Registration now open for Social Work Week 2023

Free tickets are now available for a week of events to mark the huge impact that social work has on society.

Social Work Week returns for its third year from Monday 20 to Friday 24 March 2023. It is led by Social Work England, the regulator for social workers in England. The week aims to bring people together to learn, connect, and influence a nationwide conversation on social work. Last year thousands of tickets were snapped up by people with an interest in this vital, but often misunderstood profession.

Anyone can book free tickets for 19 virtual headline sessions curated by Social Work England. In addition, individuals and organisations will be delivering free sector-led events across the country, primarily online, with some also in person. Early booking for all sessions via the Social Work England website is recommended.

The week of activity has been put together by people with lived and learned experience of social work to ensure it reflects the diversity of social work practice. With 100,000 social workers in England, impacting on the lives of millions of people, there is no shortage of stories to share. The week intentionally aligns with World Social Work Day, which this year falls on Tuesday 21 March and recognises social work across the globe.

Highlights

• Members of Social Work England’s National Advisory Forum share what social work has meant in their lives and explore why co-production is so important.
• Social work leaders from across the sector reflect on key issues of the last year, with a focus on workforce and retention.
• Findings will be presented from Social Work England’s new in-depth research to look at the state of social work in England in 2023.
• People with lived experience of social work share real-life experiences of reading their social work files and practical tips on the power of report-writing.
• A university study of LGBTQ+ young people with experience of social care presents its findings.
• A new specialist prison and multi-agency public protection team explains how to deliver effective social work from behind the prison gate.

In addition, the sessions promise to reflect the breadth of social work in practice and the wide-ranging impact across services for adults, children and families. Here you can hear from experts and people on the ground about the black care experience, community social work, supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, safeguarding, eating disorders, learning disabilities and trauma, and much more.

Sarah Blackmore, Executive Director of Professional Practice and External Engagement at Social Work England, said:

"Social Work Week aims to bring people together to learn, connect, and influence change. In previous years it has been attended by thousands of people with an interest in social work, including those who use social work services, social workers, students, educators and employers.

This year’s programme is bigger and better than ever before. I would like to thank everyone for getting behind this momentum for a national week to showcase the positive impact that this profession has on individuals and society."

Most of the events are virtual and all can be booked individually, allowing people to personalise their experience of Social Work Week based on their interests and diaries. For social workers, all sessions can be used for personal reflection for continuing professional development (CPD), which they can then upload to their Social Work England online accounts.

All tickets can now be booked through the Social Work England website. Information on how to book on to sector-led sessions is also detailed on the website. If anybody needs accessibility support or advice to do this, please email Social Work England at [email protected].

People interested in being kept up to date with Social Work Week 2023 can also sign up to Social Work England’s newsletter Social Work Now to get updates straight to their inbox.