Staff Profiles

Nick Pike

Director of Studies Social Work

Email: npike@glos.ac.uk

Academic and Professional Qualifications

• BA History,
• MA Applied Social Studies,
• CQSW,
• Dip Soc Admin,
• Further and Adult Education Teachers Certificate,
• Certificate in Management

Practice Experience

3 years as an unqualified social worker in mental health, learning disability and child care — Birmingham and Oxfordshire

4 years as a development worker for children with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire

11 years project leadership in a specialist community service for children with learning difficulties — The Children’s Society

3 years as Head of Children’s Services for a residential special school for children with autism and challenging behaviour - Norwood

10 years as a volunteer advocate for children with special educational needs

Principal Teaching Areas

• Child Care
• Social Work Law
• Social Policy (esp. child welfare policy)

Research Interests

• Childhood disability and family adaptation
• Residential child care (esp. for disabled children)
• Social pedagogy
• History of social work

Brief Biography

I have spent most of my life in social work practice punctuated by periods of teaching (sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time) at Oxford Brookes University and University College, Winchester. I have had a particular interest in the development of post-qualifying education for social work.  I am proudest of the development of the Western Corner Project for the Children’s Society which was (in its day!) a pioneering service for children with disabilities, although I am also proud to be associated with turning around a failing residential special school. The biggest influence on my thinking has come from my engagement with psychodynamic thought from periods of study at the Tavistock Clinic.

Selected publications

'Age, Maturity and Suitability for Social Work Education' in Frost, E, Freitas, M J and Campanini, A (eds.) (2007) Social Work Education in Europe Rome, Carocci pp. 167 - 179  

'The Neglected Dimension - advocacy and the families of children with learning difficulties' in Robin Jackson and Barry Gray (eds.) Advocacy and Learning Disability (London, Jessica Kingsley) pp.152 - 169

'"All we're here for is storage, dear" - psychodynamic approaches to the respite care of children with learning difficulties' Journal of Learning Disabilities for Nursing, Health and Social Care Vol. 3 No.1