We are asking for volunteers from our network to work with us and Anglia Ruskin University on a small working group to help frame the research survey.

The NWG Network is pleased to be collaborating with Anglia Ruskin University.

Are you, or someone you know, a social worker in a local authority or work for a commissioned service that provided or provides support to those families who accessed the Home for Ukraine Scheme?

This research aims to act as an exploratory study which will document the perspectives of social workers on the ground assisting both hosts and refugee/s, their experience addressing safeguarding issues, and the well-being impacts of this role within the context of the Home for Ukraine scheme. In turn, we aim to utilize these findings to open a work stream related to sexual violence and harassment amongst the Ukrainian refugee populations.

The British Association of Social Workers were one of the first national groups to raise the alarm on potential and on-going safeguarding issues within the scheme’s infrastructure. (BASW, 2022) In correlation, women and children were the largest representative demographic of Ukrainian refugees in the U.K. (The Migration Observatory,2023) which has created a further intersectional vulnerability to these potential and on-going safeguarding issues. It has also been noted, within the European context, that these vulnerabilities can be furthered heightened when partner is in active combat in Ukraine. (Dryjanska, Sanchez, Hagues, 2024; Anjum, Aziz, Hamid, 2023)

Issues such as a lack of a centrally coordinated matching mechanism for host and individual/family to be matched through, resulted in informal matching primarily developed over social media. This of which, the BASW says ‘has brought concerns about safety, suitability and viability of placements.’ (BASW, 2024) In continuation, assessments of host placements were assessed by non-social workers with little to no public information on the assessors’ background and suitability to understand and raise potential safeguarding issues. Alongside this, hosts were required to undergo mandatory DBS check with an advanced check needed if children or adults at risks were to be housed with them. Conversely, BASW has noted delays in DBS checks and, in some instances, DBS checks being uncompleted by the arrival of the individual/family.

These notable safeguarding issues raise significant concern not only for the Home for Ukraine scheme and the safety of the refugee/s and hosts, but also for the well-being of social workers on the ground attempting to identify and address the issues first-hand. Recent literature suggests that professionals working on traumatic or sensitive subject matter relay negative well-being impacts to inefficient or unstainable administration and/or procedures. (Redmond et al, 2023, Davey et al. 2024)

If you are able to assist in this important piece of research, please email [email protected]  with your contact details including role title and a brief paragraph of your experience.