Letting go of 'the way things are done here': from reflection to disruption in local authority social work

• Published in: Journal of social work practice Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 241 - 256
• Main Author: Watts, Rebecca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 03.04.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Bureaucracy; Child protection; Cultural change; Disruption; facilitating reflective practice groups; Group practice; Occupational roles; organisational change; Organizational culture; Professional practice; Reflective practice; relationship-based practice; Social work; Social workers
• ISSN: 0265-0533; 1465-3885
• DOI: 10.1080/02650533.2022.2058921

In 2015, Brighton and Hove Children's Services embarked on a reorganisation and a new Model of Practice to promote relation ship-based social work. New Lead Practitioner roles were created to work at the interface between front-line social workers and man agers to promote reflection and service development in a range of contexts. A reflective practice group led by an external consultant was established to support the development of the role. This paper will explore the experience of one Lead Practitioner of being part of the reflective practice group and how it enabled her to take up the new role and support change in the wider organisation. It will explore how the role of the facilitator, the techniques utilised and the members of the group created a disorientating, destabilising effect that created a context to dismantle preconceived assumptions of 'the way things are done here' and supported change in the wider organisational culture. The author provides examples of how she attempted to create this experience on the 'outside' to support a shift from bureaucratic, procedural-dominated practice, to new ways of doing things in front-line social work.