LibGuides: Social work, Social care and Community Studies: Professional bodies and organisations

Professional organisations

Professional bodies and societies are such useful sources of information.

You can find out what is key to your professional body by looking at the organisations website. They tend to be full of information about research, events and news that matter to the organisation.

This box contains links to professional bodies, associations, societies and trusts related to the sciences:

British Association of Social Workers
Social Care Elf from the National Elf Service
The Social Elf writes blog posts based on evidence from a range of journal sources, websites and databases.
You can find out more about other Elfs and the National Elf Service here
Social Care Institute for Excellence
Social Work England
Youth Justice Board

Subject specific organisations

A profession is broader than academic sources! Move beyond the Library!

Here are a range of organisations related to health, social work and social care. It is important to have a holistic overview of your profession and this extends to developing an awareness around organisations that research, advocate and work within your subject area.

British Association of Social Workers
The professional association for social work and social workers.
British Social Attitudes
Each year NatCen's British Social Attitudes survey asks around 3,000 people what it's like to live in Britain and what they think about how Britain is run.
Since 1983 we've been measuring and tracking changes in people's social, political and moral attitudes.
The survey is a critical gauge of public opinion, and is used by the Government, journalists, opinion formers and academics.
Health and Care Professions Council
The health and care professions workforce regulator in England (Social Work England due to become the new social work regulator on 2 Dec 19).
International Federation of Social Workers
Global organisation striving for international co-operation between social workers worldwide and their professional organisations.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The UK's largest independent social research and development charity. It supports research and development projects in housing, social care and social policy. The site has access to full text reports and it is possible to order publications online.
National Youth Agency
Youth work focuses on working holistically with young people. It’s about building resilience and character and giving young people the life skills (often totally misleadingly described as “soft”) they need to live, learn, work and interact successfully with other people.
The National Youth Agency is the national body for this important, under-recognised discipline. We have taken the lead in championing it for fifty years. But as the choices and challenges facing young people get more demanding and the public funding to support them diminishes, our mission gets more urgent every day.
The Nuffield Trust
Promotes independent analysis and informed debate on UK health care policy. Their main areas of research centres around improving health and quality of life, the provision of people-centred services and effectiveness in use of resources. The site provides access to publications and facilities for ordering copies of reports.
Social Care Institute for Excellence
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people who use care services by sharing knowledge about what works.
Social Policy Research Unit
Is active in the areas of disability, family care, social welfare and financial assistance. The three major research programmes are community care for adults, children and families, and social security. The site enables access to their papers and reports.
Social Work England
The organisation defines itself as "a specialist regulator focused on enabling positive change in social work".

Government Departments

Keeping up to date with government thinking, policies, papers and directives is key!

This box contains links to relevant UK departments.

Department for Education
Department for Health and Social Care
Health and social care integration: joining up care for people, places and populations
This white paper sets out measures to make integrated health and social care a universal reality for everyone across England regardless of their condition and of where they live.