Why are there so many negative depictions of social work in popular entertainment? Jack Thorne’s Kiri and Jo Brand’s Damned have begun to turn the tide, however they are still outnumbered by the abundance of police, medical and courtroom dramas, all portraying challenging situations and professions just as bureaucratic.
My play Left My Desk is about a children’s services social worker in a post-industrial Yorkshire town. The idea first formed two years ago; mid-way through a conversation with a friend, I shouted, “Hang on! You’re a social worker!”
She looked perplexed, I had known her for more than a decade, and she had been a social worker for the past eight years but that was the moment I realised the picture of a social worker in my head was completely at odds with the reality in front of me.
Why was my perception so skewed?
I was influenced, I think, by headlines, secretly filmed documentaries, the various scandals that have hit the UK over the last 10 years. The phrase “thankless task” – alongside the words failure, incompetence, fault and blame – had become synonymous with social work.
Yet here was my friend: intelligent, caring, fiercely passionate about her job.
“You don’t have a clipboard!” I said.
“No, we don’t have clipboards,” she replied.
I decided to write a drama that – like all the best cop shows (*cough* Happy Valley) – was both serious and seriously entertaining. To tell a story that steers clear of the two extreme tropes: the failing and ineffectual, or the heartless child snatcher.
I’ve always been aware of the financial pressures faced by many public services; my mum has worked for nearly 20 years for local authorities and though not directly working in social care, she has experienced the upheavals caused by the lack of funding and political will. She was once part of a team that won an award for excellent work in the community. Just weeks after the ceremony, the entire team was made redundant. I remember the devastation as the work it was so highly praised for was abandoned.
But even with the knowledge that all local authorities are facing severe cuts, I was shocked at the crippling financial restraints social services find themselves under, especially considering there is a demand for social care across the UK, across all social strata, and a general consensus that it is a vital service.
While researching Left My Desk, I interviewed experienced social workers, social work trainees, lecturers, service users and care leavers. I also spoke to my peers and wider circles with no immediate connection to social work. I found social workers fighting against the fact that their profession is often not granted the same respect or kudos as roles such as teaching or nursing.
The negative picture in the public psyche – paired with cuts to early intervention schemes, and the raising of eligibility thresholds – have forced many social workers in child protection into what they believe is “reactive” rather than “proactive” care. I began to hear these terms everywhere – from police work to the housing crisis, to the NHS – connecting what is happening to local authority child protection teams to a wider public sector outcry against austerity.
While writing and workshopping Left My Desk, it quickly became apparent that it would take a whole series of plays to adequately portray all that goes into the daily tasks of a social worker.
How do I write a piece that acknowledges the difficulties, the sometimes hideous situations, takes into account the different schools of thought within the sector on what is and what is not the best approach to child protection, while also acknowledging the good stories and positive outcomes I heard when interviewing?
I learned that in children’s services there are no clear cut answers; every single case is different and requires an individual approach.
Throughout the writing of Left My Desk, the fear of getting it wrong has been ever-present, however, as a writer and storyteller I’ve been inspired by the positive effects dramas can have.
I wanted a central figure like in the cop shows, like my friend: dedicated, inspiring, and really bloody cool. I hope that showing a slice of a social worker’s world will open a dialogue and offer an alternative to the negative image I for one carried in my head.
- Olivia Hirst is a writer and actor; Left My Desk is at the New Diorama Theatre in London until 16 June
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