Camden Children’s Services have responded to the narratives of recent events regarding racial inequality and we are committed to ensuring that these experiences of children in social care does not impact on their life outcomes.
We have recognised that anti-racism is a daily and long-term commitment and developed various Race Equality Actions Plans and enhanced our Anti-Racist Social Work practice, merged with systemic concepts from our Camden Model of Social Work.
We work in a systemic way to look holistically at all areas of a young person’s life and experiences to understand aspects of their identity such as their race, culture, religion, gender, disability, sexuality to ensure that they are understood and supported (SOCIAL GRRACCESSSS).
This initiated us to work from the inside out and capture the views of the social workers and managers who advocate for our families and young people to improve their outcomes in our work and intervention, using Curiosity, Appreciation, and Intention.
Anti-Racist posters:
We created Anti-Racist Posters to provide a visual representation of how Racism appears structurally, every day.
The posters are a visual representation to acknowledge structural racism, unconscious bias and the experiences of Black workers and families to provoke critical reflection and understand the experiences of the children and families that we work with, which shapes how we support them.
It serves as a learning tool and guide to recognise discrimination, inequality, and complex examples of racism. It also serves as a reminder of what discrimination and microaggression looks and feels like, what is often said, but also unsaid, and a prompt to challenge it and ensure that we remain systemic in our thinking.
The posters have been promoted and well received, such as at the Children’s Social Care Festival with The DfE (Department for Education) on 20.1.2021 and within a session with Social Work England on 10.3.2021 during World Social Work Week.