‘Too much training on how to use IT systems and not enough face-to-face practice’

Relationship-based social work is effective and saves money, a BASW social worker told a COMPASS Jobs Fair seminar in Birmingham this week.

Moving towards relationship-based work means cutting back on administration and that is the focus of the BASW 80:20 campaign, discussed by Andrew Reece, professional officer for BASW.

He said that the campaign came about following a BASW survey in which social workers said that they spent 80 per cent of their time – an average of 29 hours a week – on a computer or doing paperwork. ‘We have a very strong message from BASW members that they want us to campaign on this.

The survey also found that 32 per cent of social workers said they did not have time for reflective practice. ‘It is an exceptional manager that will emphasise that you spend time on face-to-face work.’ He said that this was not a criticism of managers, rather about the overall approach of services.

‘In a lot of local authorities, there is too little attention paid to helping social workers build relationships. Instead, there is a lot in training about how to tick the right boxes and how to use IT systems.

As a result, ‘sometimes people look at their records and don’t recognise themselves. Records often include irrelevant and useless detail – “I made a phone call when there was no contact” -- it does not need recording every time.

‘For the practitioner, my top tip is to start with one family and try to develop relationship-based working with them.

‘When you start building relationships it takes a bit of time but once it is set up, it gets easier. If you know someone well, you are less likely to make a mistake, they are more likely to tell you things, you are less likely to miss something important and you are able to take more ethical approach and not be bullied into taking on extra workload.’

Taking examples from his own experience as Head of Integrated Learning Disabilities for Camden 2016-24, he said that the service had achieved ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission, even though some of their data collection was ‘quite poor’.

‘The point is that the data is only part of the story. Getting people to tell their own story is [important] and the CQC is taking that into account.

As one example in Camden’s adult services, the introduction of named social workers for everyone placed out of the area had led to better and easier reviews; less repetition; strong relationships; an emphasis on problem-solving and prevention, and savings of £13m over five years.

Mr Reece listed his other top tips for practitioners, including creating the right conditions for relationship-based practice, manageable workloads, and prioritising relationships over data-driven KPIs.

Digital transformation was crucial. ‘Digitisation and technology can be enablers to relationship-based social work practice,’ he said, adding that those systems needed to be underpinned by social work values and ethics.

‘We need to record what matters, rather than what is counted.’

He said that there is a business case to be made for effective administrative support.

Social workers needed to be poverty-aware, and think about digital exclusion and inequality, and how to meet the needs of, for example, deaf or autistic people.

Professional curiosity and accountability were also vital.

Fast-paced developments in technology meant developing digital capabilities and digital literacy – he cited Magic Notes as an example of the ways artificial intelligence is helping to develop relationship-based social work practice:

‘It can record interviews and immediately produce a transcript, notes and an action list.
In Camden, some social workers said it saved them 5-6 hours a week.’

He added that local authorities should have data impact assessments and that next week,
BASW is producing AI guidance next week.