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...

Great Scott! I’m pleased to be contributing to an event on 25th September at 2pm in London, exploring social work policy networks through a historical lens and with a view towards the future... Dust off your DeLorean and come along!

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...

Curious about Josh MacAlister, the new Junior Minister at the Department for Education, and why his appointment is concerning? Here's a piece I wrote for @northwestbylines.co.uk last year. It's a good place to start: northwestbylines.co.uk/politics/gov...

At the #SWUConference Dr @joehanley.bsky.social reflects on issues that social workers are experiencing, looks at social work workplace activism as it exists in 2025, and asks the fundamental question: should social workers just give up, or can they stand up to the challenges they face?

Great day at the #SWUConference 2025. Lots of solidarity and hope shared from the varied speakers. Thanks to @swu-uk.bsky.social for the invitation to be a lil part of it.

I (& basically everyone) agree that a company like Serco getting the cut-down Teach First contract would be terrible, but they only have the opportunity to bid because Teach First have systematically opened up ITE to private sector for decades. Can't ignore that. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Thrilled to announce the brilliant keynote speakers for our upcoming SWU Conference - Vivian Okeze-Tirado, Neil Thompson, Tricia Pereira & Godfred Boahen, Gawain Little, and Joe Hanley. All from the world of social work are welcome! Book your FREE place today: swu-union.org.uk/2025/08/swu-...

Not long now! This Saturday I'll be speaking as part of the @swu-uk.bsky.social Conference 2025 in Manchester on solidarity and activism in the social work workplace. Register (free) and come along: swu-union.org.uk/swu-conferen...

I reckon I am biased but I think this list of speakers for the upcoming @swu-uk.bsky.social. Conference on 6th September in Manchester is really superb. Looking forward to the opportunity to talk all things solidarity & activism. More details and booking (free) here: swu-union.org.uk/swu-conference

Really enjoyed being part of the Festival of Politics at the Scottish Parliament last week, talking about how social work can help build stronger communities and a healthier democracy w/ Caroline MacDonald, Vivien Thomson & Fulton McGregor et al. Great to catch a bit of my first Fringe too!

Interesting/important article from Paul Michael Garrett analysing the multiple censures of the Israeli Union of Social Workers (IUSW) by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Scottish Social Services Council who, like Social Work England, saw a rise in Fitness to Practice referrals, still managed to reduce the length they take to resolve (although still too long). Fees also lower in Scotland. www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/08/15/f...

Interesting stats from @community-care.bsky.social . Just 3 out of 730 referrals to Social Work England by the public end up with removal from the register (0.4%). Compared to 14 of 228 referrals from employers (6%). Those 17 removals equate to 0.016% of SWs. www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/08/14/h...

There have been strong critical sentiments expressed about the Social Worker Awards previously. But I think this is the first time that I have seen someone actually refuse a nomination. I would have thought people would be asked prior to being listed? www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/08/07/s...

On 22nd August I will be taking part in a panel event at the Scottish Parliament as part of the Festival of Politics on the topic of: 'Can social work save communities and democracy?'. Details and booking: festivalofpolitics.citizenticket.co.uk/events/festi...

Grateful and proud to have been asked to present as part of the @swu-uk.bsky.social Conference in Manchester on 6th September (free to attend). The theme is vitally important for the future of social work: Solidarity. Details and booking here: basw.co.uk/events/swu-c...

Labour MP and Teach First ambassador Mark Sewards creates AI version of himself to engage with constituents on his behalf. I'm sure that'll work out well... www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

COASTAL SOCIAL WORKERS WANTED! 🏖️⛵️ We are still looking for social workers (or former SWs) with experience of working in coastal communities in England for our research project. If that's you, please get in touch (or pass on to colleagues). [email protected]

More clear opposition to Social Work England and their fee rise, this time from Principal Social Work (PSW) Networks. The cost of the loss of faith in the regulator will be far greater than anything gained from the fee increase. www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/07/29/p...

By ignoring the 96% of respondents against the fee increase, Social Work England has shown what has always been true, its approach to consultation is performative at best. I wrote about this in 2022 (full article open access @AotearoaJ): anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/articl...

Social Work England (justifying the now confirmed fee increase) revert to their usual refrain that silly social workers just don't understand their remit. Making it worse, they say this, and then immediately list a load of ways they step outside that remit when it suits them!

To the surprise of no one, Social Work England have confirmed they are increasing social worker fees to £120. Remind me what was the purpose of the consultation, and the 8,000 respondents who took the time, 96% of whom were against the increase?? www.socialworkengland.org.uk/about/public...

Frontline practitioners, managers & leaders describe ongoing reforms in children's social care, proposed by #MacAlisterReview: "risk laden", "unlikely to work", "risk doing more harm than good" & lack "sufficient grounding in the realities of practice". www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/07/17/o...

Great way to start the day with this discussion from Revolutionary Social Work Podcast and Paul Michael Garrett on dissenting social work, AI and more. youtu.be/8DaNTasoBmk?...

Pays to have friends in high places... "Ministers step in to save Teach First". observer.co.uk/news/politic...

This was a notable decline in attendance since the first annual conference in 1928, a result of the challenges faced by the profession because of the Great Depression that started in 1929. bsky.app/profile/socw...

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.