Cultivating safe spaces for critical reflection and staff care: Lessons learned through a study exploring lived experiences of child and family social workers

Background
This paper presents findings of a study which explored lived experience(s) of social workers responsible for supporting children and families during COVID-19. To represent voices of practitioners while addressing a gap in qualitative data highlighting their day-to-day experience(s) the study aims and objectives were to: (1) develop insight into personal and professional challenges practitioners faced during COVID-19 and (2) consider lessons learned from social workers’ lived experiences for post-pandemic staff care.

Methodology
Following ethical approval, data was collected through informal conversation with thirty four social workers. Reflexive thematic analysis of digitally recorded data identified the overarching theme: ‘Managing change, risk and uncertainty’ which underpinned four sub-themes including: (1) Determining thresholds and responding to referrals (2) Managing at a physical distance (3) Navigating work-home life roles, responsibilities and priorities and (4) Challenges for self-care and staff support.

Conclusion and recommendations
To safeguard against professional burn-out, and encourage practitioners’ post-pandemic well-being, opportunities for critical reflection and staff care should be fostered. As supervision remains central to staff care, ideas for cultivating safe spaces for critical reflection presented in this paper include use of aspects of the values-based and relationship-based supervision model developed in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.