Meet the 'Sociable Social Worker'

In 23 years as a Social Worker, there isn’t much I haven’t seen,” says Alasdair, with a shake of his head.

“I’ve worked in child protection, family support, youth justice, fostering and adoption, and probation. I’ve had my job title changed, my team swapped, my office relocated, and have been made redundant twice. I’ve ridden the wave of corporate change, but through it all, I’ve just kept doing my job.

“As a young social worker, I made mistakes, as we all do. I once visited a house to find the woman who lived there dealing drugs at the front door. The house was filled with drug users, and she didn’t know where her children were. I found the baby wedged between the mattress and headboard in the bedroom, and the toddler hiding under a cot. The house was filled with faeces and bodies, and I just picked these two children up and walked out.

“I refused, and called the police instead. The mother was arrested, and the children were put into emergency foster care. “Some of the recollections from over the years are just surreal.”

The story is one that Alasdair, aka the Sociable Social Worker, tells in one of his most popular videos: ‘What I wish I’d known at the start of my Social Work career.’

Since launching his YouTube channel 11 months ago, Alasdair has made more than 50 videos - sharing tips, advice, and guidance from his own experience on being a social worker. His channel has nearly 2,000 subscribers, and his videos have had over 75,000 views.

“I do everything on my phone - filming, editing, and uploading the videos,” says Alasdair, who was inspired to start the channel at the beginning of lockdown.

“I thought maybe I had some experience worth sharing, and my videos seem to have struck a chord with students and newly-qualified social workers. I have people getting in touch daily, asking for tips or advice.”

“I started out at drama school, determined to be an actor,” he laughs, as he recalls the best role he ever landed was as a dead body in Taggart.

“I did one radio advert which became quite famous in Scotland; that made me more money than anything else I ever did. My mates still like to sing the jingle at me when I walk into the pub.”

In the end, it was whilst teaching children at an exclusion unit that Alasdair found himself being drawn to social work. He soon found himself working at Barnardo’s, running the service that sorted his own adoption years earlier.

Today, Alasdair is Director of Fostering for Therapeutic Fostering Agency. He has spent the last 12 years working in fostering and adoption, and says that’s definitely where his passion lies.

I also promote foster carers having a big welcome for kids, as I remember certain aspects of that myself - being welcomed into people’s homes, the details of the house, and the smiley faces that greeted me. They were important things to me, so I try to get across to those I work with that this is worthwhile during an initial visit.”

As for his side-job, he says he’ll keep making videos as long as people are still interested, or until he runs out of things to talk about.

“Dark humour has saved me many times in this job,” says Alasdair, as he recalls the time someone sent a bullet with his name written on it to the office where he was working at the time. (“I enjoy playing Call of Duty and so recognised it instantly as a 50 caliber bullet. It made me feel better to know whoever had sent it wasn’t likely to own a gun big enough to fire it!)

“A lot of the stories in my videos aren’t funny, but I have to inject a bit of humour, and I try to be really positive about social work, as I am really positive about the difference the job can make.

“I can’t imagine coming into the profession now, and I take my hat off to anyone working out there on the frontline this past year. With my videos, I want to pass on what I’ve learned to those who are new to the sector, and let them know about the realities of the job.

“I think people forget that social workers are some of the most qualified people - qualified in life as well as their studies. The reality of what they do is so different to the idea that people carry around. More recognition is needed, and I think it’s important we get a more positive understanding of social workers out there.”