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The Iriss Skills Sessions

Thursday 20 November 2025

We have just wrapped up our final Skills Session for the year, and it’s been a really excellent process for us internally at Iriss.

Space to practice

two woodland paths seperated by trees

Identity beyond the labels

Thursday 30 October 2025
Identity beyond the labels The names we use to indicate identity have power - the power to heal and the power to harm, the power to unite and the power to divide, the power to uplift and
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a man in a luminous orange vest reading from a script

‘Healing Pitch’, authentic voices and improving practice

Monday 6 October 2025
At our second Iriss Skills Session, Dr Emily Whyte shared the creative and multi-disciplinary approach to working alongside care
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a dynamic microphone on a stand on a sound stage

Creative (re)presentation for social work education and practice

Thursday 2 October 2025
I feel incredibly grateful to have worked with and co-written a play called Healing Pitch alongside four care-experienced young people as part of my P
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a lady in a yellow raincoat with hair blowing in the wind looking out to sea

Adult Support and Protection belongs everywhere

Tuesday 16 September 2025
At the start of the summer, I wrote a blog about a new Iriss project I’m co-leading, all about professional curiosity in
Adult Support and Protection
join the iriss board

Leading innovation: Join our Board!

Tuesday 9 September 2025
We’re looking for curious, thoughtful people to join our Board. 
Inside Iriss
a tree with colourful strip lights running along the branches

Neurodiversity: the clue is in the name

Wednesday 3 September 2025
As neurodiverse people, it has been a joy to see the recent rise in awareness and acceptance of how different brains work.
Inside Iriss
a lakeside castle reflected in the water

Writing an anti-racist survey as a white person

Tuesday 19 August 2025
While it seems like it should be an indisputable statement that we are currently living in a society that is riddled with inequalities and was created by unequal power structures, this has become an…
Projects
Colourful illustration of path winding across rolling hills

Bridging distance

Tuesday 8 July 2025
Disabilities – Pathways and Perspectives is a resource. The hope is that it becomes a prompt for reflection, in and out of work, whatever each reader’s responsibilities, beliefs, uncertainties, stage…
Standalone projects
A group of maps on a table

Maps and mountains

Monday 30 June 2025
The map is not the territory The last time I tried to climb a mountain I failed spectacularly. It was a warm August at the foot of the mountain, and a freezing January higher up.
Inside Iriss
A squirrel looking curious from behind a tree

Curiouser and curiouser

Tuesday 24 June 2025
Iriss is embarking on a new project to find out all about professional curiosity across the public protection agenda - and we’re looking for interested folk to help us out.
Projects
picture of person writing with a pen

Writing with, not about

Thursday 19 June 2025
A group of practitioners from the Transitions Team in Scottish Borders Council asked us if we could support them with a shift in writing culture.
Projects
Illustration of crowd of colourful figures

Wisdom in the difference 

Tuesday 17 June 2025
Over the past few weeks, we have had the chance to listen to practitioners from across Scotland reflect on safeguarding and child protection…
Child Protection: update to the National Risk Framework
This must be the place in neon writing

Call for Learning Partners

Tuesday 17 June 2025
We’re looking for third sector learning partners in using a new Iriss resource developed to supp
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
Write right about me

Write Right About Me

Thursday 5 June 2025
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
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Illustration of head made up of household items

Effects of Clutter or Hoarding on people affected by it

Thursday 15 May 2025
One current estimate is that 2-5% of the population has issues with clutter/hoarding, but this is hard to estimate as there is so much shame for someone admitting they have a clutter or hoarding is
Supporting people who hoard
Groups of people discussing the resource for TSOs

This Must Be The Place(ment)

Thursday 8 May 2025
After working on it for a year, our resource to support social work placements in third sector organisations is here!
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
Light up sign reading 'FOCUS'

Finding a Focus

Monday 14 April 2025
Project planning is full of decisions to make. What partners do you need? What will success look like? How responsive can your plan be to new information?
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
a leaf at the end of a branch in the sun

Practitioner Research with NQSWs: Inspiration from practice

Wednesday 2 April 2025
Recently we were invited back to North Ayrshire to meet some Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) and talk about practitioner research. This was a follow up to a session we ran in 2023 where we…
Reimagining social work practice
an ampitheatre audience

Launching a new resource for third sector social work student placements

Tuesday 18 March 2025
We’ve been quiet on the Voices & Visions blog updates recently while we’ve been working away on developing our new resource to support social work student placements in third sector organisations…
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
a historic bridge in verdant settings reflected in the rivers surface

Reflections on the MHO Conference 2025

Tuesday 4 March 2025
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
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