‘Why social workers need to show children they care’

By Lauren Parker

Community Care

In this piece for National Care Leavers’ Week, Lauren Parker recalls the first time a social worker showed she cared about her – and why it is so important for practitioners to take an interest in the children they work with.

The first time I felt like a social worker cared about me was when I was fifteen years old. I’d already had six social workers at this point. With a high turnover of staff and even higher caseloads, I wasn’t surprised that most of these professionals didn’t know me that well.

In one of my review meetings, I was asked by my independent reviewing officer what my hobbies were. No one had ever asked me that question before and after a minute of thinking, my mind landed on tennis. I had never played before, but I’d seen plenty of matches on television.