Helen Scholar

Biographic Data

ID5823083
NAMEHelen Scholar
GIVEN NAMESHelen
FAMILY NAMEScholar
SIGNATURESCHOLAR H
AFFILIATIONSUniversity of Salford
ORCID0000-0002-0348-6937
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS10
TOTAL CITATIONS12
AUTHOR COUNT10
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2011
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2025
H-INDEX2

  • The ‘team’ in child and family social work: Exploratory findings from a longitudinal study on factors influencing the retention of child and family social workers in England

    Helen Scholar, Hugh Mclaughlin et al.ARTICLEJournal of Social Work Practice2025

    This paper draws upon qualitative data from a Department for Education (DfE) funded longitudinal study of child and family social workers in England, carried out between 2018 and 2022 exploring factors affecting recruitment and retention, involving annual surveys and follow-up interviews in each year of the project. The changing practice environment during the study – pre, during and post Covid – provided a unique opportunity to consider practiti…

  • Practitioner Perspectives on Agency Social Work in Children and Families Social Work in England

    Open AccessHugh Mclaughlin, Helen Scholar et al.ARTICLEThe British Journal of Social Work2025References: 12

    This article examines practitioner perspectives on agency social work in Local Authority Children’s Services Departments in England. There have been ongoing concerns about the use of agency workers, relating to cost, quality and impact on services, despite a recognition that temporary staff may be needed for a range of reasons. However, recent labour shortages and the escalating costs of agency staffing are fuelling calls for some form of regulat…

  • Race’, Ethnicity, and Experiences of Practice: Perspectives of Child and Family Social Workers Working in England

    Open AccessSarah Pollock, Susan McCaughan et al.ARTICLEPractice2024Cited by: 1References: 5

    This article reports a portion of the findings from a 5-year longitudinal study on child and family social work, commissioned by the Department for Education. The study explored issues relating to child and family practice over the five years, utilising a mixed-methods design, including large-scale surveys, quantitative telephone interviews and semi-structured interviews and culminating in an annual report, published by the Department for Educati…

  • Should I Stay or Should I Go’? The Experiences of Forty Social Workers in England Who Had Previously Indicated They Would Stay In or Leave Children and Families Social Work

    Open AccessHugh Mclaughlin, Helen Scholar et al.ARTICLEThe British Journal of Social Work2023Cited by: 3References: 16

    This article is focused on the concern about the retention of child and family social workers in England. Retention of workers is seen as a major issue for the delivery of quality services for service users, stability of workforces and development of social work. The article reviews international studies in relation to retention identifying a gap in relation to studies that have followed up those who indicated they were going to leave child and f…

  • Advancing excellence in social work education: Revisited

    Hugh Mclaughlin, Helen Scholar et al.ARTICLESocial Work Education2020

    Back in 2014 Helen and I took over the editorship for Social Work Education: The International Journal. In our first editorial (McLaughlin & Scholar, 2014), we set our vision for the journal entitl

  • Social work education in a global pandemic: Strategies, reflections, and challenges

    Hugh Mclaughlin, Helen Scholar et al.ARTICLESocial Work Education2020

    During the first week of March 2020, the Editorial Board of this journal met in Manchester, England where members from across England, Scotland, Spain, and the United States joined for the annual Board meeting.Back then, handshakes were a 'normal' formality in greeting one another (in this part of the Western world) before taking a seat tightly around a Board room table where water glasses were filled from communal bottles handed across and down …

  • The Ghost of the ‘Y’: Paternal DNA, Haunting and Genealogy

    Open AccessHelen ScholarARTICLEGenealogy2019Cited by: 2References: 8

    Based on a personal family history experience, in this paper, I consider the way in which genealogical DNA testing is revealing family secrets, in particular paternity secrets, which would previously have remained unknown via ‘traditional’ methods of genealogical research. Reasons for the displacement of these invisible fathers from the records are discussed, and the power of genealogical DNA testing to bring them into focus is examined. Such dis…

  • A social worker first and foremost”: The motivation and experiences of recently qualified social workers in posts not requiring social work registration in England

    Helen ScholarARTICLECritical and Radical Social Work2016Cited by: 1

    This article reports findings from a qualitative study based on interviews with recently qualified social workers (within the last five years) employed in positions not requiring social work registration and qualification. It discusses the motivations and experiences of recently qualified social workers in posts not requiring social work registration and the issues that they identify as important in maintaining an individual and collective social…

  • Are Non-Traditional Social Work Placements Second-Best Learning Opportunities for Social Work Qualifying Students

    Hugh Mclaughlin, Helen Scholar et al.ARTICLEThe British Journal of Social Work2015Cited by: 1References: 14

    This article reports on the evaluation of practice learning opportunities for student social workers within ‘non-traditional’ placements provided by a major children's charity in England, Scotland and Wales between 2010 and 2012. The student social workers undertook a well-being role within the project and the research here reports on the charity's ability to provide a twelve-week programme through the use of delivery partners. In particular, the…

  • The nature of employer’s involvement in social work education: An international exploration

    Open AccessSteven Shardlow, Helen Scholar et al.ARTICLEInternational Social Work2011Cited by: 4

    Email interviews and internet inquiries were used to explore the nature and extent of employer engagement in qualifying social work education programmes across 10 countries: Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, UK and USA. Findings indicate considerable variations in the nature and extent of engagement in admissions processes, programme management and assessment of student competence. Practice l…