A children’s book written by children, young people and staff of Somerset’s Children’s Social Care about the work of social workers is back, better than ever – in more accessible formats.
‘Social Worker Sam’ tells the story of a young child whose family is facing difficulties and needs help from a social worker, called Sam. The book gives a child friendly account of what a social worker does and the processes that children may be involved in if their family needs a social worker.
When originally published copies of Social Worker Sam was provided to Primary Schools across the County, giving children the opportunity to learn about the role of a social worker, through the book during reading time. During its second phase, Sam’s story has been adapted into accessible formats for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Difficulties (SEND) and those with reading difficulties, with a larger scale version of the book featuring Widgit symbols and an animated version of the book that was narrated by members of the Unstoppables.
You can download a PDF of the accessible version of Social Worker Sam here or watch the accessible animation here.
The idea for the book came about from concerns that although children might know what a nurse, doctor, teacher or firefighter does, they don’t know what the job of a social worker is. Helping children to understand what social workers do and who they are can help with any fears that they might have or may even inspire them to want to become one when they grow up.
The book was produced by members of the Somerset Council Engagement and Participation Team, working with Otter and Kingfisher classes at Stoke St Gregory C of E Primary School and of the co-authors – Jasmine Yellow Flower Riddell, Calleigh Martin, Paula Martin, Heidi Hunt, Annemarie Davies and Finn Towers.
The Unstoppables is a Youth Voice Group for children and young people aged 13 to 25 years with SEND, who live in Somerset. The Unstoppables help the voices and opinions of young people with SEND across the County to be heard and to help make changes to and improve the services that they use.
For more information about the Unstoppables, visit www.somerset-unstoppables.org.uk
