How Does the Social Work?

Guest ProfilesHei Chow Hei is the Programme Manager at UK Welcomes Refugees, where he supports refugees and overseas social workers in building professional networks and career pathways. A former youth worker in Hong Kong with a background in values education, Hei migrated to the UK to seek a better environment for his family. He currently leads initiatives to help migrant social workers regain their professional identity and integrate into the UK workforce.Dr. Sui Ting Kong Dr. Sui Ting Kong is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Durham University and a co-editor of the British Journal of Social Work. Since moving to the UK from Hong Kong eight years ago, she has pioneered research in feminist participatory methodologies and relational care. Her current work focuses on the Hong Kong diaspora, including the "We are Hongkongers" project and supporting the transition of overseas-qualified social workers.Episode SummaryIn this episode of How Does Social Work?, hosts Colleen Simon and Yohai Hakak speak with Hei Chow and Dr. Sui Ting Kong about the intersection of culture, identity, and social care, focusing on the transition from practicing in Hong Kong to the UK. The discussion contrasts the intense work ethics of Hong Kong—where social workers often operate without strict boundaries, running long residential camps and maintaining lifelong relationships with clients—with the more regulated, individualistic system in the UK.Key themes include:​ Public Perception: The guests highlight a stark difference in reputation; in Hong Kong, social workers are often viewed as "stars" or "angels" due to positive media portrayals and their role in developmental youth work. In contrast, they note that UK social workers often face stigma as "baby removers".​ Political Context and Migration: Hei shares his personal journey of leaving Hong Kong due to the changing political landscape and education system. The conversation touches on how Hong Kong social workers have been historically active in political protests, leading to increased vulnerability and repression in recent years.​ Professional Identity: A significant challenge for the diaspora is the "identity loss" experienced by qualified professionals who find themselves unemployed or unable to practice upon arriving in the UK. The episode concludes with a mention of a pilot project with Sutton Council aimed at supporting these overseas qualified social workers

Guest Profiles:Olivia Morrison Olivia Morrison is the Head of Partnerships and Advocacy at the Traveller Movement. Of Romani (Gypsy) heritage herself, she oversees the organisation's Equalities and Social Justice Unit, as well as projects relating to domestic abuse, health and wellbeing, heritage, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month. In the episode, she highlights the organization's work in health, criminal justice, and education policy, emphasizing the importance of community consultation in their advocacy.Olivia Hammond Olivia Hammond is the Community Advocacy Caseworker at the Traveller Movement. She is a Romani (Gypsy) woman who handles education and discrimination casework, supporting Romani (Gypsy), Roma, and Irish Traveller community members with issues such as school exclusions, bullying, and refusal of service. Drawing on her personal experience growing up in a traditional family and returning to education later in life, she works to support young people in the community to access opportunities outside of traditional paths.Episode SummaryIn this episode of How Does Social Work?, hosts Colleen Simon and Yohai Hakak discuss the unique challenges and cultural nuances of the Romani Gypsy, Roma, and Irish Traveller communities. The guests dismantle the "homogenous" view of these groups by explaining the distinct ethnic and linguistic differences between Romani Gypsies (originating from India), Irish Travellers (indigenous to Ireland), and Roma people (more recent migrants to the UK).Key themes include:• Erosion of Lifestyle: The conversation addresses how legislation such as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022) and the revocation of statutory duties to build sites have made the traditional nomadic way of life "virtually impossible". This cultural erosion has led to the loss of communal support systems—described as a "village" where everyone pitched in—contributing to a mental health crisis and disproportionately high suicide rates.• Barriers to Education and Services: Olivia Hammond shares her personal journey of leaving school after primary levels—a common practice to protect children from bullying and cultural erosion—and the resistance she faced when returning to education. The guests also discuss the deep-seated fear of discrimination that prevents community members from accessing healthcare or police support, citing instances where individuals are refused service or dismissed based on their ethnicity.• Advice for Social Workers: The guests offer practical advice for professionals entering Traveller homes, such as understanding that a lack of visible toys is often a response to the fear of being judged for untidiness rather than a lack of enrichment. They also highlight communication differences, noting that "dramatised" language or loud speech is often a cultural norm rather than aggression.

Guest Profile: Biju AntonyBiju Antony is currently a Service Manager for mental health services with an NHS Trust. With over 20 years of experience in the UK, he has worked as a Qualified Mental Health Social Worker and Practitioner, AMHP (Approved Mental Health Professional), and Care Coordinator within mental health settings, as well as holding various management roles. He is originally from Kerala, India, and moved to the UK in 2005. Additionally, Biju serves as the Chair of the UK Malayalee Social Workers (UKMSW) Forum, an association of over 200 professional social workers from Kerala working in the UK.Episode SummaryIn this episode of How Does Social Work?, hosts Colleen Simon and Yohai Hak explore the intersection of culture, identity, and social care through Biju Antony’s lived experience. The conversation covers Biju's migration from Kerala to the UK during the recruitment drives of the early 2000s and the significant cultural adjustments required to practice social work in a new country.Key themes include:• Cultural Differences: The contrast between the "collectivistic" culture of India - where family and community often take precedence over the state in providing care - and the UK's individualistic, state-focused social care system.• Professional Challenges: The hurdles international social workers face, such as language barriers, understanding different communication styles (e.g., indirect vs. direct), and navigating flat hierarchies compared to the authoritative structures common in India.• Community Support: The origins and mission of the UKMSW Forum, which was established to provide peer support, training, and recruitment guidance to social workers migrating from India, helping them adapt to the UK legal frameworks and practice standards.

HOW DOES THE SOCIAL WORK?The podcast that brings the “social” back into social workHosted by Colleen Simon & Dr. Yohai HackNEW EPISODEFaith, Attachment, and Authenticity: Challenging Western Norms in Social CareHosts Colleen Simon and Dr. Yohai Hack sit down with social workers Anstance Fometu and Kabeka Gondwe — both originally from Malawi, famously known as the “warm heart of Africa” — to explore the profound intersection of culture, faith, and professional practice. Together they share their journeys of moving to the UK and navigating the culture shocks of the British social care system, offering a rich, heart-centred perspective on human rights and social justice that is essential listening for social workers, students, and anyone curious about the human experience.In this episode:​ Faith as a Tool for Advocacy — How spiritual knowledge can educate colleagues and advocate for families whose beliefs are often misunderstood or overlooked by secular systems.​ Challenging Western Theories — Why Malawian concepts of multiple attachments and communal living offer a necessary critique of traditional Western social work frameworks.​ Professional Curiosity & Allyship — A call for practitioners to move beyond bias, embrace authenticity, and act as genuine allies within a system that still has far to go.MEET THE GUESTSMiss Kabeka Gondwe — Social Worker · Adults Safeguarding, NorthamptonOriginally from Malawi and now based in the Midlands, Kabeka works within an Adults Safeguarding Team in Northampton, bringing a deeply personal and community-rooted perspective to one of social work’s most demanding specialisms. A member of SSWiM (Social Workers in Mind) and the Race Equality Network, she also serves as an ASYE Moderator, supporting newly qualified social workers as they find their footing in the profession.A committed advocate against domestic violence, Kabeka provides one-to-one support to women navigating the complex legal, emotional, and practical challenges that arise in this area. Her voice holds both professional rigour and compassionate lived experience — making her perspective on culture, faith, and practice particularly powerful.Anstance Fometu — Registered Manager · International Social Work LeaderQualifying as a Social Worker in 2004 with a dual qualification in Learning Disability Nursing, Anstance brings over two decades of cross-sector experience to this conversation. Her career spans secure units supporting autistic children, adult learning disability services, and Complex Case Work for Integrated Care Boards — always centred on those whose needs sit at the intersection of disability, childhood, and complexity. She currently serves as Registered Manager of a children’s home for young people with complex needs and mental health disorders.Beyond frontline practice, Anstance chairs the Children and Families International Foundation (supporting social work development in Malawi), serves as the IFSW Volunteer Elections Representative for Africa, and is Co-Vice Chair of the BASW Diaspora Special Interest Group. She is also co-founder of Diligent Women, a Christian faith community centred on women’s spiritual freedom — a role that speaks directly to this episode’s themes of faith, culture, and advocacy.Two voices from the warm heart of Africa — now shaping social work in the UK and across the world. Tune in now.

Welcome to the premiere of Season Five of How Does the Social Work?, the podcast that brings the “social” back into social work. This new season opens with a compelling discussion featuring Hazel Masvikeni, a registered social worker practicing in health and social care in West Sussex, and Hilda Chehore, an experienced practitioner known for her compassion, resilience, and commitment to empowering individuals, families, and communities.In this first episode, Hazel and Hilda reflect on their professional “journey from Zimbabwe” to the UK, offering a rich and honest account of what it means to relocate, requalify, and rebuild a social work career across borders. They explore the realities of cultural adaptation - from navigating new weather and unfamiliar accents to understanding different expectations around eye contact, timekeeping, and professional communication.The conversation also sheds light on the professional transition from Zimbabwe’s primarily charity-based social work system to the UK’s legally driven, highly structured child protection environment. Both guests reflect on how deeply held cultural values - such as strong respect for elders - can make it challenging to challenge decisions made by managers or parents, a skill that becomes essential in UK practice.A powerful moment in the episode comes when Hilda speaks candidly about experiencing workplace exclusion and racism, from social isolation to being denied resources routinely offered to less-experienced colleagues. These experiences ultimately motivated her to establish an organisation - originally ZUSA - providing mentorship through programmes like “Fly High” and building community through annual conferences that support internationally recruited social workers.This opening episode also sets the stage for the wider vision of Season Five. Throughout the season, listeners will hear from international social workers who have moved to the UK from diverse countries around the world - many of whom now hold influential positions or have founded organisations dedicated to supporting other overseas practitioners. These conversations will explore their migration journeys, the barriers they encountered, the resilience they developed, and the strengths they bring to social work practice in the UK.Season Five celebrates the courage, insight, and global perspectives that internationally recruited social workers contribute to the profession. As Hilda beautifully puts it, these practitioners are often “angels of mercy,” and Hazel reminds us of the enduring power of the communal, village-based approach to raising and safeguarding children.To learn more about the organisation Hilda and Hazel have created and are running, please see here: Professional Association for BME Social Workers - UKSWA CIC

Goodbye (Endings) Social workers specialise in establishing relationships with service users founded on empathy and respect. However, what occurs when it's necessary to conclude a case, transfer it to another worker, or when a student's placement ends? Today, our focus is on closures and farewells during placements, as well as the potential experiences that student social workers may have as they need to say goodbye to service users, and the placement team.

Neurodivergent on Social Work Placement Neurodiversity is a framework that seeks to understand the functioning of the human brain by acknowledging the inherent diversity in human cognition as a biological reality. It is a term that encompasses various neurological differences such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and autism spectrum condition. In this episode, we will explore the concept of neurodiversity and discuss the potential challenges and unique perspectives that a neurodivergent student social worker may encounter during their placement.   Guests: Jenni Guthrie – Autistic/ADHD social worker, writer. researcher and speaker currently working as a Principle Curriculum Lead on a social work Master's programme. Jenni is also the host of www.autisticsocialworker.co.uk Dalbir Chana – Final Year student social worker @ Brunel University.

Power & Fear The Code of Ethics of the British Association of Social Workers underscores the significance of adopting an anti-oppressive approach, which is deeply rooted in social justice and empowerment frameworks (British Association of Social Workers, 2021). In this episode, we delve into the impact of power dynamics during placements and examine how students perceive and navigate feelings of powerlessness and fear, both of which are recurring themes throughout the placement experience.   Guests: Ruvarashe Mandiveyi (MSc SW student @ Brunel University), Rohima Begum (Apprentice programme Student SW)

Student Social Worker – A Male Perspective & Experiences on Placement It is undeniable that men hold significant sway over the children they are responsible for, making a substantial impact on their development and well-being. Today, we are here to delve into the topic of men's involvement in the field of social work, specifically focusing on the experiences of male student social workers during their placements. To kickstart our discussion, we have the privilege of hearing from Aleski, who will shed light on the inspiration behind his publication, aptly titled 'Preparing for First Social Work Placement'.   D. Aleski Brandy-Williams is an experienced social work practitioner, guest lecturer, Youth Advocate and author of two books titled ‘My journey to becoming a Black Male Social Worker’ and ‘Preparing for First Social Work Placement’.   There is more about Aleski Brandy-Williams https://brandy-williams.co.uk/home

In this episode, Colleen and Tienga are joined by Jenni Guthrie, the person behind the Autistic Social Worker website, to discuss how we apply theories, models, approaches and laws taught in class on placement. What does competence in this domain look like? Can we identify role models to emulate? Join us to discuss these issues and more.  Jenni Guthrie - Autistic/ADHD social worker, writer, researcher and speaker currently working as a Principle Curriculum Lead on a social work Master's programme. Jenni is also the host of www.autisticsocialworker.co.uk

In this episode, we explore the topic of communications on placement. Effective communication is the heart of social work practice but it is far from simple. How do we do it? How may you experience it on placement? Where might the potential difficulties and what can we do to overcome them? Join our hosts, Colleen Simon and Tienga Ngale, and their guests, Nana Yabbey-Hagan (Practice Educator & C&F SW Manager), and Rohima Begum (Apprentice programme Student SW), who will grapple with these questions.

In this episode, we look at race and explore the experience of race and racism in social work placement. Thinking about Cultural Competence and the experience of working with those you share the same culture with: could familiarity help in relationship building or could it be an obstacle? Our guests are: Shantel Thomas is an experienced SW practitioner, Clinical Professional & Course Lead @ Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation, and founder of the Anti-Racist Movement (A.R.M.) Thedini Liyanage is a 2nd year MSc social work student from Brunel University. Chito Okeke is a 1st year MSc social work student at Brunel University. An interesting read from an article in the Community Care Newsletter suggests that ‘one in 10 social workers encountered racism from workmates at least five times, while almost 20% reported having increased anxiety as a result of their experiences, finds a poll of almost 2,000 practitioners.’ https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2022/03/18/one-third-of-social-workers-faced-racism-from-colleagues-or-managers-in-past-year-finds-survey/

In this episode, we focus on the student social worker and what they may need to make the most of their social work placement. Thinking about factors such as first impressions, values, behaviours, professional boundaries, commitment, dress code, managing expectations in terms of equipment and learning, preparedness, understanding of PCFs, Social Work England Standards and much more. Our hosts Tienga Ngale and Colleen Simon will be joined by two wonderful social workers: Maria Fashakin who is a Liaison and Diversion Practitioner/Mental Health Social Worker/AMHP/DV Ambassador and Harpal Sokhi who is a Newly Qualified Social Worker. 

In this episode, we focus on the role of Practice Educators in a placement. It will include a conversation about what practice educators do, their key roles and contributions to the experience of students on placement and power relations that are ever-present. Our hosts, Tienga Ngale and Colleen Simon will be joined by our guests for this episode: Jodie Howard is a current ASYE SW in a local authority. Jodie had both of her placements in non-statutory settings and had the experience of only a PE on placement and both Practice Supervisor and PE. Molly Meakin is an Advanced Practitioner and experienced practice educator, currently working with the Safeguarding Adults Team in the London Borough of Hillingdon Social Services Section 2.6 of the Social Work England Practice Placement Guidance has more on the roles and responsibilities of practice educators and can be find here: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/standards/practice-placements-guidance/  

In this season, Tienga Ngale, our MSc social work student, Colleen Simon, Head of Social Work at the North West London NHS Foundation Trust, and their guests will de explore different aspects of social work students' placements. In their first episode they speak with

Dan Vale and Dr. Maryam Zonouzi from Ginger Giraffe together with Brunel University students, Ana Muqry and Mehwish Jahan interview Claire Brown and Dr. Michaela Rogers, the authors of Removing gender barriers: Promoting inclusion for trans and non-binary carers in fostering and adoption

In this episode, Dan Vale from Ginger Giraffe, and Brunel MSc social work students, Temi Awesu and Ayeshia Jehangir, dive into the complexities involved in creating a true co-production. They highlight some of the features of successful co-production as well as the obstacles we might face in our attempts to reach it. The link to their book chapter is here.    Hele Casey is a social work educator working for the Open University.

In this episode, Dan Vale from Ginger Giraffe and Brunel social work students, Ruth Apula Mokakwa and Shumaila Asghar interview Dr. Davis Kiima, an experienced social work practitioner and the author of a recently published book (by Routledge) titled Assessing Culturally Informed Parenting in Social Work.  What is the role culture plays in how parents raise their children, what happens when social workers come from a very different culture to that of the families they work with, and what should social workers know about these issues? These and many other related questions are discussed in this episode. 

In this episode of How Does the Social Work?, Dan Vale and Maryam Zonouzi from Ginger Giraffe and Brunel's social work students, Thedini Liyanage and Jade Blake discuss with Dr. Reenee Singh a recent article she published together with her colleagues titled Clinical Work with Intercultural Couples. This is Dr. Singh’s area of specialisation and she has published extensively on the topic. To learn more about the work of Dr. Singh, please visit her webpages, here: http://www.reeneesingh.com/

On this episode Rashidat Alubankudi, Joe Burnes and Dr. Yohai Hakak interview Dr. Prospera Tedam, an Assistant Professor in social work at the United Arab Emirates University in the United Arab Emirates where she has been since August 2018. Prior to that, between 2016-2018, she was a Principal Lecturer in Social Work at Anglia Ruskin University and between 2006-2016 she was Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Northampton. Prospera’s practice background is in Children and Families (specifically in Child Protection, Children Looked After, Fostering and Adoption.) Prospera was the Children Safeguarding Advisor to the Home Office between 2011 and 2018 and her research interests are around culturally sensitive practice, anti-racist social work and anti-oppressive practice learning and her preferred theoretical lens is Critical Race Theory. Prospera’s doctoral research examined the placement experiences of Black African Social Work students in England. Prospera is the author of a very recently published book titled Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice published by Learning Matters. Much of our discussion revolves around Prospera's new book and focuses in particular extensive work on anti-oppressive social work and a series of studies she conducted in this area.