BLOG:“A profession I am proud to be part of”

 Reflections from Liverpool’s Adult Social Care Principal Social Worker  

This week Liverpool City Council is celebrating World Social Work Week, a chance to recognise the dedication and impact of social work across our city. As part of this celebration, we spoke to Alison Toolin, Liverpool’s Principal Social Worker for Adult Social Care, about her journey into the profession, the work happening across the city and what World Social Work Day means to her. 

World Social Work Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate our profession and to take time to reflect on what we have achieved in our role. 

Within Adult Social Care, we are continuing to work together to embed the pathways and ways of working that support our vision of Living Better Lives for Liverpool citizens. Independence and reablement underpin our transformation programme and are central to how we support people to live well. These approaches are already fundamental to social work practice and will continue to guide the decisions we make across the directorate. The combined contribution and commitment from all working in the directorate was reflected in our “Good” rating from CQC last year. A real cause for celebration! 

I started my career working as part of a team during the closure of a long stay hospital. This meant supporting people with mental health issues to live in their own homes in the community. Memories that stay with me are that sometimes it is the small things that make such a difference to a person’s life. Being able to vote for the first time, giving people a voice and being able to plan your own day. Although this was several years ago, this approach continues to be at the heart of social work practice, building skills to live as independently as possible and having support which is based within your local community. 

Several years and other posts later, I realised that being a Social Worker would give me the opportunity to continue to enable people to live as independently as possible, to have experiences and uphold rights most of us take for granted. Once qualified, I have worked in a variety of teams and roles which has given me the grounding and experience to be your Principal Social Worker. 

My role now involves working with various teams to support colleagues to develop their careers in social work at the council. This includes offering placements to students, facilitating apprenticeships for people who want to train as Social Workers, developing our offer for newly qualified Social Workers through the Assessed Year in Employment (ASYE) programme, and providing opportunities for continuous professional development, additional qualifications and clear pathways for progression. 

We are thrilled that a number of our apprentices have passed their social work degree. We are working to offer this opportunity to more colleagues later this year. Liverpool City Council is committed to bringing new Social Workers into the profession, and our ASYE programme will continue to support and develop newly qualified workers as they begin their careers. 

As a team of Practice Leads, we are working to continue to provide tools to support good practice including training, accessible and up to date policies and practice guidance, documentation and learning from feedback from people who draw on care and support. There is still a lot to do to make sure we maintain and build on our ‘Good’ rating in making a positive difference to the lives of people within Liverpool. 

To anyone who may be considering a future in social work, it is a truly rewarding career where you can make a real difference to people’s lives every day. I would encourage anyone thinking about this path to explore it further and to feel proud of choosing a profession rooted in compassion, empowerment and positive change. 

I hope our social workers take time today to celebrate the work we do as individuals and as a team and to reflect on what led to you working in social care and of being a Social Worker, a profession I am proud to be part of. 

If you are interested in practicing Social Work in Liverpool, please visit our website for the latest opportunities https://jobs.liverpool.gov.uk/jobs/search