Influx of social workers

A traineeship programme aimed at producing much-needed social workers in Dumfries and Galloway is beginning to bear fruit. The region’s social work department has been under-resourced and overstretched for years, and it was reported earlier this year that it was operating at two thirds of capacity because of staff vacancies and workers being off sick with stress. It was also revealed that social workers supporting vulnerable children and families in Dumfries and Galloway have caseloads that are three times higher than they should be. The worrying situation was previously described as a “perfect storm” by former social work committee chair Linda Dorward. However, elected members were pleased to discover last week that there has been an influx of newly-qualified social workers to help deliver vital services supporting some of the most vulnerable people in the community. A report tabled at Tuesday’s social work committee reads: “We currently have 24 newly-qualified social workers (NQSW) within our service: nine in adult services, one in justice social work, one in out of hours and 13 in children and families services who are supported by our improvement and quality officers. “We continue to work closely with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and other local authorities to ensure the new national model for NQSW support is fully embedded.” Speaking at the committee, North West Dumfries Councillor Emma Jordan said: “It’s really good to see that we’ve got 24 newly-qualified social workers, and also that the social work traineeships are going well. “We’ve had one cohort, we’re now on the second, and are planning the third.” With a national shortage of social workers, most councils in Scotland are facing the same problem of filling social worker vacancies. However, Dumfries and Galloway Council has been developing its ‘grow your own’ scheme in recent years to help produce more social workers. Social work bosses say that the social work traineeship programme “continues to attract strong interest”, with almost 50 applicants for four traineeships in cohort two. Following the first cohort, all trainees secured positions within the social work department, helping to secure a sustainable workforce.