Canopi 82 Tanner Street London SE1 3GN
Charitable Incorporated Organisation: 1204861
Report for year end 2025
1. Background
The Charity was established on 21[st] September 2023. It was preceded by the Joint University Council (JUC) Charity Number 313573 and inherited its first funds following the closure of the JUC on 13 November 2024.
Trustees identified as being in process in last year’s report are all now in place. The previous Chair and one other trustee have stepped down in 2025. A new Chair and Vice Chair were elected in early 2026. The Charity now has seven trustees. Expressions of interest for further officers have been circulated.
The charitable objectives are:
The advancement of education for the public benefit in the subject of social work education, research, policy and practice and to inform public understanding and debate in those fields in the UK and in particular by supporting university based academics and scholars to further such education and by making available to the public, through a process of objective, impartial research and rigorous factual analysis, full, accurate and relevant information to assist such public understanding and to inform and improve the quality of public debate in those fields. Such purposes shall in all respects and at all times be construed and promoted in an impartial, objective, balanced, and independent manner observing strict political neutrality.
2. Activities
Our second year has been challenging in terms of the volume of work required to get the website JUSWA – Joint Universites Social Work Associaton and infrastructure set up and running. However, during this time we have maintained our normal calendar of activities including our conference, committee work and representing the sector with regulators and government departments. Collaborative work is on a firm footing with organisations such as Social Work England (SWE, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Education (DfE).
Amanda Fitchett and Dr Pat Cartney have continued to lead our Education Committee which has met regularly and held some very informative educational forums. Professor Kish BhattiSinclair is our Chair of the International Committee which has also continued to meet regularly. We still need to appoint a new Chair of our Research Committee, but expressions
1
of interest are currently being sought. Dr Sally Paul continues to represent the Scotland Committee, and we look forward to continuing our role working alongside the Scottish Heads of Social Work group.
Our annual conference was excellently hosted by the University of Lancashire on 25[th] -27[th] June 2025. The conference began with a research/early career student workshop on the 25[th] and the full conference followed on 26[th] and 27[th] June. As always, we provided some bursaries for Experts by Experience, Carers, Practitioners and Students who did not have access to funding to attend. The conference theme this year was ‘Shaping the Future’ and we are very grateful and record our thanks to the social work team at the University of Lancashire for their hard work in hosting a very successful conference. The upcoming JUSWA 2026 conference will be held at Swansea University 1-3[rd] July 2026.
Recent JUSWA conferences:
2024 – Kingston University - Grand Challenges for Social Work: Strengthening social solidarity and connectedness
2023 – University of Strathclyde - Social Work Education, Research and Practice in Turbulent Times
Alongside continuing to set up the charity infrastructure we have continued to work hard to represent our membership in national fora and to advocate for the future sustainability of social work in HEIs. We have ensured that our key role in influencing the future direction of social work, social work education and research remains a top priority, particularly in what has been quite a turbulent time across the sector. Amanda Fitchett is Vice Chair of the Social Work England Education Advisory Forum and is also on their Practice Education Development Group. The JUSWA Chair and Vice - Chair continue our regular bi-monthly meetings with DfE and DHSC and we continue our long campaign to seek a review of social work student bursaries and the Education and Support Grant.
3. Governance
Trustees meet on a monthly basis to forward the work of the organisation. In this past year we have been working on the JUSWA website and getting essential administrative processes in place. We are registered with the National Council of Voluntary Organisations as a small charity. The trustees continue to build up our portfolio of policies to underpin our work.
The charity continues to serve its main purpose across a diverse range of activities and remains financially secure for the foreseeable future.
AJFitchett Amanda Fitchett Chair of JUSWA 4.6.26
Current Trustees: Amanda Fitchett Chair Dr Patricia Cartney Vice- Chair Professor George Palattyil
2
Professor Kish Bhatti-Sinclair Professor Wilson Muleya Dr Sally Paul Charles Sutcliffe Treasurer (ex-officio)
JUSWA: Receipts and Payments for the Period from 1[st] January 2025 to 31 December 2025
| Receipts Subscriptons Conference income 2024 Transfer from JUC Total Payments Conference Expenses 2025 Other Expenses Virtual Ofce Website and email Administratve Support Insurance Total Net Cash Received |
2025 £12,150 £3,000 -------- £15,150 £1,572.90 £71.22 £446.40 £1,524.00 £3,500.00 £99.15 £7,213.67 £7,936.33 |
2024 £14,850.00 ----------- £153,240.38 £168,090.38 --------- £2,384.88 ---------- £3,240.00 £1,500.00 £96.00 £7,220.88 £160,869.50 |
|---|---|---|
JUSWA: Assets as at 31[st] December 2025
Assets
Opening bank balance on 1[st] January 2025 Closing bank balance on 31[st] December 2025 Net cash received
£160,869.50 £168,805.83 £7,936.33
Treasurer: Charles Sutcliffe 27 January 2026
3