Do Do Social Work

An emergency podcast to break down the challenges of kinship care, and encourage you...yes you...to provide your ideas to help shape new legislation. Sarah and Paul discuss the new and exciting ideas laid out for kinship care in the Law Commission consultation report. Are proposals for Kinship Care Orders, and Kinship Guardians going to reshape future history!?! Or will they make little difference to the lives of children and their families?
The views represented are our own and do not reflect any organisations we work for or have worked for.
You can get in touch with us by emailing: dodosocialwork@gmail.com
Links:
Shuttleworth, P. (2025) Listening to Children about Kinship Care, Child Welfare and Permanence: A Child-Centred Approach to Navigating Relational Spaces. London: Policy Press.
 
Shuttleworth, P., (2023). 'Kinship care for England and Wales in the 2020s: assumptions, challenges and opportunities' in R. Sen and C. Kerr (eds) The Future of Children’s Care: Critical Perspectives on Children’s Services Reform, p.122.
 
Law Commission consultation on kinship care (full consultation paper)Law Commission consultation on kinship care (summary)
 
Law Commission consultation on kinship care (easy read)

In this episode Paul and Sarah team up with Veterinary Social Work expert Rebecca Stephens to chat about the link between human and veterinary services. 
We deep dive into why companion animals matter in our lives, and how social workers can actually bring an animal inclusive perspective into their everyday practice.
A link to Rebecca's CPD module
The views represented at time of recording are our own and do not reflect any organisations we work for or have worked for.

A new version with better quality vocals...In this episode Paul and Sarah are joined by 'Placement Queen' Sarah Wilkins to discuss the ins and outs, the ups and downs, of course placements. What is it? What does each person involved need to do? And how to survive. It also includes enlightening tips that Sarah learnt from the most inspirational people that she ever met on placement (i.e. Sarah W and Paul).
The views represented at time of recording are our own and do not reflect any organisations we work for or have worked for.
References:
Gregory, M., Cook, L., Butt, T. & Shakespeare, J. (2025) Practice education in social work: a scoping review of existing research. Social Work Education.
Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02615479.2024.2448478 
 
Social Work England (2024) Practice education in England: A national scoping review.
Available at: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/about/publications/practice-education-in-england/
 
McClinton, S. & Cocker, C. (2026) The importance of placements in social work education. Department of Health and Social Care, Social Work with Adults Blog (20 March 2026).
Available at: https://socialworkwithadults.blog.gov.uk/2026/03/20/the-importance-of-placements-in-social-work-education/
 

To celebrate Neurodiversity Awareness Week, Sarah and Paul unpack what ADHD really is—and Paul nervously, (over)shares that he joins the 1 in 7 people with his ADHD diagnosis. They cover the three ADHD presentations, whether VAST is a better description, a plain English look at dopamine, time blindness and hyperfocus, and they myth-bust the classics: “everyone’s got ADHD now,” “everyone forgets things,” and “it’s just social media.” 
You’ll get practical tips for supporting experts by experience, colleagues, friends and family living with ADHD, plus a short, honest section on safety and life expectancy. It’s psychoeducation with questionable humour. Come for the learning, stay for the highly caffeinated squirrels that keep trying to take over the show.
References
Barkley, R.A. & Fischer, M. 2018, ‘Hyperactive Child Syndrome and Estimated Life Expectancy at Young Adult FollowUp: The Role of ADHD Persistence and Other Potential Predictors’, Journal of Attention Disorders, 23(9), pp. 907–923. 
Community Care 2026, ‘ADHD in social work: the hidden strengths and costs’, Community Care, 10 March. 
Frye, D. 2020, ‘Children with ADHD Avoid Failure and Punishment More Than Others, Study Says’, ADDitude Magazine, 6 November. 
MacDonald, H.J., Kleppe, R., Szigetvari, P.D. & Haavik, J. 2024, ‘The dopamine hypothesis for ADHD: An evaluation of evidence accumulated from human studies and animal models’, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, article 1492126. 
NHS England Digital 2025, Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2023/4 — Chapter 9: Attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 27 November. 
Partridge, A. 2025, Now It All Makes Sense: How an ADHD Diagnosis Brought Clarity to My Life, London: Sheldon Press. 
RowneySmith, A., Sutton, B., Quadt, L. & Eccles, J.A. 2026, ‘The lived experience of rejection sensitivity in ADHD – A qualitative exploration’, PLOS ONE, 21(1), e0314669

In this episode Paul and Sarah have a chat about Experts by Experience, co-production and participation and are joined by Debs Pawley, Coordinator of the Experts by Experience Network at the University of Sussex.
The views represented at time of recording are our own and do not reflect any organisations we work for or have worked for.
Show Notes:
Fox, J. (2020). Perspectives of experts-by-experience: an exploration of lived experience involvement in social work education. Social Work Education, 41(4), 587–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1861244
Roger Hart's Ladder of Children’s Participation Model:Hart, R. A. (1992). Children’s participation: From tokenism to citizenship. Florence, Italy: United Nations Children’s Fund International Child Development Centre.
Laura Lundy Model:Lundy, L. (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Association, 33(6), 927–942.
Children Act 1989: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents

Do you like being in a group, or are you a lone wolf, or somewhere in-between? In this festive episode, Sarah and Paul chat about group dynamics, reflecting on not only what it means in social work, but also their own lives.
 
The views represented at time of recording are our own and do not reflect any organisations we work for or have worked for.
 
Further Resources:
 
Tuckman's stages of group development: Tuckman, B.(1965) 'Developmental sequence in small groups', Psychological Bulletin, vol.63, pp.384–99.
 
Fisher, C.M (2025) 'The Collective Edge', Simon & Shuster.
 

What does trauma-informed practice really mean? Is it just another buzzword, another thing we have to do—or something that can genuinely change how we work with people every day?
In this episode, Sarah and Paul chat with Professor Kristi Langhoff, a leading voice in trauma-informed practice. Together, they break it down into everyday language—exploring what it is, what it isn’t, its key principles, and how curiosity can help us understand the complexity of people’s lives, feelings, and values.
If you’ve ever wondered how trauma-informed thinking can shape real-world practice (without jargon or theory overload), this is your starting point. It’s practical, reflective, and full of ideas you can use right away.
The views represented at time of recording are our own and do not reflect any organisations we work for or have worked for.
Further Resources:
 
The Innovate Project – https://theinnovateproject.co.uk/resources/
Trauma-Informed Practice Padlet curated by Prof. Kristi Langhoff – https://padlet.com/k_langhoff/trauma-informed-practice-resources-6d9prs7r5bfr
Research in Practice Guide: Embedding Trauma-Informed Approaches in Adult Social Care –https://www.researchinpractice.org.uk/media/hj0k0021/ripfa_embedding_trauma-informed_approaches_frontline_briefing_web.pdf
 

Sarah and Paul discuss the current concerns about the effectiveness of the Domestic, Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-Based Violence (DASH) assessment. Is it still fit for purpose, and what can this mean for other social work approaches and tools?
 
The views represented at time of recording are our own and do not reflect any organisations we work for or have worked for.
 
Show notes:
 
BBC news article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr4e7yrxkgvo

Be prepared to smash it at interviews. Sarah and Paul discuss the do dos and no nos of interviews. It's a serious matter, but we enjoyed talking about it with a few giggles on the way. Although tailored for social work, these tips can be applied to all types of interview experiences, including being accepted onto a course or module.
 
Some more tips are available on the Social Work Portal: https://www.socialworkportal.com/social-work-interview-questions-answers/
 
Explanations about the Johari Window and unlocking the unknown unknown: Bergquist, W., 2009. The Johari Window: Exploring the unconscious processes of interpersonal relationships and the coaching engagement. International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, 7(3), p.73.
 

Sarah and Paul discuss what’s happening with AI, ChatGPT, and using big data to inform risk. Will AI be a help or a hindrance? They also discuss how to be part of the change and ensure that professional and lived experiences are not lost. Oh, and Paul does his famous Sir Keir Starmer impression.
Ferguson, H. (2018) ‘Making home visits: Creativity and the embodied practices of home visiting in social work and child protection’, Qualitative Social Work, 17(1), pp. 65–80.
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