Bristol pilots new Social Work Practice scheme

Bristol will be the first city piloting a scheme giving social workers more freedom and flexibility to assist children in care.

The £100,000 Social Work Practice (SWP) has been funded by the Government.

It gives social workers powers to set up their own practice and hire their own staff.

The service, due to launch in May, is aiming to help around 160 of the 650 Bristol children in care or leaving care.

Running like a GP surgery, will make quicker decisions about the situations of the children involved.

There are currently 220 social workers in the city providing a service rated by Ofsted as ‘good’.

Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Councillor Clare Campion-Smith said: “I anticipate that social workers taking part in the pilot would have much more freedom and flexibility to manage themselves.  Reducing bureaucracy will allow social workers to spend more time directly with the children for whom they have responsibility and be creative about the way they work.”