New Department for Education consultation response suggests that ASYE funding will no longer be available to newly qualified social workers in non-statutory settings, and not replaced. Very worrying development further alienating social workers outside of local authorities.

Some thoughts on the consultation response to the social work ECF, renamed yet again, now ECS, that will replace the ASYE by 2027. As typical of a government consultation, it claims 'broad' support while sidestepping many concerns. A 🧵 1/9 consult.education.gov.uk/social-work-...

We (Open University) are seeking an External Examiner for our Undergraduate Social Work Law Module (Degree and Degree Apprenticeship). 📚⚖️ If interested or if you want more info, get in touch: [email protected] / [email protected]

Social Work England raising more income from practitioner fees than anticipated from @community-care.bsky.social www.communitycare.co.uk/content/news...

New article via @basw-uk.bsky.social from James Blewett raising questions about the reforms coming through children's services: "While the aspirations are both laudable and necessary, they risk being undermined by a lack of sufficient funding and evaluation". new.basw.co.uk/about-social...

Important principled stance here from Sarah Anderson. "This was not a refusal to engage; it was a judgment on the effectiveness and credibility of the proposed engagement" fosterwiki.com/why-i-turned...

Interesting opportunity for any social workers (or safeguarding professionals) looking for something a bit different: Safeguarding Officer with Imperial Outreach and Global Summer School teams. Full details: www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

After 11 years frozen, we finally get a consultation on the Social Work Bursary and Education Support Grant; but of course it’s just rearranging deckchairs. No new money, no parity across routes. Missing the point. www.gov.uk/government/c...

Disappointing apprenticeship data: higher dropouts for lower socio-economic and global majority groups. But the 50%+ dropout rates across the board suggest a system isn’t really working for anyone. feweek.co.uk/disadvantage...

OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNMENT FROM CHILD PROTECTION PROFESSIONALS organised by @ciaranmmmurphy.bsky.social 👇👇👇

Grateful to @malcolmp25.bsky.social for this thoughtful write-up of our recent @socwkhistory.bsky.social event on networks in social work. Really enjoyed the conversation with @jthobu.bsky.social, Jane Tunstill, James Blewitt and everyone in attendance.

Social Work England pausing changes to education standards, including KSBs. As I argued below, these changes weren’t needed and risk damage. But pausing them now is another slap in the face for HEIs already planning, particularly around apprenticeships. academic.oup.com/bjsw/article...

French competition watchdog raids offices of Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, all partners of Teach First and/or its spinoffs in England (Frontline, Think Ahead, Unlocked, Police Now). These firms should be no where near our public professions. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Really powerful article from @yohaihakak.bsky.social in CRSW: "There are no easy answers, but this much is clear: silence is not care, weapons are not compassion, and justice cannot be built on denial or fear". bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

Michael Gove predicts a big year for Children's Minister Josh MacAlister within Labour Government, praising him and noting his close association with Wes Streeting. Interesting Gove fails to mention his own close association with MacAlister... youtu.be/V0t6FjAvevA?...

Lib Dems propose a £60m-a-year “Farm First” scheme to get graduates into farming, modelled on Teach First, despite that model failing to improve any profession it’s been tried in thus far... 😭 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'Motivational Interviewing risks becoming a conduit for the neoliberal values of autonomy and responsibility echoed in the words of Michael Gove' - Powerful new article from Nina Kyriacou & @henrytsmith.bsky.social reflecting on use of MI in SW. bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

Very positive report from Social Work England out today: qualifying social work education performing really strongly despite big challenges. Makes it all the more puzzling that they still plan to plow ahead with disruptive reforms to the sector (KSBs/RDP) www.socialworkengland.org.uk/about/public...

Probably the biggest influence accelerating social worker familiarity with AI tools like ChatGPT is the Social Work England CPD process. It is not fit for purpose.

I recently joined the Foster Care Uncovered podcast to discuss policy networks and their impact on children’s social care with @sarahatfosterwiki.bsky.social and Louise Allen. An important conversation Im glad we could have. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/44Oj...

A reminder that the consultation for the Government Review of @socialworkengland.bsky.social finishes on 26th November www.gov.uk/government/g...

DID YOU KNOW? Social work academics get different questions to 'practising social workers' in the Social Work England review consultation! You’re forced to pick one role, even though many overlap, and choosing “academic” skips major sections, including everything on registration. A🧵1/5.

Social Work England’s fitness-to-practise failures keep piling up, with social workers paying the price. Now its 9 months just to go through triage stage, despite 85% leading to no further action, and 4.3 years(!) to get an outcome from hearing stage. www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/11/19/s...

Check out the first episode of Foster Care Uncovered, the new podcast from @sarahatfosterwiki.bsky.social and Louise Allen - "The stories behind the headlines, the truths behind the system - exposing, confronting, and moving foster care forward." 👏 👍 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/f...

Degree apprenticeships less accessible to disadvantaged young people than Russell Group unis" - really disapointing findings. As I've said before we shouldn't let hope for what apprenticeships should be blind us from reality of what they currently are. feweek.co.uk/degree-appre...

Published today, 'Social Work Professional Organizations: A Comparative International Perspective' from @policypress.bsky.social. Includes a chapter about @basw-uk.bsky.social from David Jones, Bridget Robb and me. Aailable here: policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/social-work-...

Social workers - make sure you complete the Social Work England review survey. Last time, 96% opposed the fee rise, but they said the sample was too small. Don't give them that excuse again... consult.education.gov.uk/independent-...

Matt Hood appointed Professor of Practice at University of Cumbria: "Drawing on my experience and expertise in education, health & public service reform, I look forward to equipping students, academics & public sector leaders with the insight and tools..." news.cumbria.ac.uk/news/nationa...

‘How I destroyed England’s state education system 2010 to 2024’ by Nick Gibb. Ummm… think I’ll give it a miss. But the article is a great read #EduSky. @joehanley.bsky.social @yorkshirebylines.co.uk

"As of 30 September 2025 [Social Work England] projected that it would underspend the full-year budget by £969,000, 5.7% of the total" - via @community-care.bsky.social www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/11/11/d...

Great experience being invited to talk at UC Berkeley about my work on policy networks and governance. Fitting ground to explore resistance and dissent.

Good that the overdue review of Social Work England has finally been launched. Always sceptical of these types of reviews/consultations, but still hope as many social workers as possible give their honest assessment of the regulator's performance. consult.education.gov.uk/independent-...

In honour of Halloween, I'm conjuring up this 2020 (open access) article where we analysed the role of 'hauntology' 💀in neoliberalism and social work. Beware: the ghosts of policies past still linger… 🪦🧌👻 journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Interesting to look back at this article from 2019 when Social Work England launched & the CEO argued their novel approach to Fitness to Practice could prevent fee rises. Fast forward to 2025 & persistent failures in this area now being used to justify fee rises #fromthearchives

"Charting a Path for Disaster-Informed Social Work". New article from our research team on disaster social work CPD. With @dr-nashwa-ismail.bsky.social, @bekahpierre.bsky.social, @gavinmoorghen.bsky.social, Maris Stratulis, Mariam Raja, and Lena Dominelli. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Interesting article in @community-care.bsky.social from Robert Templeton arguing that social workers should/would pay more for regulation if Social Work England would just stay in their lane. www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/10/16/s...

Former Conservative MP Edward Timpson to become next chair of Frontline. Timpson was children's minister when Frontline launched and has been a vocal supporter since. John Timpson previously sat on Frontline board and Timpson Group are a supporter of Frontline. thefrontline.org.uk/press-releas...

We worth a read “I can wholeheartedly recommend this book (…) for those working in education who have been exasperated by Gibb and his buddies for the past 15 years, it will be tragically vindicating to read how little of substance exists behind the man and his reforms.” 👏🏼 @joehanley.bsky.social

"It provides an unparalleled insider account of how the English education system has ended up in such a mess."Very interesting counter-balance by @joehanley.bsky.social to hagiography around Nick Gibb and Cons ed policymaking, urging you to read Mr Gibb's book. yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/educati...

"Gibb’s apparent Pavlovian response to hearing his favourite words and authors led him to swiftly appoint (often highly inexperienced) people to key positions of influence over the education of England’s millions of children"

Thanks to Joe for reading Reforming Lessons, so I don't have to!

My review of Nick Gibb's Reforming Lessons is now available on @yorkshirebylines.co.uk: "This book unavoidably feels like a desperate attempt by a long-standing minister to safeguard his legacy from the reality of the education system he left behind" yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/educati...

✍️ Gibb it a rest! Nick Gibb’s Reforming Lessons aims to defend his ministerial legacy, but instead reads like a desperate attempt to rewrite England’s education failures By Joe Hanley @joehanley.bsky.social

Matt Hood, husband of newly appointed Children's Minister Josh MacAlister, will lead a new “delivery unit” for the Department of Health and Social Care under Wes Streeting. Hood has no experience in the sector as far as I can tell. schoolsweek.co.uk/matt-hood-to...

"Only 16% of respondents thought [Josh MacAlister] would have a positive impact..." www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/10/03/s...

Our research team are still looking to interview more social work academics and people involved in employing social workers, with a focus on coastal communities. If that sounds like you it would be great to hear from you. Please contact [email protected]. More details:

I’m presenting at this event at 2pm in London on Thursday with @socwkhistory.bsky.social Time travelers have already been, said it was great. Come along... or came along??

Josh MacAlister’s appointment as Children’s Minister isn’t landing well with practitioners, per this @CommunityCare poll. www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/09/17/o...

'One in seven practitioners say they will leave social work over registration fee hike' - even if this doesn't come to fruition, that so many SWs are even thinking about giving up their registration and livelihood shows extent of anger at the regulator. www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/09/17/o...

Barclays CEO on £10.5m salary wants public sector pay capped, while the bank collaborates with charities like Teach First and Frontline that claim to be supporting those same workers 🙄 www.theguardian.com/business/202...