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Join our six-part series to support your social work journey

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Everyone remembers their first day at the office. It stays with us because it marks an exciting step in our career journey. A time when we learn skills, build professional networks and grow into a new role. It can also be a time of uncertainty, as we adjust to new requirements and put learning into practice. The ‘Getting started in...’ series of introductory webinars is designed to build your confidence and understanding of social work across five core practice areas.

Starting a new career is an experience that can be as exhilarating as it is nerve-racking. But it’s not an experience you go through alone. According to the latest data, around 6,000 children’s social workers start new positions each year in the UK. Many of you will be starting out for the first time having graduated from university, a Step-up to Social Work programme, or from an apprenticeship. Some of you will be entering a new practice area or returning to social work after time away from the profession. Whatever your journey into social work, ‘Getting started in...’ can help to focus your learning on a specific practice area.

“As a student social worker, I have limited experience with the adoption process. This training has provided me with a basic understanding of the process and framework that governs it, that will serve to benefit me when I work with families involved in the process”  

Testimonial from Getting started in: Adoption, June, 2024

We’re getting started on 23 April and running a session every Wednesday morning from 9am to 9.55am, hosted Online via Zoom. Each session breaks down a specific practice area into the core elements that are relevant to you in your professional role. But we encourage you to attend as many sessions as you can. They’re delivered by a CoramBAAF consultant with extensive professional experience and expertise in each practice area. Over the 55 minutes that you join us, they will guide you across the basic legislation, principles and approach that underpin practice.

“I am just about to start an ASYE role within a fostering and kinship team, and the webinar has helped me understand more about the laws surrounding permanence which will undoubtedly support me in my future practice.” 

Testimonial from Getting started in: Legal aspects of permanence, May 2024

Last year, we delivered this series to over 1,200 social workers from the across the UK, and even as far away as Croatia! We designed these sessions for newly qualified social workers and students, but found a great many more professionals engaging with them. These sessions helped practitioners who had learned on the job and needed more support to better understand the whole picture. The series helped practitioners who were returning to the field and needed to update their knowledge, as well as those entering a new practice area altogether. We’re delighted to be running these sessions again and as always, they are completely free and open to everyone – not just members.

If you have any questions about this series, or any of our events, please contact events@corambaaf.org.uk for more information.

We hope to see you in the Spring. 

Liam Hoskins, Events Officer, CoramBAAF.