Invisible but present: Black Southern African social workers’ experiences of working in children’s services in England

The thesis reports on a practitioner-initiated practice-near research study investigating the experiences of Black social workers who have migrated from the Southern African region to England and practice in children’s services settings. The study involved a qualitative psychosocial methodology, with a total of 14 in-depth interviews and a focus group being completed. The seven social workers who participated in this study spent their formative years in the Southern African Development Community region. Analysis of the interview accounts revealed multitudinous challenges linked to discriminatory practices, inequalities in workload management and everyday incivilities and microaggressions. These challenges compounded other adversities experienced as a Black African migrant professional and were reflected in a personal subjective experience of feeling isolated, unsupported and rejected. Additionally, for the participants, migration was found to be as much a psychological experience as it was physical and cultural, with upbringing and childhood experiences significant in shaping how social work was embraced as a vocation. Through the analysis, the thesis contributes to the wider professional field via insights it affords into the journeys and personal and professional identities of Black Southern African social workers practising in English children’s services. It focuses on how members of this community navigate power dynamics and in organisations, support structures and the social and emotional demands of frontline child and family social work. This has implications for the way in which anti-racist supervision and leadership are conceptualised and further understanding of the influence of postcolonial histories on workplace relationships, foregrounding ground-shifting approaches to changing practice.