By Sarah McMillan
There is a growing body of evidence that racism is an issue which affects social workers and those who receive social work services in Scotland.
The Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) published a report in 2021 that suggested that social workers experienced racism in the workplace and the response to these experiences was often unsatisfactory.
More recently, the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (Iriss) published a report of a national survey into attitudes and experiences of racism in social work commissioned by the Scottish Government.
Its findings included a discrepancy between the perception of racism and its impact between those who identified as white/ethnic majority and those who identified as minority ethnic. Those who considered themselves minority ethnic identified a greater need for increased anti-racism in social work.
The Scottish Government has committed to repeating the survey every two years, to build a picture of attitudes and experiences and how they change.
Anti-racism action plan
As well as recommendations for improved communication and reporting systems, consistency and shared responsibility, the Iriss survey report called for increased training and education on anti-racism, specific to social work. This was one of the highest-ranking priorities for survey respondents.
At the same time as the survey report, the Scottish Government published the first anti-racism action plan for the Scottish social work sector developed by the Social Work Anti-racism Oversight Group, of which SSSC is a member.
There are several strategic outcomes in the plan, including fostering anti-racist workplace cultures. Under this outcome, the plan calls for career-long learning opportunities to embed anti-racist training at all levels of social work practice and education.
Drawing on social workers' experience of racism
While the action plan was being developed, we secured funding from the Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser (OCSWA) in the Scottish Government to develop an anti-racism learning resource, to respond to the emerging evidence and needs of the workforce. We commissioned the SASW to produce the online resource.
We worked closely with SASW colleagues on the design and development of the resource content, which drew on the lived experience and expertise of their anti-racism advisory group, which is made up of social workers with lived experience of racism. Members of the group helped inform and review the content as we went along, ensuring lived experience was central to the learning.
What the resource contains
We’ve designed the resource to be relevant to social workers at all career stages, from students to senior managers and recommend working through each module in turn.
Each module has video, audio and written information, along with exercises designed to promote reflection on anti-racism and what it means for learners' social work practice. There are four modules to complete and additional materials you can use to lead in-person sessions.
The modules are accompanied by a facilitator guide, designed to stimulate collective reflection and discussion in teams.
Acknowledging discomfort and promoting reflection
The first module acknowledges the discomfort that can arise when we explore our attitudes and behaviours and explores how to recognise when things feel uncomfortable and where to get support. Subsequent modules explore different approaches to address racism, how it can manifest in the workplace and the impact it can have.
We introduce concepts like unconscious bias, privilege and allyship. There are exercises to promote reflection on what these mean for us as individuals and as social workers. We include case examples and scenarios to illustrate how to address racism and challenge it constructively and effectively.
In the final module, we focus on leadership, exploring legislative and procedural frameworks and professional standards that you can use to promote an anti-racist culture.
A social work-specific learning opportunity
Learning outcomes are reviewed at the end of each module and there’s a workbook that learners can download and use to record their responses to the reflective exercises and review how they have achieved the learning outcomes.
The resource is intended to promote awareness of racism, its impact and what can be done to address it. It contributes to meeting the need for a centrally located, social work-specific learning opportunity that can be accessed by individuals and groups across the sector.
Sarah McMillan is learning and development adviser at the SSSC
