Social Work Sorted with Vicki Shevlin

This week I've been watching the Lindsey Clancy trial, and I couldn't stop thinking about what it reveals about giving evidence, professional credibility, and how quickly a badly placed comma or a defensive answer can unravel someone's testimony.
But this episode isn't really about the trial. It's about something new social workers ask me constantly: how do I get good at court? How do I prepare for giving evidence?
Here's the truth. Court skills don't start in the witness box. They start at the first knock on the door. If you can't observe, record, and analyse confidently on a home visit, you can't write an assessment that holds up in court. The skills are the same skills, just at different stages.
If you're newly qualified and building those foundations, the Starting in Social Work Summer Bundle has everything you need, home visit masterclass, HR masterclass, interview skills, and the Starting in Social Work podcast series. Available until 31st August.

Starting in Social Work Summer Bundle: 
https://www.patreon.com/collection/2260003

Practice Pause Library (guided audios for social workers) 
https://www.patreon.com/collection/2308769

Confident Meetings Collection 
https://www.patreon.com/collection/2332619

Join the membership:
https://www.patreon.com/15752670/join

Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email vicki@socialworksorted.com

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: vicki@socialworksorted.com

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_
Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm joined by Trevor Elliott MBE, founder of Children We Care For and director of three residential children's homes in London, who became a foster carer at 24. Trevor is one of the most honest voices I've come across in this space and this conversation did not disappoint.
We talk about what foster care actually requires and why a big heart and a spare room is not enough, the government's commitment to 100,000 new foster carers and why quantity without quality worries both of us, why foster carers are underpaid and why we need to stop being uncomfortable talking about money in the context of care, the difference between profit and profiteering in residential children's homes, and what needs to change to make fostering a sustainable choice for more people.
Trevor also makes a comparison between foster carers and surgeons that I haven't stopped thinking about since we recorded this.
If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at vicki@socialworksorted.com or find the link to book a conversation in the show notes.
Starting in Social Work Bundle: 
https://www.patreon.com/collection/2260003

Get in touch with Trevor: 
https://www.instagram.com/trevorelliott.mbe/
https://childrenwecarefor.co.uk/pages/our-team

This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant with over ten years of experience. The content is intended to support your professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for good quality supervision, statutory guidance, legislation, or your organisation's policies and procedures. Always refer to your local authority guidance and relevant statutory frameworks when making practice decisions. Nothing in this podcast constitutes formal legal or professional advice.
Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email vicki@socialworksorted.com

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: vicki@socialworksorted.com

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_
Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

July was heavy. Court, honest feedback on my book, and the quiet weight of watching decisions unfold in family courts. In this honest, veryyyy unfiltered episode I talk through why August needs to be about joy, and four simple, no-cost ways I'm building more of it into my days with several caveats. 
If July left you feeling a bit worn down too, this one's for you.
Plus a reminder about the Practice Pause Library, guided audio built for social workers, for the real moments this job actually throws at you. 
Find it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2308769

PLUS: 
Starting in Social Work Summer Bundle: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2260003?view=expanded
Social Work Sorted Membership: 
https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted/membership
Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email vicki@socialworksorted.com

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: vicki@socialworksorted.com

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_
Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm joined by my friend and colleague Jo Schofield, Director of Immigration Social Work Services and one of the leading experts on age assessment in the UK. Jo has spent her career working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children, acting as an expert witness in court, and developing the SAFE framework - the Social Work Age Estimation Framework - which is changing the way social workers approach this area of practice.
We talk about what age assessment actually is and why it's so politicised, what the SAFE framework does and why it matters, confirmation bias in assessment practice, what courts are actually looking for when they scrutinise an age assessment, and why Jo thinks social workers are overcomplicating something that is at its core just an assessment like any other. We also get into the racism and adultification that underpins so much of how age assessment has historically been approached, and why SAFE offers a framework that is genuinely aligned with social work values.
Jo is also writing the first ever book on age assessment. It's a big deal and she is exactly the right person to do it.
If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at vicki@socialworksorted.com or find the link to book a conversation in the show notes.
This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant with over ten years of experience. The content is intended to support your professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for good quality supervision, statutory guidance, legislation, or your organisation's policies and procedures. Always refer to your local authority guidance and relevant statutory frameworks when making practice decisions. Nothing in this podcast constitutes formal legal or professional advice.
Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email vicki@socialworksorted.com

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: vicki@socialworksorted.com

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_
Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.

In this episode I'm joined by Dez Holmes, Director of Research in Practice for a conversation that went in more directions than either of us planned and was better for it.
We talk about Dez's career and what's driven it, the role Research in Practice has played in social work over the years, what it actually means to be evidence informed in practice rather than just claiming to be, and what we owe each other when we share things online. There's a LinkedIn rant, a surfing metaphor, and some of the most useful reflections I've had in a while about what useful actually means and who it's for.
If you're interested in training for your local authority, organisation or team, I work with a range of organisations across the UK delivering skills-focused safeguarding and social work training. Get in touch at vicki@socialworksorted.com or find the link to book a conversation in the show notes.
This podcast is hosted by Vicki Shevlin, an independent social worker and safeguarding consultant with over ten years of experience. The content is intended to support your professional development and reflective practice. It is not a substitute for good quality supervision, statutory guidance, legislation, or your organisation's policies and procedures. Always refer to your local authority guidance and relevant statutory frameworks when making practice decisions. Nothing in this podcast constitutes formal legal or professional advice.
Lets connect!

To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership email vicki@socialworksorted.com

Sign up to my free newsletter

Listen to Social Work Sorted Membership Podcast

Join the Social Work Sorted Membership on Patreon for CPD & Resources to build your confidence as an early career social worker 

Email: vicki@socialworksorted.com

LinkedIn: Vicki Shevlin 

Instagram.com/vickishevlin_
Instagram.com/socialworksorted

Youtube.com/@socialworksorted

Facebook.com/socialworksorted

https://www.patreon.com/socialworksorted

Disclaimer

Thank you so much for listening. 

Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.