Introduction

There are three central and enduring themes of leadership for social work. First, much that is written about leadership in the public sector, and specifically in relation to social care, continues to conflate management and leadership as a single activity, with fixed positions of the leader manager and the follower operative, confusing much administrative support for practice with top-down management. Second, leadership is presented as a separate activity from knowledge and expertise in the service or the activity being led. Third, social work practice, and the oversight and development of practice, are fundamental leadership activities that can be subverted and submerged in the general management and procedurally driven culture in which most social work services are located. Leadership is an integral component of all social work practice and social work roles. While there are opportunities and responsibilities for all to advance successful leadership across the profession, there are no organisations that do this, and nor can it be expected that they will, in the foreseeable future, reform sufficiently to give or support the leadership that both social workers and the people they serve need and deserve.

Promoting the authority of the practitioner and renewing the focus on relationship-based, therapeutic and evidence-informed practice provide the foundation for optimism for social work services. A key component of this requires a review of the separation of the roles and capabilities, skills and knowledge of supervisor, social worker manager, educator and senior practitioner. In England, the Secretary of State for Education (DfE 2014c) has announced a government intention to assess and accredit social workers in children's services at three levels after qualifying: as practitioners, practice supervision and practice leadership. Another government rather than profession initiative. There remains a fundamental need for clarity of purpose, core skills, knowledge and a research evidence base for social work practice, in whatever role or position. Supervisors, managers, review, case conference and panel chairs, educators and resource and case decision makers all need to reclaim and assert their identity and authority as social workers, as practitioners, and to respect and promote the authority of all practitioners. The context of constant emergence and re-emergence of new structures, architecture and roles will endure, with national and local service delivery organisations continuing to be the subject of repeated reorganisations and restructuring.