Lecturer in social work at OU. I don't endorse my tweets/Xeses.
Dec 21, 2022 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
Some interesting findings about fast-tracks in this latest longitudinal study that show many (all??) of the concerns expressed about the social work qualifying programme Frontline when it was proposed have been borne out. A longish 🧵 1/15 gov.uk/government/pub…
Just to start by saying overall it presents a bleak picture of social work today & should be read by anyone with the time (likely not many social workers based on the study). Conditions worsening, vacancies rising & 30% expecting to leave local authority SW within 12 months. 2/15
Jun 29, 2022 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Today Social Work England (SWE) launched a consultation on new readiness for practice Knowledge, Skills and Bahaviours (KSBs) for SWs. While the KSBs themselves are not necessarily disagreeable, there are a many issues here related to process, evidence and prioritisation a🧵1/9
So to be clear these are described as “the knowledge, skills and behaviours that social work students should be able to demonstrate by the end of their qualifying course.” – the proposal includes 78 new KSBs that would need to be demonstrated 2/9 socialworkengland.org.uk/about/consulta…
Jun 27, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Important 🧵here. This is not ok. CareTech are also partners with Transform Society on the Now Care project.
Transform Society are the umbrella group of:
Frontline
Teach First
Police Now
Unlocked Graduates
(Think Ahead recently left the group)
Quote on CareTech partnership from James Darley, CEO Transform Society. Darley also director/former director of Frontline, Teach First, Think Ahead, Police Now, Unlocked Grads, Now Teach. All have benefited from lucrative gov contracts. Darley also formerly of Credit Suisse🙄 2/4
Jun 10, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
@CarolineJBald Oh dear, there's a serious rabbit hole connected to social work here. So TERRESTRES SERVO CORONAS, one of the companies listed in the article has as its nature of business listed "Other social work activities without accommodation not elsewhere classified" …te.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/100786…
@CarolineJBald Article notes on that company "Ilma Bogdan, whom he employed as chief of staff at his not-for-profit firm Terrestres Servo Coronas. Insider recently reported allegations that Bogdan's father has links to Russia's FSB security agency. Bogdan denied such a link"
Apr 4, 2022 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Based on what we know about Josh MacAlister, I think we can safely say there are a number of areas/orgs/people that will avoid any scrutiny under his #carereview.
Here's a few we can pretty much guarantee will escape any challenge (add your own!):
The most obvious is Frontline, an organisation MacAlister founded with support from Michael Gove and acted as CEO until last year. Now the self-professed largest social work charity in England, and the largest social work qualifying programme in the country. No chance of scrutiny
Mar 27, 2022 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Just one of the dozens of reasons Josh MacAlister is not an "Independent" chair & is unsuited to be heading the children's social care review. He was founder and CEO of Frontline until 2021, Frontline's umbrella network Transform Society currently collaborating with Caretech 1/7
The collaboration aims to set up a government funded Registered Manager Fast-track programme: Now Care. James Darley, CEO of Transform Society and board member of Frontline until 2020, is a founding team member of Now Care 2/7 caretechfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/upl…
Jan 19, 2022 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
For any friends in the UK wondering who Wendy Kopp is, here’s a short thread (please look her up for more). So she proposed the fast-track Teach for America (TfA) as a final year Princeton student, and it was founded in 1989. 1/10
TfA (USA) begot Teach First begot Frontline begot Think Ahead begot Police Now begot Unlocked (all UK). We now also have a UK national movement (Transform Society) and an international movement (Teach for All) designed to spread this model using networks and influence 2/10
Dec 15, 2021 • 16 tweets • 7 min read
To the surprise of no one, the government announced (through a pre-procurement notice) today that it will be extending the contract of social work fast-track Frontline, and likely it will be expanding (as each new contract has). There's a lot to unpick, so strap in. A thread 1/16
The full pre-procurement notice can be found at this link. While technically it will be an open tender, for all intents and purposes its an extension to Frontline, and much like previous contracts will be tailored to their model to ensure they win it 2/16
An NAAS Thread: In the likely event the National Assessment and Accreditation System (NAAS) rears its ugly head through the #carereview, a reminder of some of the many issues. The NAAS has been such a trainwreck I have likely missed some so please add more @carereviewwatch 1/14
First the obvious points to make. It adds more work to already overworked social workers. There is no evidence that it improves practice in any way. At a time of scare resources it is outrageously expensive. Regardless of how often they repeat it, it is a test, not CPD! 2/14
Jun 14, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1/4 Why many of us are interested in networks: Now Teach was established using the founders personal and professional connections to leaders of established charities (inc. ARK), hedge funds, media & central government, but framed as an underdog story.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9…2/4 Value of Now Teach aside, this is not what should determine the qualifying of some of our most NB professionals, and how public funding for public professionals is spent. Same issues in social work for sure.
