In the first episode of Let’s Talk Social Work of 2025 Andy McClenaghan is joined by Chair of the British Association of Social Workers, Julia Ross, Chair of BASW’s Policy Ethics and Human Rights Committee, Annie Ho and Co-Chair of the Association of Palliative Care Social Workers, Glynis Berry to discuss the potential change in the law for England and Wales which would legally permit people to seek assistance to end their own lives.

On 16 October 2024, the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater presented the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to Parliament. On 29 November MPs debated the legislation and the outcome was 330 MPs voted in favour of the Bill and 275 MPs opposed it, allowing the legislation to proceed to the next parliamentary stage.

The conversation doesn’t explore arguments for and against allowing terminally ill people to end their own lives. What it does is examine the implications for social work practice that would arise if the legislation, in its current form were to become law.

The discussion also examines the state of palliative care services in the UK as this is an issue closely linked to the debate around assisted dying.

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In this episode, made to mark Human Rights Day 2024, Andy and his guests explore the issue of brain injury and how social workers can best support people with a brain injury to ensure their rights are upheld.

Social workers who work with individuals affected by brain injury need to have a clear understanding of the condition in order to provide effective support. This includes recognising the medical, psychological, social, and legal implications of brain injury, as well as the ways in which it can impact daily life.

Joining Andy to discuss social work and brain injury are Dr Caroline Bald, Kate Mellor and Steph Grant.

Caroline is Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Essex and is Research Fellow on the Heads Together project. Heads Together is National Institute for Health and Care Research funded collaboration across universities in the UK, exploring brain injury social work education.

Along with Caroline, Kate is also a social worker. Kate splits her time between practicing as an Independent Social Worker and Case Manager and working as a Hospital Liaison Facilitator with Headway Sussex, an organisation which offers reablement and support opportunities for people with an acquired brain injury, and their family carers. An expert by experience, Kate has an acquired brain injury.

Steph is also an expert by experience and lives with an acquired brain injury. He is a member of the Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust lived experience research partnership and is Chair of the Head Injury and Homelessness Research Group.

For further information on brain injury and social work please register with biswg.co.uk for news on the launch of the first UK brain injury e-learning platform including teaching resources, lived experience stories and resources for working with families.

The Brainkind report, Too Many To Count, mentioned in the discussion is available here.

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The UK is a richly diverse society and social workers will frequently work with children, families and individuals whose cultural heritage differs from their own. As we have discussed many times on the podcast, social work is a relationship-based profession and it is difficult to form good relationships without being open to understand the values and traditions which shape another person’s worldview and approach to life.

It's also important to recognise that social workers and social work students arriving in the UK from overseas may face barriers and may benefit from support to adjust to some things which people who are born in the UK take for granted.

With all this in mind, this episode explores the concept of cultural capability in social work, examining what the concept means and the extent to which cultural capability is attainable.

Joining Andy to discuss cultural capability are social workers Michael Nwoye, Chloe Hubert and Uche Odunze.

Michael and Chloe work for the organisation, Children and Families Across Borders—CFAB for short. Michael is an Inter-Country Social Worker and Chloe works in CFAB’s Post Placement Support Project. Uche is a newly qualified social worker who during her time studying at the University of Chichester, co-wrote a guide for other international students on adjusting to life in the UK.

Children and Families Across Borders have developed a Cultural Family Life Library, a suite of guides for social workers introducing them to the history and culture of families from Romanian, Jamaican and Nigerian heritage. The Library can be accessed here and further guides will be published in the months to come.

CFAB is also offering online training on Culturally Inclusive Practice: Essential Skills for Social Workers on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Click here to find out more about the half day event.

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