European Perspectives on Social Work: Models of Education and Professional Roles. A Briefing Paper
Comparative research undertaken by the Thomas Coram Research Unit found that social workers in England have more responsibility and a wider remit than many of their continental European counterparts. 
 
Social workers in England have responsibility for all aspects of case management and direct contact with families, but in much of continental Europe these responsibilities are split between several different highly-trained professionals. 
 
In England, most direct work with children and families is undertaken by support staff, many of whom have no specialist qualifications. In Denmark, Germany and France, most of this work is undertaken by professionals highly qualified in therapeutic and direct work, working alongside social workers. 
 
The report’s authors, Dr Janet Boddy and Professor June Statham, called for a fundamental reassessment of what social workers can and should be expected to do.
The tasks and roles of social workers: a focused overview of research evidence
Options for Excellence is a joint DfES and DH-funded review of the social care workforce. Four task groups have been set up, each dealing with different aspects of social care. Task Group 3 is considering the roles and tasks of social workers. In order to inform the work of this group, the Thomas Coram Research Unit was asked to provide an overview of relevant research and data in three main areas: the effective deployment of social worker time and tasks, improving cross-professional working, and attitudes to take-up of post-qualifying qualifications.
What Tools Do We Need to Improve Identification of Child Abuse
Child protection work is being transformed by the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) and other tools to improve frontline work. This article argues that current innovations are being developed without sufficient attention to understanding the needs of frontline workers. Taking the identification of child abuse as an example, the article shows how beginning with the question 'What tools do we need?' produces radically different answers from the current proposed tools such as the Information Sharing and Assessment database (ISA). The approach advocated here involves examining what aspects of the task frontline workers find difficult and identifying where they would most appreciate help. In relation to the problem of sharing information between professionals to ensure accurate assessment of risk, it is argued that the key problems do not lie in the technical process of sharing data but in professionals' ability to collect the necessary information, to interpret it accurately and to communicate it clearly.