Helen Donnellan, University of Plymouth

Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker “You do your two years in the trenches …. and then move out” “A lot of the innovative work isn’t being done by local authorities” [NQSW] Key Themes Transitional change Developing confidence and job satisfaction Working within the organisational structures Finding support Progression and career pathways

Transitional change “ I don’t think any training could really prepare you for this job... ever” [ NQSW] Surving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker

Developing confidence and job satisfaction ‘ …when you come back here qualified, you’re given a caseload and that’s the difference, you are responsible and the buck stops with you and that leaves a different feeling inside’ [NQSW] The ‘reality shock’ Being individually accountable Balancing care and control Taking a ‘care management’ approach Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker

Working within the organisational structures “ You spend all your time thinking about how you’re going to get through this system and how to record it and make a square peg fit into a round hole..” [NQSW] “ It isn’t as though I haven’t done the work, the work has been done, I just haven’t got the time to write it all up every day” [NQSW] ‘Direct work’ with service users Roles and tasks Managing bureaucracy Using IT Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker

Finding support “ There’s plenty of days when I’m laying in bed and I’ve got that knot in my stomach, and what I don’t like about this job is that no matter how much you do, you can never do enough … and that is kind of hard to live with.” [NQSW] “Brilliant! I will say the one thing that seems to hold social services together is the team, the team camaraderie, the support that everyone gets. You do feel part of something.” [NQSW] Support for practice Support for learning Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker

Progression and career pathways “ Overall, there’s a good level of training offered. It’s a bit hit and miss though who gets on it and who doesn’t” [NQSW] “There’s a need for personal development stuff. You know, what’s the next step as a social worker, what direction do you want to go in? [Line manager] Continuing professional development Personal Development Plans Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker

References Donnellan, H., Jack, G., Grose, J., Gilbert, A., (2007) PQ Evaluation Project - Stage I, Final Report to the Peninsula Child Care Programme Partnership Board, Unpublished Report, University of Plymouth Donnellan, H., Jack, G., (2008) PQ Evaluation Project Stage II: The PQ Consolidation Module for Qualified Social Workers, Leeds, Skills for Care Innovations Fund Donnellan, H., Jones, K., & Owens, C., (2009) The first year in practice: exploring reflective supervision - a practice toolkit for NQSWs and line managers, Leeds, Skills for Care Donnellan, H., Jack, G., (2009) NQSWs: the first year, Community Care magazine Donnellan, H., (2010) Front Line Research Briefing for Child Care Social Workers: Child Development, Dartington, Research in Practice Donnellan, H., Jack G., (2010) The survival guide for newly-qualified child and family social workers - Hitting the ground running, London, Jessica Kingsley Jack, G., Donnellan, H., (2010) Recognising the person within the Developing Professional - Tracking the early careers of newly-qualified child care social workers in three local authorities in England, Social Work Education, 29:3, (DOI: / )) Donnellan, H., & Jack, G., (2010) Quality in Practice Series: Workload, Case recording, Personal Development Planning, Enquiries to: Helen Donnellan, School of Social Sciences & Social Work, University of Plymouth Tel: Surviving & Thriving as a newly- qualified social worker