Image L to R: Lucy Rai, Lord Patel, Theresa LillisTheresa Lillis (the Principal Investigator leading the WiSP project) and Lucy Rai (the chair of the WiSP advisory panel) met with Lord Patel, chair of Social Work England to discuss the findings from WiSP and their potential relevance to the work of Social Work England.

Social Work England will be the new regulatory body for social work from 2019, and is working with the current regulator, HCPC (the Health & Care Professions Council) towards a transition:-

“We will set the standards that regulate the social work profession, ensuring that children, adults, families and communities receive the best support in times of need.” https://socialworkengland.org.uk/about/.

Key issues that were discussed included the centrality of writing to social work practice, the balance between writing/recording and direct work, and the importance of writing in education and training. We hope that this will be the first of several meetings about how findings and insights from the WiSP project might inform the goals of Social Work England.