Social Work at Brunel University

🌟 Call for Abstracts — London Social Work Research Network Launch Event 🌟
📅 10 June 2026 | 🕙 10:00–16:00
📍 Senate House, University of London (Central London)
London is home to a vibrant and diverse community of social work researchers — yet opportunities to connect across institutions remain limited. The London Social Work Research Network is being launched to change that.
This new network aims to bring together researchers from across the region to:
🔹 Strengthen collaboration across institutions
🔹 Create space for intellectual exchange
🔹 Support joint research initiatives
🔹 Build a sustainable, local hub for shared learning and partnership
At a time when many face financial constraints limiting travel to national or international conferences, a London‑based forum offers a practical and accessible way to support research development and strengthen the collective research capacity of our field.
🎙️ Call for Abstracts
We invite submissions from social work researchers based in Greater London, including:
• Academic researchers
• Doctoral researchers
• Practitioners engaged in research
Presentations may be oral or poster format.
📄 Abstracts (max 300 words) should be emailed to Dr Cristina Asenjo Palma:
📧 [email protected]
For queries, please contact Dr Yohai Hakak:
📧 [email protected]
🗓️ Key Dates
• Submission deadline: 15 April 2026
• Event date: 10 June 2026
We look forward to building a collaborative and supportive research community together.
Organising Committee:
Dr Cristina Asenjo Palma
Dr Stefan Brown
Dr Yohai Hakak

A lovely moment during the tea break at the Reframing Social Work event at The Irish Centre in January 2026 ☕️

After listening to the thought-provoking talks by Dr Maria Leedham on how social workers are portrayed on UK television, and Maggie Fogarty in conversation with Dr Catherine Lynch about engaging with journalists and sharing the real stories of social work, it was great to see lecturers and student social workers continuing the discussion together.
Spaces like this remind me how powerful learning can be when conversations continue beyond the lecture – reflecting, questioning and thinking about how we can help reshape the narrative of social work.
Glad to be part of such a supportive learning community.

FutureSocialWorker LearningTogether

🎙️ New Episode: Understanding the Romani Gypsy, Roma, and Irish Traveller Communities

What happens when cultural erasure is written into policy? And how can social workers rebuild trust with communities who have learned to fear the state?

In the latest episode of How Does Social Work?, my co-host Colleen Simon and I sit down with Olivia Morrison and Olivia Hammond. from the Traveller Movement to discuss the lived realities of Romani Gypsy, Roma, and Irish Traveller communities in the UK.

We often see these groups lumped together, but the our guests helped us unpack the distinct ethnic and linguistic differences between them. More importantly, we discussed the tangible impacts of recent legislation.

Key insights from our conversation:
🏕️ Erosion of Lifestyle: We explore how acts like the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022) have made the nomadic way of life "virtually impossible," dismantling traditional communal support systems and contributing to a severe mental health crisis.
🎓 Education & Fear: Olivia Hammond shares her powerful personal story of leaving school after primary level - a common practice to protect children from bullying - and the resistance she faced when trying to return to education later in life.
🏥 Accessing Services: We discuss the deep-seated fear of discrimination that prevents community members from accessing healthcare or reporting crimes, often due to past experiences of being refused service or dismissed outright.

For social workers and practitioners, Olivia Morrison offered crucial advice:

· Don't mistake a lack of visible toys for a lack of enrichment; it is often a protective measure against judgment.
· Understand that "dramatised" or loud speech is often a cultural norm, not a sign of aggression.

I am so grateful to Olivia and Olivia for their honesty and expertise.

A massive thank you to Vimal Dalal for the exceptional editing work on this episode. Your skill in weaving these complex narratives together is truly appreciated!

🎧 Listen here: [https://open.spotify.com/episode/1nOnIkTGGqZ8YYuNHLgBO9]

If you work in education, health, or social justice, I’d love for you to give this a listen.

Season 5, episode 4: "The Village Torn Down": The Erosion of Traveller Culture and Community How Does the Social Work? · Episode

Celebrating the Midpoint of our Brunel MSc Social Work Alumni Masterclass Series!

We are officially halfway through our incredibly insightful Brunel University Alumni Masterclass series! It has been a fantastic journey of learning, reflection, and professional growth.

If you missed any of these powerful sessions led by our experienced alumni, now is the perfect time to catch up. Check out the reflections and recordings below! 👇

🙏 Session 1 (26 January): Harmful Practices and Safeguarding Children: When Belief and Faith Collide

Leethen Bartholomew drew on over two decades of frontline experience to explore belief-based harm, including spirit possession and witchcraft accusations. We discussed how to intervene respectfully yet decisively, balancing cultural sensitivity with firm safeguarding imperatives and legal authority. 🔗 Watch the recording: [https://youtu.be/FDonjb0ZXMU?si=CBAXxbCxof0dKn3_]

🛤️ Session 2 (2 February): Responding to Children and Young People Who Go Missing from Home and Care

Laura Lacey shared insights from her 2025 Churchill Fellowship research across Canada, Norway, and Finland. We reflected on the "over-policing" of looked-after children and how to move away from traditional, highly risk-averse responses to embrace collaborative, relational safety-planning tools. 🔗 Watch the recording: [https://youtu.be/iJMsulWRD8s?si=J6wdns-J3NI90Ebo]

🌍 Session 3 (9 February): Supporting Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children in a Hostile Environment

Arjola Vishnja addressed the everyday ethical tensions of practice within a hostile immigration system. We discussed the complexities of age disputes, modern slavery risks, and the necessity of "triple planning" to support vulnerable youth while foregrounding anti-oppressive values. 🔗 Watch the recording: [https://youtu.be/K-5Dyo9qcZA?si=Q16zN6hch0jFNt9u]

🏡 Session 4 (16 February): Articulate Evasion: Recognising and Responding to Neglect in Affluent Families

Jaquelle Wellington challenged our biases by unpacking how neglect—such as emotional neglect and parental substance misuse—can be hidden behind financial and social capital. We reflected on how this privilege can delay statutory intervention and how practitioners can effectively challenge professional deference and institutional blind spots. 🔗 Watch the recording: [https://youtu.be/KZgzdJiEiqU?si=2-8bYxQUWjIXwxvK]

🧠 Session 5 (23 February): Section 117 Aftercare under the Mental Health Act: Opportunities, Challenges and Creative Practice

Anifa Cole guided us through the complex landscape of Section 117 aftercare, which frequently involves funding disputes between the NHS and local authorities. We explored the vital role of practitioner advocacy, creative problem-solving, and ethical persistence in securing meaningful long-term support for service users. 🔗 Watch the recording: [https://youtu.be/E0w12pBteBM?si=nguNkflmlPn1rSk6]

A huge thank you to all our brilliant alumni speakers for sharing their expertise and Vimal Dalal for top quality filming, recording and editing! 🎓 We are incredibly proud of our social work community and can't wait for the second half of the series.

Let us know in the comments which session resonated with you the most! 👇💬

🌟 Join us for an important conversation about Social Graces in social work!
Ever wondered how our views on gender, race, culture, and spirituality influence our professional relationships with People with Lived Experience (PLE)? This interactive webinar will help you explore social graces and how they can enhance your practice.
In this session, we’ll dive into:
✨ What social graces are and how they apply to social work
✨ How to reflect on our own identities and perspectives
✨ Ways to foster more effective engagement with people we support
✨ Building trusting and respectful professional relationships
Don’t forget to bring something to take notes for your personal reflections!
📅 Register now using the QR code or link:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=sZetTDVZA0GoZletmKFRfuYmxVadGudHtcOpAD4DkGBUNjlVOVVYNU42S1BONkhaVFRaWThTUFpGRC4u&origin=QRCode&route=shorturl

🎯 Perfect for social work professionals looking to deepen their practice

Reframing Social Work: owning our narrative
I attended Reframing Social Work, an NIHR event exploring how social work is portrayed in the media — and how those narratives shape our professional identity.

One question stayed with me:
If the evidence doesn’t show public hostility towards social workers, why do we act as though it does?

The message from the Panel was clear:
Be visible. Be confident. Tell real, everyday stories; not just crisis ones.

For student social workers, this was a reminder that professional confidence is built, not waited for.
Proud to represent Brunel University Social Work.
ProudToBeASocialWorker BrunelUniversity createSocialWorkCollege NIHR

✨ This weeks lecture on Ubuntu was such a powerful moment for us as 2nd-year postgraduate social work students.

We had the privilege of having Omar Mohammed (Principal Social Worker Council) join us virtually to speak on decolonisation, anti-racism, and what Ubuntu truly means within UK social work practice.

His session reminded us that Ubuntu is a way of practising social work with humanity, connection and collective responsibility at the centre.

Grateful for the reflections, the discussions, and our beautiful group of future practitioners learning together. 🤍

🔹 Interested in becoming a social worker?
At Brunel University London, we’re committed to preparing students for the realities of practice while supporting their wellbeing throughout their journey.

We’re excited to share two upcoming webinars that reflect the values at the heart of our MSc Social Work programme:

🧩 Social Graces: Understanding Identity, Building Trusting and Respectful Professional Relationships
📅 Tuesday 29th July 2025 | 12:00–1:30PM
🔗 Register: 63149dfb-365a-41dc-8405-4c01f8147335@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/63149dfb-365a-41dc-8405-4c01f8147335@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e

💠 Emotional Resilience: Supporting Your Wellbeing in Social Work
📅 Tuesday 12th August 2025 | 12:00–1:30PM
🔗 Register: 142d8544-a3e6-4900-8414-3aa37b405611@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/142d8544-a3e6-4900-8414-3aa37b405611@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e

Both sessions will be led by Sherwyn Sicat, experienced social worker and educator 👉 https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/sherwyn-sicat

If you’re thinking about a career in social work and want to learn more about how we support our students, these sessions are a great place to start.

🔹 Interested in becoming a social worker?
At Brunel University of London, we’re committed to preparing students for the realities of practice while supporting their wellbeing throughout their journey.

We’re excited to share two upcoming webinars that reflect the values at the heart of our MSc Social Work programme:

🧩 Social Graces: Understanding Identity, Building Trusting and Respectful Professional Relationships
📅 Tuesday 29th July 2025 | 12:00–1:30PM
🔗 Register: 63149dfb-365a-41dc-8405-4c01f8147335@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/63149dfb-365a-41dc-8405-4c01f8147335@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e

💠 Emotional Resilience: Supporting Your Wellbeing in Social Work
📅 Tuesday 12th August 2025 | 12:00–1:30PM
🔗 Register: 142d8544-a3e6-4900-8414-3aa37b405611@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/142d8544-a3e6-4900-8414-3aa37b405611@4cad97b1-5935-4103-a866-57ad98a1517e

Both sessions will be led by Sherwyn Sicat, experienced social worker and educator 👉 https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/sherwyn-sicat

If you’re thinking about a career in social work and want to learn more about how we support our students, these sessions are a great place to start.

BASW Diaspora Social Workers SIG – Annual Conference
📍 University of Wolverhampton

This event was filled with powerful voices, but one that truly stood out was Brunel Social Work student Chito Okeke, who presented her research:

✨ “International Social Workers Bridging Cultural Differences” ✨

Her project highlights the unique strengths and lived experiences of international social workers practicing in the UK – showing how they adapt, navigate, and enrich practice through cross-cultural understanding. 🌍❤️

💬 Are YOU an international social worker in the UK?
Whether you migrated after or before qualifying (and lived in your home country until age 20), your story matters. 🗣️📋

📌 Take part by completing this anonymous questionnaire:
👉 [Link in bio] or: https://lnkd.in/eHa_dj6F
📄 Participant Info Sheet is included at the start.