Social care is only for older people isn’t it? Well that’s not the case – good social care can also be transformative and change the lives of children and young people.
In this episode of ‘Care to chat’, host Wendy Austin explores the vital role of social care practitioners working with children, young people and families across Northern Ireland and how this has been changing.
While social care is often associated with supporting older people, this conversation shines a spotlight on the dedicated professionals working within children’s services, helping young people stay safe, healthy and connected. From family support and disability services to residential care, early intervention and therapeutic work, the panel discusses the impact of children’s social care.
So, who are the people who decide to work in children’s social care? Why is the work they do so important? And most importantly, how has children’s social care been changing. In this week’s ‘Care to chat’ podcast Dr Wendy Austin MBE hears about this from guest including Paul Murtagh, Social Work Manager, Shirley McCaffery, Learning and Development Team and Ewan McNeil, Social Care Practitioner, Children’s Services – all from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, alongside Stevie Gibson, Support Worker, Arches Family Support Service Bangor, Positive Futures.
Together they help us take a look at inside social care, in particular, social care in children’s services, where working alongside other professions, including social work, social care practitioners help ensure children and young people, and their families, are safe, healthy and supported. Be that through personal care, or by providing additional support.
The key takeaway for listeners is that this is a growing and developing part of the social care workforce – with leaps being made in terms of learning and development, and supervision. It is very different to the workforce to that of even 10 years ago, with a richness to the role, as they manage complex care needs and increasingly work shoulder to shoulder with social workers.
Talking about the impact a social care practitioner working with children and young people can make, Stevie Gibson’s passion and commitment is undeniable.
“I didn’t think I would make a difference in these kids’ lives to be quite honest when I started this a couple of years ago, but when you see those kids bouncing out the front door to school, taking the door of the hinges to get out for those two hours – it has been life changing for me – to see just how much an impact you can make for those kids.”
This podcast episode complements the ‘Social care – Making a difference’ campaign an annual campaign which encourages people to consider social care as a career of choice and recognises the value of the social care workforce.
‘Care to chat’ releases a new episode every fortnight, discussing current topics about social care and social work regulation in Northern Ireland. Listen to ‘Care to chat’ wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple, Spotify, or on our website at: niscc.info/care-to-chat-podcast, where you can find all the new episodes and episodes from our previous series.
Episode 4: Talking care – understanding children’s social care (36 minutes)
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As the Care to chat podcasts are designed with the social care and social work workforce in mind, we would like to invite suggestions of topics that our listeners would be interested to hear covered. If you have questions, suggestions or feedback about the podcast, email: comms@niscc.hscni.net.