Innovation wins fresh recruits to children's services

When Sharon Davies joined Wiltshire council, one of her first big projects was a staffing restructure of children and families' social care. It was an exercise that led to the creation of 15 new jobs, but with a national shortage of child social workers to contend with, she feared some of the vacancies might be difficult to fill. Uninspired by the job advertisements she saw in trade publications, Davies realised an innovative approach was needed. "People have this idea of Wiltshire as rustic, which can discourage job applications from those used to the city buzz," says Davies, service director for social care, children and families at Wiltshire council. "But it really is a hidden gem, a great place to live and work. I wanted to communicate that." The result was the Hidden Gems campaign, which invited the public to hunt for 'gems' (business cards listing the campaign website address) distributed in cafes, shopping centres, stations and other public venues, in towns and cities across England. The idea, devised by recruitment specialist Tribal Resourcing, was to drive traffic to a specially created website, where Wiltshire council's vacancies for child social workers were listed. Besides a series of eyecatching full-colour adverts in a trade magazine, "clues" to the whereabouts of the gems were placed on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Those that found the gems were offered the chance to win a family day pass to Longleat House and Safari Park near Warminister, Wiltshire. 'A real first' Launched in January, the site had over 2,000 hits and Wiltshire council received an unprecedented 26 applications for social work posts. "We've got more high- quality applicants than jobs, which is a real first for children's social work," says Davies, who has more than 30 years' experience in children and families' social care. "It's a particularly challenging area for recruitment because it's so often in the media spotlight. People worry that if they make a mistake they will be pilloried." The deadline has passed, but, depending on the quality of applicants, the scheme may be relaunched later this year. According to public sector trade union Unison, vacancy rates for social workers average 12%, peaking at over 39% in some areas. The problem is particularly acute in children's social work, after criticism of the profession following the death of Baby P in 2007. According to the Local Government Authority (LGA), one in 10 child social worker posts are vacant at any one time. Of the councils that experience recruitment difficulties, 89% say they have trouble recruiting experienced children's social workers. And after news broke of seven-year-old Ishaq being starved to death in Birmingham in 2008, this could get worse. A strong strategic vision has helped Hackney Council tackle recruitment and retention problems and introduce new ways of working in children's social care. Known as Reclaiming Social Work, the new model prioritises shared risk and the reduction of bureaucracy, allowing social workers to spend more time working directly with children and families. Traditionally, social workers worked in teams, each member with their own caseload of families. They were led by a senior practitioner who typically had a small caseload of their own or none at all, which meant limited opportunities to share their knowledge and expertise with less experienced staff. In the east London borough of Hackney, social workers now work in small "units" (which include therapists and other support staff). Units are headed up by a consultant social worker, a newly created role for more experienced practitioners who are ultimately responsible for decision-making but who share a caseload with colleagues. The glue holding everything together is the unit co-ordinator, who looks after as much of the bureaucracy as possible, such as arranging case meetings or transport for children. "It means social workers are back to spending 70% of their time working with families, rather than the 30% it used to be," says Steve Goodman, deputy director of children's services. In the past, says Goodman, Hackney was lucky to get a handful of applicants for social worker vacancies. But in the first few months of this programme, there were 340 applications for the first 26 consultant posts. A year on, the borough averages 25 a month for social worker posts. Other local authorities are sticking with 'grow your own' approaches, in which the local authority sponsors an existing member of staff to train as a social worker. The General Social Care Council (GSCC) has even launched a new Grow Your Own toolkit – a step-by-step guide to help students, employers and universities get the most of such schemes. For Christine Austin, a 'homegrown' West Sussex County Council social worker specialising in adoption and long-term fostering, learning on the job is invaluable. "You're tried and tested, you've already got a knowledge base. Your employer can feel confident you'll have a sense of loyalty. The fact they are giving you that opportunity makes you feel valued." The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC), the government quango charged with the professional development of those who work with children and young people, is delivering a number of new initiatives funded by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Many, such as the introduction of an induction year (known as newly qualified social worker status), a scheme to entice former social workers back into the profession, and the introduction of Advanced Social Work Professional status (aimed at highly skilled professionals who want to remain in frontline practice), mirror teaching reforms of the past 10-15 years. Launched in September, the Be The Difference campaign, which centres around print and broadcast media and public transport advertising, has undoubtedly made an impact, with 48,000 people registering their interest through the site. Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) statistics reflect this increased interest, recording a 40% rise in applications in the past year and placing social work in the top 10 subject choices. The CWDC's Stepping Into Social Work initiative, launched last month, offers graduates drawn to children's social work at least £15,000 funding for a masters degree. "Quite rightly, the spotlight has now moved to social work," says Keith Brumfitt, director of strategy at the CWDC. "It is recognition that more needs to be done to support social work professionals in what is a very demanding job."