The BASW Social Work Journalism Awards

The awards are for any UK journalist working in print or broadcast in the national, regional and specialist media.

The awards also welcome nominations from anyone with an interest in promoting fair, accurate and responsible reporting of social work in the media.

• Written journalism in national media
• Written journalism in regional/local media
• Broadcast – national media
• Broadcast – regional/local media
• Trade press
• Lived experience (reports in any media that sensitively features service users/people that social workers support)
• Podcast
• Drama - fiction/TV/film/radio featuring social work 

The awards seek to recognise reports that show an outstanding understanding of social work and the role of social workers. This could include the complex issues practitioners and the people they work with face; the challenging context in which they work; and the difference social workers make to people’s lives.

Applications can come from individual journalists and media organisations. Social workers and members of the public may also nominate journalists in specific categories.

This year, we are asking people to make their nominations using this link https://forms.office.com/e/b5TV44m1Bs  and, you can make multiple nominations.

If you have any queries email awards@basw.co.uk

The awards are for a 12-month period. Details for 2025 will be released shortly.

The deadline for nominations for the Social Work Journalism Awards 2025 will be announced shortly.

All nominations will go through a stringent judging process to create a short list. The winners of each category will be announced at the Awards Night event at BASW UK Conference in June 2025.

All nominations will go through a stringent judging process to create a short list. The winners of each category will be announced at the Awards Night event at BASW UK Conference in June 2025.

• Dr Ruth Allen - chief executive of BASW
• David Brindle - former social affairs editor of The Guardian 
• John McGowan - general secretary of the SWU 
• Maggie Fogarty - former Social Work Today reporter and social affairs TV producer
• Maria Leedham – an applied linguist with the Open University who has researched media portrayals of social work
• Shahid Naqvi - editor of Professional Social Work magazine
• Rebekah Pierre - BASW professional officer and journalist 
• Representatives from BASW's Experts by Experience Group

We recognise social work is a difficult and complex subject. BASW, as the national organisation for social workers, wants to recognise journalism that demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the field. There is excellent work out there by journalists who deserve praise. By launching these awards, we aim to acknowledge this and also help improve the public’s perception of our profession.

The awards are being led by BASW and supported by SWU which together with the Campaign Collective has published Guidelines on media reporting of social workers. The guidance has been approved by press regulator IMPRESS.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

Our purpose for processing is to run the annual BASW Social Work Journalism Awards to celebrate creative, informed and sensitive reporting that demonstrates an outstanding understanding of the profession, we will assess each nomination and pick a winner.

The lawful basis we rely on to process your personal data is article 6(1)(a & f) of the UK GDPR, which allows us to process personal data necessary to perform this task.  We do not ask for any sensitive personal data.

What we need

The information we ask for is the information we need to assess the nominations we receive, contact shortlisted nominees, publicise their work, and to pick a winner.

If you are nominating someone else for consideration, you will submit your name and contact details along with information about the nomination in an online form. This will include the details of the piece of work as well as a statement about why you are nominating them.

Why we need it

We need personal data of the person making the nomination so that we can contact them with any queries we might have. We need the information about the piece you are nominating to assess the nomination and contact the originator of the piece if they are shortlisted and to publicise their work.

What we do with it

The nominations will be assessed by the judging panel. We will contact shortlisted nominees to tell them that they have been shortlisted. We may also contact the person who nominated the shortlisted candidates to inform them that their nominee has been successful.

We will publish the information about the shortlisted nominees on our own website.

How long we keep it

We will retain nominations for 12 months.

What are your rights?

As we process personal data as part of the award nominations process in our capacity as the Awards owner, you have the right to object to our processing of your personal data. There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your objection, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information on your rights, please see 'Your rights as an individual'.

• How can we meet changing care needs of people with learning disabilities? Channel 4 News, by Ruben Reuter
• Joe Swash: Teens in care. BBC One
• No place to call home. BBC Radio 4, File On 4 

Winner - How can we meet changing care needs of people with learning disabilities? Channel 4 News, by Ruben Reuter

• Covid lockdown was a ‘gift’ to child abusers like Finley Boden’s parents, campaigners say. ITV Central News, by Phil Brewster
• More than 4,000 children on waiting lists for social care help with many waiting over a year UTV Northern Ireland
• Spotlight news featuring Luke and Adopt South West’s Amanda, for National Adoption Week BBC South West

Winner - More than 4,000 children on waiting lists for social care help with many waiting over a year UTV Northern Ireland

• 24 hours as a social worker: crippling anxiety, too many cases and unpaid hours The I, by Kia-Elise Green
• ‘I want to improve things for people’: seven social workers reveal why it’s such a rewarding career The Guardian, by Debbie Andalo
• Surge in children needing care in wake of pandemic as councils drastically overspend budgets to cope The Independent, by Holly Bancroft

Winner - Surge in children needing care in wake of pandemic as councils drastically overspend budgets to cope The Independent, by Holly Bancroft

• Staffing crisis' in Northern Irish social work amid call for 'significant change' Belfast Live
• Highland Council warn of ‘critical to catastrophic risk’ as 4 in 10 child social worker jobs sit vacant The Press and Journal (Northern and Scottish Highlands), by Stuart Findlay 
• The innocent children who think they’re in love Manchester Evening News, by Paul Britton 

Winner - The innocent children who think they’re in love Manchester Evening News, by Paul Britton 

• Councils turn to ‘golden hellos' to solve social worker shortage Children & Young People Now, by Fiona Simpson
• Inside a social work strike: the staff fighting for a ‘safe service Community Care, by Anastasia Koutsounia 
• ‘Something bad will happen’: how social care cuts hit exclusions Tes Magazine, by Dan Worth

Winner - ‘Something bad will happen’: how social care cuts hit exclusions Tes Magazine, by Dan Worth

• Kids Channel 4
• Messy Fostering BBC Radio 4
• We're not bad mums Community Care together with: Learning from the lived experience of mothers in rehab

Winners - Kids Channel  4 and Messy Fostering BBC Radio 4

• Best Interests BBC1 - Episode 3. A family faces a choice no parent wants to make. When your child is desperately ill, who decides what happens next? Episode 3 features the character ‘Greg’, an independent social worker (played by Mat Fraser) who has a disability.  
• Beyond Paradise BBC1 - Series 2: Episode 2. A feel good drama series about a police detective and his wife based in a Devon seaside town. There is a storyline about them wanting to become foster parents after having tried unsuccessfully to have their own child. They have early meetings with their social worker who chats to them separately about the fostering process. 
• Call the Midwife BBC1 - Episode 6, Series 14. Story involving newly qualified social worker Cyril – case of two abandoned children and their pregnant mother who has also suffered domestic abuse. 

Winner - Call the Midwife BBC1 - Episode 6, Series 14. 

• The Helpful Social Work Podcast Empowering ourselves
• The Social Work Community Podcast Racism in social work – Community Care
• The Social Worker and the Mentor Episode 47 – The working conditions of social workers- to strike or not to strike 

Winner - The Social Worker and the Mentor Episode 47 – The working conditions of social workers- to strike or not to strike 

Catriona Stewart – The Herald. 

Catriona has delivered accurate, balanced, and nuanced writing on social work and social issues over the years, including a piece that challenged stigma associated with poverty in Scotland. She has also been a champion of women’s rights and has put a spotlight on violence against women and girls.

• Social workers in England quitting in record numbers – Rachel Hall, The Guardian 
• Fears of social work exodus with staff facing ‘impossible’ workloads – Jamie Roberton, Channel 4 News 
• Northern Ireland ‘crushed by the cost of living’ event hears shocking impact of poverty – Maurice Fitzmaurice, Belfast Live
• The social worker crisis in Wales and the millions of pounds spent on agencies to plug the gaps – Richard Youle, Wales Online 
• Wakefield: agencies poaching social workers, council told, BBC News Leeds & West Yorkshire 
• Social work image issue as hundreds of jobs vacant, India Pollock, BBC Wales 
• Social care costs see thousands chased for debt – Adam Eley & Alison Holt, BBC online 

Winner: The social worker crisis in Wales and the millions of pounds spent on agencies to plug the gaps – Richard Youle, Wales Online 

• ‘High stress, high demand, high burnout’: life as a social worker in England - Rachel Hall, The Guardian  (published together with news story Social workers in England quitting in record numbers)
• Britain’s lost children – Anoosh Chakelian, The New Statesman 
• Funding cuts left the social care system in crisis even before Covid – Amy Borrett, Sky News 
• I was used as a scapegoat when Baby P died – Sunak’s attacks on social workers are dangerous, Sharon Shoesmith, The Guardian 

Winner: Britain’s lost children – Anoosh Chakelian, The New Statesman 

• One in four children in Scotland referred to social care before their fifth birthday, Alan Jenkins, 5 News 
• Staggering numbers of children of disabled parents being taken into care – Tessa Chapman, 5 News 
• Chair of children’s social care review ‘angry’ with government funding – Jackie Long, 4 News 
• ‘The care system is overwhelmed’, warns children’s charity chief executive - Jackie Long, 4 News 
• Vulnerable children and over-stretched services - Charlotte Lynch and the Shelagh Fogarty show, LBC Radio 
• Steep increase in money being spent by children’s services on agency social workers – Alison Holt, BBC News at Six
• The day in the life of a social worker as sector reels following Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ death - Lucy Kapasi, ITV News Central WITH Meet Birmingham’s newest social workers supporting families 

Winner: The day in the life of a social worker as sector reels following Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ death - Lucy Kapasi, ITV News Central WITH Meet Birmingham’s newest social workers supporting families 

• Social workers for social justice - Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd, Reasons to be cheerful   *Starts 10 mins in
• Protecting our children: a balancing act - Louise Tickle, BBC Panorama 
• Finding Britain’s Ghost Children – episode 4 - Terri White, BBC Radio 4 
• Cost of living forcing children into care – Ben Robinson, BBC File on 4 
• Phone-in about social work [first hour only] - Nicky Campbell Show, BBC Radio Five 
• Lives in Care - Tony Simpson, BBC Radio 4 

Winner:  Finding Britain’s Ghost Children – episode 4 - Terri White, BBC Radio 4 

• 1,000 social workers deregistered after paying £90 fee and meeting CPD requirements – Mithran Samuel, Community Care 
• ‘I feel out of my depth’: NQSWs report ‘unmanageable’ caseloads and lack of support – Rob Preston, Community Care 
• ‘Unscrupulous’ tactics being used by children’s social care agencies - Jessica Hill, Local Government Chronicle 

Winner:  ‘Unscrupulous’ tactics being used by children’s social care agencies - Jessica Hill, Local Government Chronicle 

This is proper social work, this is what I trained to do – Sharmeen Zaiuddin, Community Care 

Neurodivergent social workers ‘exhausted’ from lack of understanding at work – Anastasia Koutsounia, Community care 

Recruitment agency practices compound workforce pressures – Fiona Simpson, Children and Young People Now  (top article only)

Burnout – it’s that deep/professional mental health & wellbeing – The Social Worker & The Mentor Podcast episode 4 

Interview with Sir Peter Wanless – ten years at NSPCC (on safeguarding children) – David Niven, episode 143 Social World Podcast 

Winner: This is proper social work, this is what I trained to do – Sharmeen Zaiuddin, Community Care 

The two winners of the Outstanding Contribution to Journalism Featuring Social Work award were Alison Holt, the BBC’s social affairs editor, and Mithran Samuel, editor of Community Care.

Alison’s award was in recognition of a long and distinguished career sensitively reporting on social work and social work-related issues and she said: “I’m thrilled to have received this award. The stories I report on are about the way we live and the impact of changing policies on people.

"Often this is the territory where social workers spend their lives trying to make a difference. Hopefully the new awards will encourage more understanding of and reporting about these really important issues.”

Mithran’s award was for consistent reporting on the social work profession in a clear and balanced way to a specialist audience.

He said: “Many congratulations to all the winners and shortlisted nominees for their excellent work highlighting the complexities, challenges and successes that constitute social work. It’s an honour to be recognised alongside these talented journalists and by BASW. The awards are an excellent initiative and I have no doubt they will go from strength to strength and promote much more high-quality journalism about social work in the future.”