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Professor Jermaine Ravalier from Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has been awarded a research grant from the National institute for Health and Care (NIHR) alongside Dr Paulina Wegrzynek (), Dr Ciaran Murphy (), and Dr Joe Hanley () to help support the retention and recruitment of social workers in coastal communities. These social workers provide support to those who are more likely to need the “vital” support of social workers than people living in other areas.  

The NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) award, worth £500,000, is titled “What does good look like? Supporting the recruitment and retention of social workers in coastal communities in England”. The project will bring together the shared expertise of social workers, employers, service users, and community groups to understand the challenges and opportunities in this area. One of the aims is to co-develop best practice guidance for the recruitment and retention of social workers who practice in coastal communities. 

Professor Ravalier, Head of School of Health and Social Care Professions at Buckinghamshire New University, said:  

“Social workers play an absolutely vital part in the lives of many of the most disadvantaged people in this country. Those who live on the coast are more likely to need the support of social workers than many other people in England. At the same time, social workers have ongoing issues with consistently poor working conditions. These conditions subsequently mean they are more likely to leave the job than those in many other occupations. This NIHR-funded project should therefore support social work employers to attract and retain social workers in coastal areas, and therefore better support the most vulnerable in society. 

“On a personal level, this is BNU’s first ever NIHR research award. I’m very proud to be able to represent, and work at, a university which truly aims to support its local community, and puts widening participation and social justice at the heart of all it does. This research award will allow us to support social workers in some of the most deprived communities in the country, and therefore lead to better outcomes for those who use social work services.” 

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, half of all coastal towns in England and Wales are deprived – compared to 30% of non-coastal towns. Social work in coastal communities faces additional challenges including higher levels of deprivation and fewer resources available – thereby exacerbating workforce challenges around recruitment and retention, with this then impacting outcomes for the service users they work with. As a result, supporting recruitment and retention of social workers in coastal communities is not only important for the social workers themselves and those they are employed by, but for the people they provide social work services to. 

Dr Paulina Wegrzynek, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Bath Spa University said, “Supporting recruitment and retention of social workers in coastal communities is not only important for the social workers themselves, and those they are employed by, but for the very people to whom they provide social work services.”