PWLE Seminar: Learning from Research: The highs and lows of a Practitioner’s Journey into Research.

This PWLE seminar is open to members of the West Midlands Social Work Teaching Partnership. Please see below our Partner organisations.

In this session, Levy Sibenke will share his personal journey into research, offering insights into the challenges and rewards of balancing research with social work practice. He will cover key topics such as:

• How he began his research journey

• Funding opportunities for research projects

• The support he received throughout his research process

• The challenges of balancing research with day-to-day practice

There will also be an opportunity to ask Levy any questions about his experiences conducting research as a practitioner.

Facilitator Bio: Levy Sibenke is an experienced social worker who has worked across several roles in child protection and safeguarding since qualifying in 2010. He began his career at Families@Familycare, supervising foster carers, before joining Birmingham Children Services as a child protection social worker in 2014. He later worked with Walsall Children Services' Initial Response Team, before returning to Birmingham, and subsequently moving to Reading and Wolverhampton Children Services. In Wolverhampton, Levy also worked with the No Recourse to Public Funds team.

Throughout his career, Levy has encountered many cases involving the physical chastisement of children, which he believes have not been effectively addressed. He identified a significant gap in social work practice, where approaches often lead to "disguised compliance" by parents. Levy uses the Iceberg Theory to highlight that while much focus is placed on the visible actions of physical chastisement, the deeper, underlying issues often remain unexplored—issues that he believes are key to understanding and addressing these cases effectively.

Levy has also shared his research and insights with social work students at the University of Birmingham, emphasizing the crucial connection between social work practice, research, and theory, and the importance of research-informed and practice-informed approaches.

Deadline to register: Monday 19th of May

Partner organisations:

Birmingham Children's Trust

Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City University

Cheshire East Council

City of Stoke-on-Trent Council

City of Wolverhampton Council

Coventry City Council

Coventry University

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

Keele University

Sandwell Children's Trust

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Shropshire Council

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Staffordshire County Council

Staffordshire University

Telford & Wrekin Council

University of Birmingham

University of Warwick

University of Wolverhampton

University of Worcester

Walsall Council

Warwickshire County Council

Worcestershire County Council