Hi Lesley. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? How long have you been a social worker for?
I qualified as a Social Worker in 2008 and have been working in a Children in Care team since September, 2008. I recently took up a secondment to a Duty and Assessment Team for 7 months to broaden my experience. During my Social Work training I undertook placements in Barnardos Family Group Conference Service, a locality Childcare Team and in an Assertive Outreach Mental Health Team. Following my placement with Barnardos, I became an Advocate for the children and young people and did this throughout my social work training. Before I qualified I worked for an Adult Care team as a Care Management Assistant. I have been a parent for several years and during this time have had a various jobs unrelated to Social Work. I have completed the Newly Qualified Social Work and Early Professional Development Awards and I am currently undertaking my Post Qualifying Graduate Diploma Specialist Award working with Children and Families.
Why did you want to join the Social Work Practice?
I became involved with the setting up of the Social Work Practice because I was interested in doing things differently for the children and young people. After visiting a Social Work Practice that was already up and running I felt inspired by what they had achieved particularly around the involvement of the young people and the opportunity to be more involved in the decisions that impact on work and the opportunity to be more creative in my practice. I am particularly interested in working with teenagers, the work around supporting them transitioning into adulthood and their emotional health. I am keen to develop groupwork with Young Women within the practice around self esteem.
Do you have any particular areas of interest in terms of the services to be provided by the SWP?
In the past I intended to train as an accountant and completed some foundation training but instead began training for a Social Work Degree. I am interested in developing my skills in finance further and have a keen interest in the financial management of the Social Work Practice.
