The key to my successful start in social work

Just a year into his career in social work, Joe Peppiatt finds himself in the running for a national award.

After graduating in BA social work in 2024, Joe has been working in youth justice for Essex County Council.

The Essex graduate has been reflecting on his journey so far as he waits to find out if he will be crowned the Newly Qualified Children Social Worker of the Year:

How did Essex prepare you for your career?

My time at Essex prepared my as well as possible for the reality of working in a social work role. While it is true nothing you learn in a classroom can truly prepare you for front line work, the knowledge and insight I gained from the lecturers at Essex gave me the best opportunity to take on my new role and put me in a great positive to do well.

The placement programme both voluntary and statutory gave me the practical experience to go alongside the knowledge I had gained. All this put together made me feel as confident as possible that I would thrive in such a challenging career.

What was the best thing about studying Social Work at Essex?

Essex (I can speak specifically for the Southend campus) have a great social work programme, the lecturers are amazing and I always felt supported throughout my three years. The placements arranged for me were brilliant as well, giving me a realistic glimpse of what social work would be like easing the transition from student to employee.

I learned so much throughout my studies at Essex, the learning varied from sociology/psychology, mental health, law, interpersonal skills, research and so much more, every bit as interesting as the last. I want to specifically mention Aaron, Gert and Marina who were particularly supportive through my time at university (I know my class mates would echo this) be it for great lectures, support with assignments/dissertation and support through placements. It would have been a lot harder if not for their help.

How have you found your first year as a Social Worker?

It has been a journey, that’s for sure! When I look back at how much I have learnt over the last year it’s momentous. Particularly for my area of social work in Youth Justice, I started my role with loads of passion and enthusiasm, but with very little knowledge on the area and the legislation. My report/assessment writing skills left lots to be desired, looking back on my early work, it is worlds apart from what I am able to produce now.

Court is something I still find challenging to this day and probably will for a long time to come, but even with this I am starting to become much more confident and assured about my role in this setting. Throughout the year I have made extra effort to address the areas I naturally found more challenging and take on every bit of feedback I could get my hands on. It helps I had a brilliant team, manager and ASYE Assessor which meant I could fully utilise meaningful supervision which has helped me a lot. Alongside this, the ASYE programme at Essex offered plenty of great training, reflection opportunities and support along the way.

Over the last year I have been able to develop my practice to the way I want to operate, such as deploying a strength based, person centred approach and I have discovered a passion for direct work and building trusting relationships with the young people I work with. The importance of self care has also been a key contributor to getting me through this year, I have learnt quickly that you are no good to anyone as a practitioner if you are not looking after yourself.

I was torn between working in children’s or adults when choosing what role to take after University, and I am so glad I chose youth justice as I love working with adolescents. In my opinion it’s such a hard age where you face some of the pressures of adulthood but with none of the experience or resources that adults have.

I love advocating for my kids and it’s so rewarding to see the differences in their life throughout the duration of their time with the youth justice service and my ability to build and maintain relationships with teenagers who are often distrusting of professionals and adults in general is something I am really proud of. It been a year full of reflection, progression and hard work but I’m glad to be on the other side of it a more well rounded social worker, and I hope I have managed to help the lives of the young people I work with, even if just a little bit.

What does it mean to you to be shortlisted in the Social Worker of the Year awards?

In a role that at times can feel thankless, it is amazing to have been nominated for such an award. I feel truly humbled and the nomination serves as a tangible reminder of all the hard work I have put in all year! As someone who finds it hard to accept praise I have had to lean into the discomfort as I know this is something I should be really proud of and deserve to relish.

What would your advice be to anyone thinking of studying Social Work at Essex?

DO IT! You hear a lot of negative things about social work, but the truth is you will have bad days in any job, at least with social work your bad days will be spent actively trying to make people lives better. If you have a passion to help others and are a naturally caring and empathetic person, you could be perfect for this. With all the support available, I couldn’t think of anywhere better to do this than at Essex.