Radical Social Work

35 years after the publication of Bailey and Brake’s Radical Social Work

Radical Social Work Legacy, Relevance and Prospects

This very succsseful Conference was held on the  3 February 2010

In 1975 Bailey and Brake’s ground-breaking book Radical Social Work was published. The book reflected the growing radicalisation of western societies in the late 1960s and early 1970s and its echo within social work. The ‘radical social work’ movement highlighted the class struggle in British society at the time, and the way in which ‘traditional’ social work often controlled and pathologised our client groups. Instead the movement argued that social work should aim to improve people's lives not only by helping individuals and families but also by striving for structural change. It went on to develop analyses of other factors such as sexuality, race and gender where oppression blighted the lives of service user and carers.

The 35th anniversary of the book’s publication coincides with a growing crisis within social work.

• The profession is increasingly dominated by managerialism and ‘neo-liberal’ approaches to service delivery.
• In the midst of the most serious economic recession since the Second World War levels of poverty and unemployment are on the increase – and resources for service users likely to be ‘squeezed’.
• This takes place against the backdrop of continuing wars in the Middle East, and rising levels of racism and Islamaphobia at home.
• Increasing levels of disillusionment with the main political parties and political representation is leading increasing numbers of people to engage in alternative forms of political action and protest. Do the Global Justice Movements, Stop the War Movement, anti-racist movements, etc. offer ‘resources of hope’ for a renewed radical social work?

This conference aims to assess the legacy of the radical social work movement, its relevance for the present and its future prospects.

Speakers included

Professor Chris Jones, Professor Peter Beresford, Professor Charlotte Williams, Dr Iain Ferguson, Dr Sarah Banks, Mary Langan, Dr Mark Baldwin Laura Penketh, Dr Michael Lavalette and Roy Bailey.