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a pa path through a field as a sun rises in the distance

Social care, public opinion and elections: why low salience does not mean low permission

Tuesday 24 February 2026

Social care affects almost everyone at some point in their lives. It supports disabled people, people who are older, their families, and Scotland’s communities more widely. It helps lots of people…

Big picture

lightbulbs hanging

A coaching approach

Friday 10 May 2024
Last Autumn I started a coaching course with the Institute of Coaching Studies.
Inside Iriss
group sitting together in a workshop

Reimagining social work in North Ayrshire

Friday 10 May 2024
Between May 2023 and February 2024, Iriss designed and facilitated four sessions for a project with North Ayrshire HSCP as part of our Space to Practice theme.
Reimagining social work practice
Jigsaw pieces fitting together

From Clinic to Community

Thursday 2 May 2024
In our work with Quarriers, Epilepsy Scotland and
Standalone projects
A collection of nine beehives in a field

Collaborative changemaking in North Ayrshire

Wednesday 3 April 2024
The bees are back!
Networking the change
Three lambs in a spring field

Wellbeing and the social work practitioner

Wednesday 3 April 2024
I’ve been reflecting on presentations from Drs Pearse McCusker and Emma Miller at the Rural Social Work Forum at a webinar we ran called Wellbeing and the rural practitioner…
Big picture
A pot of money with a tree growing from it

Nothing comes for free?

Friday 22 March 2024
Guest blogger Andrew Lindsay from Epilepsy Scotland articulates the clash between the need for social support services, and the funding environment that surrounds them.
Standalone projects
Ideas Lab participants

The learning behind the Lab 

Friday 15 March 2024
If you’re familiar with Iriss work, you will know that we have had projects running for a year in three thematic areas - Space to Practice
Inside Iriss
ASPire

Holly and Sam reflect on the recent ASPire conference

Monday 11 March 2024
Inside Iriss
Co-production planner

Goodbiriss

Thursday 29 February 2024
Today is a big day for me, my last day working at Iriss. I wanted to spend some time reflecting on my journey with the organisation.
Inside Iriss
Toolkit for social workers

Promoting conversations

Wednesday 7 February 2024
Throughout our work with Passion4Fusion, we’ve been incredibly motivated by the optimism and drive of our partners.
Working with African families
person typing on laptop

Improving chronology practice in ASP

Monday 5 February 2024
A focus on chronologies has been core to our ASP workstream this year. We’ve been working closely with the Chronologies Implementation Subgroup.
Adult Support and Protection
Group of people holding the toolkit

Working with African Diaspora Families: launching our toolkit

Friday 2 February 2024
Earlier this week, we launched our toolkit for social work and social care practitioners, ‘Working with African Diaspora Families.’ We have been working in partnership with
Working with African families
Text tiles spelling out 'support'

Social Support for People with Epilepsy

Wednesday 24 January 2024
Since April last year, we have been working with a collaborative of organisations supporting people in Scotland with epilepsy; Quarriers, Epilepsy Connections and Epilepsy Scotland.
Standalone projects
a wall mounted television with Scottish Social Services Awards

Reflecting on the The Scottish Social Services Awards 2023

Wednesday 13 December 2023
For the last 6 months (or more), a large portion of my working week has been spent thinking about the Scottish Social Services Awards. Iriss were delighted to be asked by Scottish Government…
Big picture
Illustration of two smiling people

Peer support and why it matters

Tuesday 28 November 2023
Peer support is not new and exists in many forms – from informal sharing of experiences, to formalised peer support roles in services (paid and unpaid). It covers one-to-one as well as group…
Co-designing peer support: future pathways
Group engaged in workshop activity

Practitioner Research with NQSWs in North Ayrshire HSCP

Monday 27 November 2023
Iriss and North Ayrshire HSCP colleagues met in Saltcoats in early November for a workshop about practitioner research. We were joined by newly qualified and student social workers plus a Practice…
Reimagining social work practice
Answers to the question: How do you feel about paperwork?

How do you feel about paperwork? 

Wednesday 22 November 2023
The photograph shows a collection of answers to the question 'How do you feel about paperwork?' The workshop participants answered with: 'the fear', 'stress', 'repeated', 'crap', 'repetitive'…
Reimagining social work practice
black hands

Advocating for cultural safety: join us on the journey

Wednesday 8 November 2023
For the past six months, we've had the privilege of partnering with Passion4Fusion (P4F). We've been working on a toolkit to help the social care workforce support African Diaspora families. Our…
Working with African families
Words of wisdom audit

Words of wisdom

Friday 13 October 2023
In collaboration with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Council, we have embarked on a journey to explore how we learn about professional writing. Professional writing in social care is an art, and it…
How do we learn writing?
Care home staff discussing the role of paperwork

How do we record dignity?

Tuesday 10 October 2023
Abbotsford Care partnered with Iriss to explore how their paperwork can prompt and record the dignity that care home staff provide everyday to their
Recording dignity
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