Think of the thing you wouldn’t usually think of, and do that.
Care-experienced young person
The quote above came from a care-experienced young person during an interview for a conference focusing on reunification work. Those words have stuck with me ever since. They are simple yet for me, they embody what it means to be creative in our practice.
I have worked in Children’s Services for the last 18 years, in various different roles. Whenever someone has asked how things are at work, I’ve always said ‘busy’. Each time I’m asked, I think ‘it’s even busier than the last time someone asked me’.
Children’s social workers in the UK are operating in one of the most challenging contexts the profession has faced in decades. Social workers are dealing with increasingly complex issues made more difficult by rising poverty and stretched resources. Vacancy rates remain high, and many local authorities rely heavily on agency staff, driving up costs in a resource strapped environment and worse undermining continuity for families. Practitioners report feeling undervalued, overworked and many experience burnout due to the emotional intensity of the work.
There are many risks associated with the context that I describe above. When I was thinking about this at the 2025 Research in Practice Link Officers’ Annual Meeting, I realised that one of them is that social workers lose the capacity and have reduced space for creative thinking and practice. An irony of this situation is that often, when resources are stretched and the pressure is on, it is creativity that enables us to find a way through. I would argue that social work is, by its very nature a problem-solving profession. Solution focused, strength based and motivational interviewing approaches underpin our practice with children, young people and their families and all are evidence informed. These approaches are about building motivation and finding solutions to complex problems.
In BASW’s Professional Capabilities Framework, the section on Critical Reflection and Analysis emphasises the need for social workers to:
sustain and develop [my] use of imagination, creativity and curiosity in practice, exploring options to solve dilemmas and problems and involve people who use services in reflection and creativity wherever possible.
BASW Professional Capabilities Framework
It is unimaginably difficult, when you are in a high-pressure situation, working with people who may well be having their worst day ever, to think creatively and adopt a one of the approaches above. There is a risk that as a result of the pressured environment in which we work, that we become process driven, automatic in our responses and risk averse.
In my local authority, creative thinking and innovation is supported and encouraged. I see that as a real strength and is something that has really supported me in my career. I see part of my role as a Principal Social Worker as finding and developing new ways of supporting creative thinking and practice. It is a challenge I’ve given myself for 2026; how can I support social workers to 'think about the thing you wouldn’t usually think of, and do that'?
Here are some of my initial thoughts:
1. Cultivate a creative mindset
Creativity begins with being open to different ideas, leaning into the uncertainty rather than away from it, seeing challenge as an opportunity for change and innovation. So support people to lean into the challenge, surviving working with adversity is a strength not just a source of trauma.
2. Invest in self-care, reflection and developing community in our practice
There is evidence that practitioner wellbeing impacts positively on their ability to be creative. There is also evidence that developing positive working relationships, even friendships with our colleagues, a community if you like, has a positive impact on how we practice. Having our relational needs met at work creates space and confidence for creative thinking and practice.
3. Multi-disciplinary practice, learning from and working in partnership with other disciplines
The Families First Programme affords us the opportunity to build stronger working relationships with other disciplines, and also to think creatively about how we can draw on their expertise to intervene earlier with families. There is space for creativity within this programme, and excitingly drawing on the creative practice ideas of other professionals outside of the social work profession.
Embedding a creative thinking approach is becoming more and more important in the high-pressure context that we are all working in.
I have been really lucky to have worked for the past 10 years in multidisciplinary teams, working alongside colleagues from nursing, psychiatry, psychology, drug and alcohol treatment and probation. This has afforded me the opportunity to think differently about how I practice and engage with families and how partnership working can effectively support change. Families First is an opportunity to develop our partnerships and learn from one another.
In tough times, bold ideas and fresh thinking help us – and the families we support – find new ways forward. Having resources to support creative thinking and practice would be an invitation to break the mould, support one another and spark change.