About

Me

I qualified in England with the DipSW in 2001 and completed the PQSW in 2005.  I have worked in child protection and fostering, for a local authority on the ‘front line’, with the independent fostering sector and as an independent social worker, in London and the south of England.  When I started this blog I was taking a travel sabbatical, hence the original title “The Meandering Social Worker”.  Since then I have returned to the UK, returned to being an independent social worker, become involved in politics, and now use my social work experience and knowledge working with communities and as a politician.  Hence the change in the blog title.

The Blog

This blog is one of my outlets for my enjoyment of reading, studying and writing.  Haphazardly I also use it as a means of recording CPD and keeping a reference tool for links to articles and issues of interest. There is no schedule, no blog a day or week commitment to write to.  Just an expression of what I have found interesting and what has moved me to write.  It is an outlet for my views on some subjects, to air questions that might have challenging or conflicting answers, or simply to share thoughts, ideas and things that might be of interest.

In 2010 I wrote: “I have come to believe, alongside ‘the academics’ I should add, that social work is far more of a political profession than many new social work students and young practitioners realise, and readers may find this reflected in what I write!”  Nine years later I became a politician.

Comments and discussion welcome.