the 2024 elections: Steve McCabe and Lyn Brown.

This day in social work history ⏳ 8th December 2008: The head of children's services at Haringey Council, Sharon Shoesmith, fired in the wake of the Baby P case following intervention from Children's Secretary Ed Balls. She would later win an unfair dismissal settlement.

This day in social work history ⏳ 30th November 2020: For the first time, all social workers in England had to register and record CPD evidence with Social Work England. About 5k SWs failed to do this, but due to ongoing pandemic, they were allowed to continue to practise.

This day in social work history⌛ 24th November 2020: Court of Appeal rules that the government acted unlawfully during the Covid-19 pandemic by removing safeguards for children during the first national lockdown, in a case brought by @article_39 www.communitycare.co.uk/2020/11/24/d...

This day in social work history ⏳ 22nd November 1988: Children Bill, what would become the Children Act 1989, announced in the Queen’s Speech to Parliament: “A Bill will be introduced to improve and rationalise the law governing the care and protection of children”.

This day in social work history ⌛ 16th November 1989: Children Bill granted Royal Assent, becoming the Children Act 1989.

This day in social work history⌛ 15th November 2004 - Children Bill granted Royal Assent, becoming the Children Act 2004. This was the day before the 15th anniversary of the Children Act 1989 receiving Royal Assent.

This day in social work history ⏳ 2nd November 2024: Paul Stephenson died (aged 87). Dr Stephenson was known for being the first black social worker in Bristol, and for his civil rights campaigning, including leading the Bristol Bus Boycott in 1963.

This day in social work history ⏳ 1st November 2016: Plans for a new specialist social work regulator in England, what would become @socialworkengland.bsky.social, announced. This was just 4 years after the previous specialist regulator, General Social Care Council (GSCC), was shut down.

This day in social work history ⏳ 4th October 2021: Following widespread criticism for not having social worker representation on their board since they were founded, the regulator of social workers in England, Social Work England, finally appoints two registered social workers.

This day in social work history⏳ 1st October 1971: The Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW) was established to regulate social work training and education across the UK. It would last until 2001.

This day in social work history ⏳ 30th September 2013: Olive Stevenson, social worker and academic, died. Stevenson was part of Maria Colwell inquiry, and was a founding editor of @BJofSW. See @CommunityCare recent tribute: www.communitycare.co.uk/2024/08/07/a...

This day in social work history ⏳ 26th September 1876: Edith Abbott born in Nebraska, USA. Abbott advocated for social work education at a graduate level, and became the Dean of @UChicagoCrown, the first female dean of any graduate school in the USA. crownschool.uchicago.edu/about/histor...

Still time to register for Thursday's (25 September 2025) event in London: Social Work Networks: Past, Present and Future. 14:00 to 16:00. Booking and details here: www.kcl.ac.uk/events/socia...

Social Work Networks: Past, Present and Future #swhn @socwkhistory.bsky.social Joe Hanley, Jane Tunstill, James Blewett, June Thoburn 25 September 2025 14:00 to 16:00 All welcome! www.kcl.ac.uk/events/socia...

Notification of upcoming event from our network: 'Social Work Networks: Past, Present and Future'. Speakers: Joe Hanley, Jane Tunstill, James Blewett and June Thoburn. All the Js! 25 September 2025 14:00 to 16:00 in London. All welcome! www.kcl.ac.uk/events/socia...

This day in social work history ⏳ 10th August 2010: Josh MacAlister, now Labour MP, published first proposal for what would become social work fast-track Frontline: “a dedicated social enterprise can meet its goals better than a government department” archive.progressivebritain.org/2010/08/10/c...

This day in social work history ⏳ 9th August 1956: International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) formed and first executive committee elected. Original 12 members: Australia, England, Belgium, France, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland & USA.

This day in social work history ⏳ 1st August 2012: The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) takes over regulatory responsibility for social workers in England from the General Social Care Council (GSCC), abolished as part of the “bonfire of the quangos”.

This day in social work history ⏳ 28th July 1957: Edith Abbott died in Nebraska, USA (age 80). Abbott advocated for social work education at a graduate level, and became the first female dean of any graduate school in the USA (University of Chicago). crownschool.uchicago.edu/about/histor...

This day in social work history ⏳ 26th July 1945: Clement Attlee (1883-1967), former social worker, became Prime Minister of the UK, a position he would hold until 1951 as he oversaw radical domestic reforms. Attlee remained leader of the Labour party until 1955.

This day in social work history ⏳ 24th July 1897: Aviation Pioneer and social worker Amelia Earhart born in Atchison, Kansas USA. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic. She also worked as a social worker at Denison House in Boston.

#HistNursing 💙 Cicely Saunders Archive is held at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social Archive, you can view the catalogue here archives.kingscollections.org/index.php/k-...

This day in social work history ⏳ 14th July 2005: Cicely Saunders, nurse, social worker, physician and writer, died in Bromley (aged 97). Saunders was the founder of St Christopher’s Hospice, considered to be the first modern hospice.

This day in social work history ⏳ 11th-14th July 1932: The Second Annual Conference of Social Work held in Frankfurt, Germany, attended by 1200 delegates from 34 countries.

One year ago today 📅 9th July 2024: Janet Daby, MP for Lewisham East since 2018, and former fostering social worker, appointed as Minister for Children under the recently elected Labour Government. www.communitycare.co.uk/2024/07/22/f...

This day in social work history⏳ 8-13th July 1928: The first International Conference of Social Work held in Paris, France, involving 5,000 delegates from 42 countries.

Recording & slides from this week's @socwkhistory.bsky.social look back at Sure Start are available via: www.kcl.ac.uk/events/the-s...