Former firefighter finds his calling in social work

Huw was working with a care-leaver who was a witness in a high-profile criminal trial. This was his first introduction to exploitation social workers. They work with children at risk of criminal exploitation, from county drugs lines to grooming gangs. He became interested in the role, but discovered that you needed to be a registered social worker.

Huw decided to go back to university. Initially, he applied for the Social Work BA (Hons) degree. However, during the interview he was advised that he had the qualifications and experience to apply for our Social Work MA degree. Both courses are accredited by Social Work England and allow students to apply to become a registered social worker.

Huw was accepted onto the Social Work MA course and embraced every opportunity. “I enjoyed all of it,” he says, “I enjoyed the course, the tutors were great and my classmates were all nice.” When asked for his favourite thing about the course, he replied “definitely my placements.”

Our Social Work MA includes two placements. The first is a 70 day placement and the second is a 100 day placement. Huw says that for the first placement, “tutors ask you to do the opposite of what you want to do in your career. So if you want to work with children, they ask you to work with adults.” This gives students a breadth of experience and can help them determine if they’re on the right path.

As Huw wanted to work in child exploitation, tutors suggested he completed his first placement with adults instead. He worked at the Foxton Centre with homeless people and sex workers. He found this challenging, but good for his professional development.

Huw completed his second placement in the child exploitation team, EmPower. He knew he’d found the role for him, as “I was talking to my classmates on placement and they’d be in the office. I was on police operations and going into schools to deliver anti-radicalisation training.” Just four weeks into his placement, his manager encouraged him to apply for a job when he graduated.

Huw is now a contextual safeguarding social worker. This role is focused on protecting the child from negative influences outside the family. These are often complex cases including children at risk of exploitation, homelessness or exhibiting harmful sexual behaviours. He is responsible for organising various interventions by other teams, including exploitation social workers, youth workers, mentors and more. Huw says, “I make sure the correct interventions are delivered to that child.”

Discussing his role, he says “every day is different. Every day is interesting. Every day throws up challenges, but that’s what we’re here for.” His day can vary from reviewing Child in Need (CiN) plans, to taking children abseiling, to attending police operations. By his third week in the role, Huw was accompanying a police detective to issue a Child Abduction Warning Notice.

He praises the training opportunities, saying “my development here has been second-to-none. Anytime anyone asks does anyone want to do this, I’m the first one in.”

Huw is also backing the Men Do Care campaign, which aims to get more men into caring roles. The vast majority of children at risk of criminal exploitation are male, so there’s a real benefit to having men in the team. “There might not be any male role models in that child’s life,” he says, “I’ve seen with my own two eyes how well the children respond to the guys. They really take to them.”

He also encourages men from non-caring backgrounds like sport or the Armed Forces to consider a role in social work too. “There’s so many transferable skills,” he says, “I’d recommend it to any bloke.”

When asked about his plans for the future, he says “right now, I’m so happy where I am. It’s such a good fit for me.” He continues to embrace every opportunity thrown at him.