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The Covid-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus the complexities and challenges facing social work and social care organisations. Using theory, ethics and practice, this article aims to critically explore an ethical and relational approach to leadership that can help navigate complexity in social work in the UK. Explaining the emerging Human Learning System, this article argues that this paradigm can offer an alternative to the new public management, with its focus on the three core aspects of markets, matrix and management. Key to this discussion is the social pedagogy leadership framework, which aims to assist the navigation of complexity in direct practice and support positive organisational cultures and systems as discussed within the Human Learning System. The leadership framework is informed by the principles of social pedagogy, which are seen as an ethical philosophical approach to leadership and direct practice. It places human relationships and rights within the everyday and at the heart of leadership and organisational change – as Berit Bae has stated, human rights must be applied in the everyday, not just in certain situations. Using the philosophical principles and core ideas of social pedagogy and the Human Learning System, the framework is designed to support leadership, which is relational and ethical at its core, while also assisting the navigation of uncertainty and the complexities of the work undertaken by modern social work and social care organisations.

Are you looking to understand more about social pedagogy? Wanting to see how you can incorporate these approaches into your practice? Ali Gardner and Lowis Charfe introduce you to this exciting new approach to UK social work practice that has been shaping care services in Europe for decades. It is a holistic approach that requires an absolute commitment to employing your heard, heart, and hand in creatively working alongside individuals to support the process of change at an individual, communal, and societal level. - The authors outline the key concepts, philosophy, and history of social pedagogy to ground you in the theory - Exercises help you to reflect on how to incorporate this new philosophy into your work - Practical examples demonstrate how you can apply key principles to your own practice After reading this book you will be able to confidently engage with social work that emphasises people rather than processes at the heart of intervention.

The aim of this article is to set out how the use of social pedagogical Haltung can support the exploration of values and how this informs and shapes a practitioner's direct work. Haltung is a German concept that has no direct English translation but means 'mindset', 'ethos' or 'attitude' (Eichsteller, 2010) and relates to an individual's value base. Mührel (2008, cited in Eichsteller, 2010) set out that a social pedagogical Haltung is based on the two concepts of empathic understanding and regard. This article argues that the use of a social pedagogical Haltung gives practitioners a philosophical framework to support the reflection of core values and ethics held on a personal level. It also supports an understanding of how these influence practitioners and students when using self in relationship-based practice. The understanding of Haltung is important, but for social pedagogical practice to be undertaken it also has to be demonstrated by actions. The reflective activity of 'values alive in practice', set out in this article, provides a tool for social workers, practitioners and students to critically explore their own values and practice and make more meaningful connections between their Haltung and the behaviours they demonstrate in their everyday work. In the United Kingdom, values and standards for social work practice are set out by the British Association of Social Work and Social Work England. Arguably these have, at times, been reduced to a checklist for students and practitioners and can lack more in-depth and explicit links to practice. The analysis of practice is more likely to focus on the skills and abilities of practitioners rather than the value base that underpins these. While the understanding and key application of core knowledge and skills is essential for competent social work practice (Forrester et al., 2019), this article argues that it must also be supported and shaped by ethical principles. It seeks to explore how social workers can be supported to adopt value-led approaches to complex work within an outcome-focused culture.

This reflective account has been co-developed, produced and written by students and the teaching staff on the BA Hons Social Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Participation degree at the University of Central Lancashire. The account focuses on the use of experiential and creative teaching methods utilised on the course and how this enhances the understanding and application of social pedagogy. The article critically analyses the link between how the social pedagogical theories, concepts and methods are taught and the advancement of the student and lecturer understanding of this field of study. In developing this reflective account, the current student cohort and lecturers were given the opportunity to participate in a collaborative reflection across all years of the course. They discussed their own learning journey and how this has shaped development of creativity within their practice. During the discussions around the use of blended, experiential learning and creativity, three key themes emerged: (1) the importance of the environment on creativity and learning; (2) the importance of relationships, creativity and learning; and (3) Haltung, psychological safety and creativity. In the reflections on what they have learned so far, the students and lecturers hope to inspire other education providers to use creative and experiential teaching methods within their courses. The authors feel that the reflective account contains useful information around the learning that has taken place over the last three years of this course being taught.