Schwartz Rounds

Testing the use of a structured forum for discussing the emotional and social aspects of children's social work to improve workforce well-being

• Happier, Healthier Professionals

Children’s Social Care services can be challenging, stressful and emotionally taxing places to work. Turnover rates and working life-spans within this profession are markedly shorter than other comparable careers, including teachers, doctors and nurses.

Cardiff University (CASCADE) will be conducting a randomised controlled trial with 6 Local Authorities (LAs) in England of Schwartz Rounds, a wellbeing intervention that aims to bolster and support the mental health and psychological wellbeing of multidisciplinary staff, usually in health-care settings. This intervention, delivered with the support of the Point of Care Foundation, provides staff with an hour-long, open forum, in which they are invited to share stories, experience, and reflections about the challenges of their work. This intervention usually takes place around lunchtime so that staff are able to participate, and food is often provided.

The What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care announced their collaboration with the London Borough of Haringey, Liverpool City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council, West Sussex County Council in their blog.

Staff at each participating site will be allocated to either the intervention group, in which participants will attend 6 of these rounds, or to the waiting-list control group, in which participants will be asked not to attend the rounds, and will continue with ‘business as usual’ support and supervision.

A linear regression model will be used to analyse the main outcomes of the trial, and an exploratory mixed-methods analysis will look at other associations within the data. Staff’s psychological wellbeing will be measured using a survey, and administrative data such as sickness-related absences will be also collected.