Jan has been a TACT Supervising Social Worker since 2005. She talks about some of her proudest moments as a Social Worker.

I began my social care career working in a residential unit for adults with cerebral palsy. I did this for 14 years and then did my social work training. After I qualified, I worked in a childcare team for 5 years, then 5 years in a local authority fostering team. I then joined TACT in 2005. My favourite thing about TACT is the longevity of the foster placements that we have, and being able to provide forever families for young people.

I love it when children and young people progress, when they achieve things – be it academically or in a sport they never thought they could do. Sometimes it’s what can be overlooked which brings job satisfaction, a young child’s delight when maybe for the first time they go to school in a nice clean uniform and their hair is washed and tidy. Or a child’s excitement because in a school concert or on sports day there is a grown up in the audience or in the crowd cheering them on. 

I love seeing foster carers grow in confidence and ability, and become strong advocates for young people. I love it when I visit a foster carer’s home and the foster child is so relaxed and at home, a stranger walking into that home would never realise the child wasn’t a birth child of the family.

There is no typical day in social work. You can never be sure what you’ve planned is what you do. You may have arranged to visit a foster carer, then another foster carer has an emergency, so you need to visit them instead. A child protection situation could arise, or a foster placement could break down, you must be flexible, and willing to step in to help the team if there is an emergency.

A piece of advice given to me as a student which I’ve never forgotten is, ‘Make sure your eyes and ears match.’ In other words, what you’re told matches what you’re seeing.

Moments that matter

Some proud moments in my social work career are:

• When the Independent Education Panel was in the favour of young person stating she not only had additional learning needs but a learning disability – the culmination of a 3-year fight.
• When a young person completed his electricians’ apprenticeship, a brilliant achievement for him after a difficult start in life – and one that would not have been possible had he not been able to continue living with his carers post-18.
• When a foster carer’s son got married, the 2 little boys they cared for were part of the wedding party wearing the same morning suits as the bridal party. I will always remember how proud they looked.

World Social Work Day is an opportunity to promote the positives in a profession that receives so much negativity. If you are interested in starting a career in social work, some piece of advice I would give are: make sure to always respect people’s individual beliefs. Whatever discipline you work in post-qualifying, listen to the carers/family/people who know the young people the best, and always remember that they will have an emotional attachment to them.