We are the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping social workers when times are difficult. And now times are very difficult for social workers, ex-social workers, and their dependents. Please donate now by finding swbt on Just Giving! Thank you.
Independent Charity
The Social Workers’ Benevolent Trust was established as an independent charity in 1971 on the initiative of the British Association of Social Workers (Charity No. 262889). It remains independent with its own trustees.
The Trust offers financial help to social workers and their dependents in times of hardship, for example when experiencing sickness, bereavement, family difficulties or sudden catastrophe.
It is a small charity with limited funds, and it aims to provide grants that will make a tangible difference to the applicants. The trustees consider grants at their bi-monthly meetings, and applicants need to complete an application form if they wish to be considered for a grant.
For further information please see the How to Apply and How to Donate pages or use the button below to go straight to our JustGiving page and make a donation.
Annual Report
AGM Annual Report 2021-22
The SWBT Trustees recently held the AGM for the year ended 30 September 2022.
The Trustees presented their annual report together with the audited financial statements of the
Social Workers Benevolent Trust for the year 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022.
For full details of the report please see the link below.
Click to view the AGM Annual Report 2021-22 (PDF)
The SWBT Annual Report (year ending 30th September 2021) is available from the Charity Commission website.
Meet our SWBT Trustees
The Trustees are all current or retired Social Workers who give their time on a voluntary basis.
Susan (Su) Roxburgh
Chair
Su has been a trustee of The Social Workers’ Benevolent Trust for 6 years. She currently holds the position of Co-Chair. Prior to this she undertook the co-treasurer role for a short period of time.
Su’s social work experience was with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council whom she worked for at various levels for 30 plus years. She began her social work career as an Intake Social Worker, moved to Deliberate Self Harm Social Worker and then Team Manager. Ending her career with DMBC as Divisional Manger responsible for Care Management and Children with Disabilities Services. Su also lead on CAMHS, Young Carers and Parents with Disabilities. When she retired from the Local Authority, Su worked for herself for just over a year inspecting Childrens’ Homes. Prior to Social work Su worked in various businesses as wages clerks/ bookkeeper and also in management accounts.
Su has been a trustee with ‘Homestart’ for their local service for approximately 4 years.
Su is a member of Soroptimist International Stourbridge Club and is their Treasurer, a post she has held for 2 years. Previously she has held positions as club President, Regional President and Federation Consultative Councillor.
Simon Scott
Treasurer
Simon qualified as a social worker in South Africa in 1975 and worked there for five years before emigrating to the UK. He continued his social work career in the United Kingdom, working for local authorities before becoming an Independent Social Worker in 2006. Simon worked almost solely in Children and Families social work throughout.On retirement, he joined SWBT as a trustee and as treasurer.
Simon has sung extensively in local choirs and church choirs. He has acted in the role of treasurer for church, and more recently wider, organisations since 2005.
Margaret Faulkner
Secretary
Margaret obtained a Diploma in Social Studies in Leeds in 1968 and then spent two years as an unqualified Social Worker with the Family Service Unit in Sheffield covering the North East Derbyshire area. She qualified in 1971 from Manchester University and moved to Leeds to initially work in Child Psychiatry and then into an area office within Leeds Social Service Department with an emphasis on children’s work but also working with the physically disabled and the elderly. She held a variety of roles within Leeds, both within area offices and an Hospital setting throughout her social work career before moving to develop a multi-agency strategy, (with the then Primary Care Trust, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and Adult Social Care), relating to Hospital discharges before retiring in 2013.
Since leaving paid employment in 2013 she has continued her involvement with the Social Workers Benevolent Trust, (joined the Board of Trustees in 2010) and takes the Minutes of their meetings. The work is engaging and deeply moving given the number of Social Workers who require our help in times of great hardship. She is also a Trustee on the Board of the William Merritt Disabled Living Centre in Leeds which offers impartial and professional advice for children and adults and offers assessment for the disabled, health care professionals and the general public about daily living aids and driving assessments in order to enhance independence and is the Parochial Church Council Secretary for the local C of E Church which she attends.
She likes walking, reading, nature, visiting places of interest and scandi noir dramas.
Elizabeth Williams
Applications Secretary
Elizabeth has almost 30 years’ experience in social work practice and management in local authority child and family services and child & adolescent mental health services in the Midlands. During her career she developed an interest in the psychological effects of trauma and attachment in children and young people and undertook further training in therapeutic interventions. Following a rewarding career in retirement she wished to contribute to the profession and had the opportunity as a Social Workers’ Benevolent Trust trustee.
In 2016 she obtained my appointment as a Trustee and has contributed to PR & Fund- Raising initiatives and the computerisation of the service. At present she collates and analyses the Trust’s data and holds the role of Application Secretary.
Elizabeth is no longer registered or affiliated with any other professional bodies or on any other boards/committees. Although, since retirement has maintained her BASW membership.
Other charities Elizabeth supports are Missing People and John Taylor Hospice with financial contributions and making knitted items to donate for Knit for Nowt for therapists in their work with children and University Hospitals Birmingham Charity for the Specialist Baby Units
Rupert Franklin
Trustee
A qualified social worker for 20 years Rupert continues to work with children and families . Having starting in Nottingham, he spent lots of time in London and now works on the south coast of England.
For social workers to give the best of themselves they need to feel supported too. Rupert is honoured to be a trustee of the Social Workers Benevolent Trust. He brings to this role both his extensive practice and management experience, study into the emotional impact of social work on practice, and his social work values alongside a commitment to human rights activism and equality.
Rupert believes that principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work.
He has been a school governor and trustee of a number of charities whose activities have included supporting vulnerable adults, mental health support and recycling. He continues to campaign locally to tackle food poverty and climate change.
Helen Smith
Trustee
Helen has been a qualified social worker for 14 years, working largely within Local Authorities in the southeast and London. She has extensive experience of supervising qualified social workers, un-qualified support workers, and as a practice educator for students and newly qualified social workers. Helen has a solid understanding of the factors both within the working environment and in personal lives which impact on social workers, their empathy to engage with families and meet the requirements of the role.
Her current quality assurance role has enabled her to clearly identify areas of good practice, and areas of practice improvement in social work intervention and see the positive impact that social workers can have on the lives of children and their families.
She has a keen interest in supporting the development of social work practice and sees the opportunity to support social workers who are facing difficulties as a key component to ensuring that we can reduce harm to those that use services.
In her spare time Helen is a Governor of her local primary school an active auntie to her two nephews and enjoys keeping active by walking her dog and yoga.
Robert Pook
Trustee
Prior to undertaking a two-year postgraduate Social Work Qualification at Cardiff University from 1976 – 1978, Robert worked as a teaching assistant in a residential college for young adults with a disability, on a Community Development Project in Bethnal Green, London and for Camden LA as a Residential Child Care Officer in a children’s home in Borehamwood.
Since qualifying, he has worked as a Generic Social Worker, Child & Families Social Worker, a Senior Practitioner and a Social Work Manager in Cardiff, Barry and The South Wales Valleys.
From 2003 and until retirement in 2016, Robert was an Adoption Team Manager for Caerphilly LA and, from 2014, for The South East Wales Adoption Service ( SEWAS ), part of Wales’ National Adoption Service ( NAS ).
Robert has a Master’s Degree in Social Work, a number of management qualifications and has undertaken student supervision on numerous occasions.
He is a member of the BASW Cymru Committee and of BASW’s Finance & Organisational Development Committee. He became a trustee for the SWBT in 2020.
Jaison Musindo
Trustee
Jaison has been qualified as a social worker for over 13 years and has been a practice educator/teacher since then, supervising social work students while on practice placement plus supervising newly qualified and experienced social workers. His experience with Adult services includes working with people with learning/physical disabilities; older adults with dementia, people with mental health needs, community rehabilitation and rapid response.
He has been a manager of a residential care home for adults with learning disabilities. He is a mentor with BASW, mentoring social workers returning to social work practice. He is also a member of the SPED steering group which is chaired by professor Lena Dominelli looking at how social workers should respond in disasters. He was a volunteer trustee with the charity Migrant Help for 3 years.
He is chairman of a social club “Difference” based in Maidstone Kent and leads a group of ten others in developing community projects in Africa. He has always volunteered his time and resources to improve quality of life for others. His hobbies are fishing, reading, cooking, watching football, socialising and playing music as mobile DJ or for family and friends entertainment.
Publication: https://www.basw.co.uk/resources/psw-magazine/psw-online/hospital-discharge-role-changing-assessor-care-provider
Mike Young
Trustee
Mike Young began work as an unqualified social worker in 1974 and qualified in 1980 spending most of his career in mental health in West Yorkshire. For a number of years he was involved in the closure of long stay psychiatric hospitals and the resettlement of their residents in smaller settings. In later years he helped set up projects with adults with mental ill health from the South Asian communities which involved developing links with equivalent services in India. Currently, he works part-time for the Court of Protection on the assessment of people with dementia and acquired brain injury.
He was a Labour councillor in Bradford for 12 years and this included a period as Chair of the Social Services Committee. He has been a director of two NHS Trusts and a trustee and chair of a local MIND group. He has a Ph D in the history of mental illness in India. Outside work he is a season ticket holder with the Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. He now lives in York.
Mama
Addo-yobo
Trustee
Mama has always had a desire to work in the helping profession. From the age of 16 years old she started volunteering and helping vulnerable people. In 2013 Mama qualified as a social worker and has since worked for a number of Local Authorities and assumed many roles and responsibilities. She has mainly worked for children and families and managed Early Intervention teams, A Family Intervention project and an Early Support and Portage Service.
Mama’s passion is currently supporting Special Guardians and supporting the Ghana Social Workers Union with their community project work. As the project lead for GHASWU she has advised and delivered training to communities and organisations who need support around child protections and social work issues.
Mama also has an interest in supporting social work students and is privileged to be given the opportunity to support her fellow social workers who are facing financial difficulties.
Kirsty Hancock
Trustee
Kirsty qualified as Social Worker from completion of her degree at Staffordshire University in 2015. Since then she has worked in Local Authority Adults community teams, Learning Disability teams and is currently on a Transitions team for young people transitioning from Children’s to Adults services.
She has also spent time practicing in various locations around England, Guernsey and Australia. Kirsty has a keen interest in international Social Work and the different approaches to the practice, so took this opportunity to gain some hands on experience to delve into her interest.
For the past few years she has been an Independent Social Worker and has recently qualified as a Best Interest Assessor (BIA).
Kirsty has a passion Social Work and appreciates everyone who goes into the role. She understands that even some of us go through hard times and is keen to do her bit in supporting fellow Social Workers so that we can support others.
In her spare time Kirsty likes to keep fit with running, aerial arts and yoga. She likes to balance this out with her favourite thing, exploring new vegan restaurants and bakeries.
Retired Trustees
Pete Morgan
Trustee
Resigned December 2023
Pete started a joint honours degree in Philosophy and Theology in 1970 but switched to single honours Philosophy, as he hoped to enter the Anglican Church; the Church wasn’t convinced that he had a vocation and asked him to think about my decision for a couple of years, which he did and decided they were right – he didn’t have a vocation! After working for 4 years as a residential worker with adolescent males, Pete qualified as a Social Worker in 1980. For the next 30 years, he was employed as a local authority Social Worker in generic patch teams, as a Senior Social Worker in an Intermediate Treatment Team, a Team Manager in a generic patch team, and after the NHS & Community Care Act, an Adult Assessment Team before moving to a role in commissioning services for both adults and children’s services from the independent and voluntary sectors. In 2003, Pete became the Vulnerable Adult Protection Coordinator for Coventry City Council and in 2008 moved to Birmingham City Council as the Head of Service – Safeguarding Adults.
In 2010, Pete took voluntary redundancy as part of a management restructuring; since then, he has chaired 2 Safeguarding Adults Boards and been the Independent Author of over a dozen Safeguarding Adult Reviews. He is a member of the CPS West Midlands Hate Crime LISP and the West Midlands Anti-Slavery Network and is the Independent Chair of a Housing and Support provider’s Safeguarding Panel. Pete was a member of the Advisory Group established by the Department of Health re the Safeguarding sections of the Care Act 2014, he has lectured on 3 social work courses on Safeguarding Adults and delivered the Social Work with Adults module on 1 of those courses. Pete was a member of the Adult Facility of the College of Social Work and BASW’s Adult PPEG. He is still a Registered Social Worker and, almost as importantly, has been a season-ticket holder with Port Vale for the last decade!
Vickie Hollingworth
Trustee
Resigned July 2023
Vickie is a registered Social Worker, currently in the role of Service Manager working for a Local Authority in the North West of England. She has over 10 years experience in working with children and families and understands the impact of experiencing hardship. Throughout her career Vickie has gained a wealth of knowledge surrounding welfare and debt advice and brings this knowledge with her as a trustee.
Vickie is passionate about making a difference and joined SWBT, motivated by the idea of giving back to our social work community whilst being part of a valuable lifeline for Social Workers, both past and present.
Outside of work, Vickie is a busy mum of 5 who enjoys the outdoors and spending time in the Lake District with friends and family.
Bridget Robb
Joint Co-Chair
Resigned June 2023
Bridget was co-chair of the Social Workers’ Benevolent Trust.
She qualified as a social worker in 1976, working in Nottinghamshire and Oxfordshire local authorities, but increasingly moved into social work education. She was a lecturer at Coventry Polytechnic and head of the Social Work Department at Oxford Brookes University. Nationally, Bridget was a member of CCETSW England Committee and was a member of the Skills for Care Board. She then moved to the British Association of Social Workers, becoming CEO and General Secretary of the Social Workers Union.
Since leaving paid employment in 2016, Bridget has kept up local and national commitments. Locally she became chair of her village Good Neighbour Scheme, and she is a Foundation governor of a local primary school. Nationally she is a chair of Thirtyone:Eight, which is a Christian organisation providing safeguarding services to faith communities, and a member of her Church of England diocesan safeguarding advisory panel. She is also a director of RoHo Learning Ltd.
Bridget thanks trustees for her leaving gift of afternoon tea
Julian Levitt
Vice Chair from July 2020
Resigned July 2022
Julian was a trustee for more than 20 years. He became Co-chair with Jean Lockley, holding this post for around 7 years, until a year before he retired in 2022; when he was Vice Chair for his final year.
In his time Julian introduced many changes for the benefit of the trust.
Julian qualified as a social worker in 1971 but retired in 2016. He spent the vast proportion of his working life working in Birmingham and Sandwell as a first line manager with children’s and child protection work.
He finished his social work career as an agency social worker and Project Manager, spending time in Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire, as well as working with Family Action.
He is a season ticket holder for Worcester Warriors (that’s rugby union!), loves listening to good jazz and seeing his grandchildren.
Tooba Malik
Trustee from September 2021
Resigned July 2022
Tooba currently works for the British Red Cross providing psychosocial programmes to young refugees and asylum seekers.
Tooba qualified as a social worker in 2018 through the Frontline programme and has worked at Manchester and Trafford Local Authorities.
She is also the founder and CEO of Thrive Social Work – a technology start-up creating apps for social workers to help them manage their workload and wellbeing.