Childrens Social Care Watch Alliance

For those new to @CareReviewWatch, we are an alliance of care experienced, practitioners, campaigners and academics. We started CRWA in January 2021 to follow and offer independent scrutiny of the Care Review. So far we have: 1/R

In this 2022 article I argued that instead of segregating social work students into different routes, we should champion a social justice approach, where SW students from different experiences and backgrounds learn side by side. Remains firmly my view. bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/…

For those of us in England, it’s worth revisiting how universities, unions, and regulators (what one journalist called “mcblob”) held firm against years of lobbying, and even royal pressure, to block Teach First’s expansion. heraldscotland.com/news/15625060.…

I understand why they did the poll this way, but after over a decade of bursary freeze for social workers, this is all just rearranging deck chairs. If the real solution (more money across the board) was on offer (here or in the consultation) there would be no 'divided' about it.

Ridiculous that we didn't learn from experiences of teacher colleagues and the disaster of the ECF for early career teachers, as I argued with @Janroweljmu here (open access): bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/…

Yet more issues becoming apparent with the social work Early Career Development Programme (previously ECF) over a year before rollout. Such unnecessary disruption to the profession when there are so many bigger issues to tackle. via @CommunityCare communitycare.co.uk/content/news/n…

Social Work England fails fitness-to-practice standard for 4th year straight, and now fails on its CPD (non) approach too. Referred to ministers for the second year running. communitycare.co.uk/content/news/s…

Social Work England now proposing to use AI to review CPD records, and relying on “insights.” So get ready for AI made CPD records, analysed by AI, then AI shaping reforms (presumably involving more AI). And this is supposed to keep the public safe. communitycare.co.uk/content/news/s…

'Within a year I realised we’d made a huge mistake' - Brett Wigdortz (2026) about the founding of Teach First in 2002. observer.co.uk/news/columnist…

Speaking of that failure, the disaster of the ECF in teaching goes unmentioned, no reflection, no lessons learned, just replication in social work. Why are we copying a failed model? I have written about this extensively elsewhere w/ @Janroweljmu. 8/9 bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/…

Interesting dynamic: more respondents said key elements were missing, yet the framework’s content was actually reduced. The old version was too complex, I completely agree, but this suggests the decisions were being made regardless of consultation feedback. 5/9

Concerns about the 1-year ASYE in adults vs the new 2-year ECS in children & how this will work are brushed aside, with DfE simply saying this: ‘reflects the fact that post-qualification specialisation takes place within many professions and that social work is no exception’. 4/9

Some thoughts on the consultation response to the social work ECF, renamed yet again, now ECS, that will replace the ASYE by 2027. As typical of a government consultation, it claims 'broad' support while sidestepping many concerns. A 🧵 1/9 consult.education.gov.uk/social-work-wo…

Pause as reported by @CommunityCare here: communitycare.co.uk/content/news/s…

Social Work England pausing changes to education standards, including KSBs. As I argued below, these changes weren’t needed and risk damage. But pausing them now is another slap in the face for HEIs already planning, particularly around apprenticeships. academic.oup.com/bjsw/article/5…

French competition watchdog raids offices of Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, all partners of Teach First and/or its spinoffs in England (Frontline, Think Ahead, Unlocked, Police Now). These firms should be no where near our public professions. reuters.com/sustainability…

Really powerful article from @yohaihakak in @CRSWjournal: "There are no easy answers, but this much is clear: silence is not care, weapons are not compassion, and justice cannot be built on denial or fear". bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/…

Social work history, values and global leadership. @ifsw recognises our network's "important role in connecting past struggles, achievements, and ethical foundations with contemporary and future social work practice. ifsw.org/social-work-hi…

For more on Gove's close association with MacAlister, my article in @BylinesNetwork northwestbylines.co.uk/politics/govia…

Michael Gove predicts big year for Children's Minister Josh MacAlister within Labour Government, praising him and noting his close association with Wes Streeting. Interesting Gove fails to mention his own close association with MacAlister... youtu.be/V0t6FjAvevA?si…

Lib Dems propose a £60m-a-year “Farm First” scheme to get graduates into farming, modelled on Teach First, despite that model failing to improve any profession it’s been tried in thus far... 😭 bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…