Social Work: Subject databases

BASW is the largest professional association for social work in the UK, with offices in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We’re here to promote the best possible social work services for all people who may need them, while also securing the well being of social workers. BASW has established an arms length trade union, the Social Workers Union (SWU) which together with our Advice & Representation Service offers a range of services to improve the protection of our members in the workplace.

The portal offers information on all aspects of social welfare in the UK and overseas, with a particular emphasis on policy development, inplementation and evaluation:

Cafcass represents children in family court cases in England. We put children’s needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children’s voices are heard at the heart of the family court setting, and that decisions are made in their best interests. We operate within the law set by Parliament (Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000) and under the rules and directions of the family courts. We are independent of the courts, social services, education and health authorities and all similar agencies.

Our duty is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children going through the family justice system. Our experienced Family Court Advisers may be asked by the court to work with families and then advise the court on what we consider to be the best interests of the children involved in three main areas:

divorce and separation, sometimes called ‘private law’, where parents or carers can’t agree on arrangements for their children
care proceedings, sometimes called ‘public law’, where social services have serious concerns about the safety or welfare of a child
adoption, which can be either public or private law.

Social Work England is the new, specialist regulator for social workers in England. They are an independent public protection body, setting professional, education and training standards for social workers. Social Work England will also investigate and manage 'fitness to practice' cases brought against social workers.

Iriss is a charitable company that promotes positive outcomes for the people who use Scotland's social services, by enhancing the capacity and capability of the social services workforce, to access and make use of knowledge and research for service innovation and improvement.

Evidence search provides access to selected and authoritative evidence in health, social care and public health.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people who use care services by sharing knowledge about what works.

We are a leading improvement support agency and an independent charity working with adults’, families’ and children's care and support services across the UK. We also work closely with related services such as health care and housing.

The Social Care Learning Forum (SCLF) is a learning and development site for people working in social care and health in Coventry.

The What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care is a new initiative that seeks better outcomes for children, young people and families by helping practitioners and decision makers across the children’s social care sector to inform their work with the best possible evidence.
The Department for Education is funding the Centre’s development.