• Lemn Sissay: Gold from the Stone – care, poetry and Christmas dinners
    Jun 22 2025

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    This week Hannah and Matt are joined by Lemn Sissay, poet, writer and founder and trustee of the Gold from the Stone Foundation. In this episode Lemn shares his experiences of being a young person in care and leaving care, and the importance of love and care in the care system. We discuss poetry, writing, the Gold from the Stone Foundation, and Lemn flips the episode and asks Matt and Hannah about their experiences of social work.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
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    54 mins
  • Catherine Gladwell: Refugee Week – Community as a superpower
    Jun 15 2025

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    This week Matt and Hannah are joined by Catherine Gladwell, Founder and Chief Executive of Refugee Actions UK to talk about the importance of education for refugee and asylum-seeking children. The episode explores some of the insights that Catherine has gained from working with children, young people and teachers through humanitarian work, and how this led to her founding Refugee Education UK.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
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    Instagram: @RelationalSW
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    54 mins
  • Dr Lisa Cherry: Weaving a Web of Belonging
    Jun 8 2025

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    This episode begins by Hannah and Matt discussing the tragic event which happened at the Liverpool Premier League celebrations, and the reaction to this in the media and online. Hannah and Matt are then joined by Dr Lisa Cherry, to talk about her new book, ‘Weaving a Web of Belonging’. The episode explores trauma informed practice, key messages from the book, and Lisa’s health and the impact that her diagnosis and the medication has had on her. The episode ends with reflections from Coventry practitioners who attended Lisa’s book launch which took place on the same day that the podcast was recorded.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
    LinkedIn: The relational Social Work Podcast
    Instagram: @RelationalSW
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Jo Williams: Supervision and the spaces in between
    Jun 1 2025

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    In this episode Hannah and Matt are joined by Jo Williams, an independent social work consultant, author and research, with a particular interest in supervision and social work leadership. This episode explores the components of good quality supervision, and how supervision does not only take place within one-to-one and group settings, but that situational supervision happens in the spaces in between. This episode also explores the impact of home and hybrid working since Covid-19 on team relationships and supervision.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
    LinkedIn: The relational Social Work Podcast
    Instagram: @RelationalSW
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    54 mins
  • Donald Forrester: From AI to difficult conversations – practice considerations for social work practice moving forwards
    May 25 2025

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    In this episode Matt and Hannah are joined by Donald Forrester, Professor of Child and Family Social Work at Cardiff University, the Director of CASCADE the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre, and the Deputy Director SCALE the Centre Social Care and Artificial Intelligence Learning. The episode explores the use of AI in social work, the importance of love in social work practice, and how social workers have difficult but necessary conversations with the families that they work with.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
    LinkedIn: The relational Social Work Podcast
    Instagram: @RelationalSW
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Cllr Pat Seaman: The role of local politics in Children’s Services
    May 18 2025

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    In this episode Matt and Hannah are joined by Cllr Pat Seaman, Lead Member for Children’s at Coventry City Council. Pat talks about the importance of relationships, community and help being available for families when they are in need. We discuss Pat’s journey into politics and the role that local politics plays in how Children’s Services is delivered, and the role of the Lead Member for Children’s Services.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
    LinkedIn: The relational Social Work Podcast
    Instagram: @RelationalSW
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    49 mins
  • Isabelle Trowler: The future of social work according to the Chief Social Worker
    May 11 2025

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    This episode starts by announcing which two of our newsletter subscribers are the first winners of a Madlug bag and some podcast merchandise. Hannah and Matt are then joined by Isabelle Trowler, Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. The episode explores Isabelle’s role as Chief Social Worker, and social work as a political profession. Isabelle shares learning from Pathfinders and how this will support Local Authorities to rethink and redesign services, with a particular focus on Multi Agency Child Protection Teams and the interface with Family Help. Conversations explore the benefits, challenges, dilemmas and tensions of lead practitioners in the Family Help space who are not social work qualified, and how multi agency teams in child protection can support better decision making and enhance practice with children and families. Isabelle then shares her thoughts around progression routes for social workers and what gives her hope for the future of social work.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
    LinkedIn: The relational Social Work Podcast
    Instagram: @RelationalSW
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    57 mins
  • Rachael Wardell: Episode brought to you in affiliation with the Association of Directors of Children's Services
    May 4 2025

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    In this episode Matt and Hannah speak with Rachael Wardell, Executive Director of Children, Families and Lifelong Learning (DCS) at Surrey County Council and President of The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS). This episode explores the work of the ADCS and Rachael’s hopes for her presidency, including tackling child poverty, championing diverse senior leadership in Children’s Services, and social care reforms.

    Thank you for listening to The Relational Social Work Podcast. We are always interested to learn what you thought of the episode and welcome your feedback, suggestions, or ideas for future topics. Stay connected and join the conversation on our social media channels!
    LinkedIn: The relational Social Work Podcast
    Instagram: @RelationalSW
    Visit Our Website and Subscribe to our mailing list: www.therelationalsocialworkpodcast.com

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    58 mins