Stories of change in children's social care: Mariam Mohamed, Exploitation Team at Richmond and Wandsworth Councils
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.@CPI_foundation, @FrontlineSW and a team of social workers have been supporting local authorities around the UK to make small changes in the sector. Read their stories.
Share article"Children always deserve to be safe irrespective of where they’re from or who they are. Violence is not inevitable, but I believe is preventable." @wandbc
Share article.@CPI_foundation @FrontlineSW & a team of social workers are working with @TowerHamletsNow @wandbc @WarringtonBC to understand how system change in #childrenssocialcare can happen in their local context
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What do you think about the process of making small changes?
"In order to make a big change we need to start from the beginning, no matter how small that is."
I think it's a good idea. In our field, you never have enough time - it’s so fast paced and you’re always rushing. So it’s nice to reflect, share your views, articulate it and actually make it into a plan. It’s also nice to just have space to be so open and honest. So I think [this initiative] is definitely needed in order to make changes. In order to make a big change we need to start from the beginning, no matter how small that is.
What small changes are you interested in that your local authority is focusing on?
The project I’m involved in relates to young people’s voices and how to make them more effective and part of the process. I’ve become really interested in it because most of the time you speak for young people, but it's also important to let them speak and truly be heard in a bigger forum. With Evolve, we’re very fortunate to work in different ways, to not be constrained and be able to champion young people’s voices - we’re quite unique and that’s one of the reasons I joined.
What do you think that small changes could achieve, and why does that matter to you personally?
"Children always deserve to be safe irrespective of where they’re from or who they are. Violence is not inevitable, but I believe is preventable."
All the different changes are important because they’re going to help the service evolve in a better way. And on a larger scale, that hopefully results in better outcomes for young people and their families and communities.
I think that’s important because you can only get so far on your own. Collectively, you have to think of the bigger picture. Children always deserve to be safe irrespective of where they’re from or who they are. Violence is not inevitable, but I believe is preventable.
What has your journey with Crescendo been like?
It's been interesting and insightful. It’s also been reflective and a bit patient. We can’t always make every meeting but it's been adaptable to us because they really know the work that we are doing. Even if you’ve missed a few, you can check in with your team members or Crescendo, and they can help you start on the foot that you were on and keep going, and that’s been really helpful for me.
Stories of change in children's social care
How can real system change be achieved in children’s social care, so that services prioritise relationships and empower practitioners? We are supporting local authorities to unlock social workers’ potential.