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Iriss are so pleased to share this guest piece, written by Mim Smith from Aberdeen City Council and Theresa Lillis from the Open University; sharing their work in supporting professionals to write differently about children and young people.

On February 25th, we had the opportunity to attend and present at the Mental Health Officer (MHO) Conference, Reigniting Our Resilience: Informing and Future-Proofing the MHO Workforce, held at The Barracks, Stirling. This marked the first in-person national MHO Conference since the pandemic, bringing together professionals dedicated to shaping the future of the MHO workforce.

The social services and social care system is complex and we face enormous challenges including a lack of resources, squeezed budgets, burnt-out staff and moral distress. The social work profession and identity are being eroded. Social work needs to defend itself; it’s struggling to have its voice heard. We urgently need to reassess social work values in these really difficult times...

Introduction

How can we mainstream the involvement of people with lived experience in social work and social care - to drive improvement, generate positive change, and do it all in a meaningful and effective way?