My profile

Biography

Bio

My name is Ffion Evans and my pronouns are she/her. I am an Educator and Registered Social Worker. 

I am a proud Manchester Met alumni, graduating with a Masters and Diploma in Social Work in 2000. Since this time I have been a children’s social worker with 15 years direct practice experience of child protection, family help, and advocating for looked after children and care leavers. I have worked as an Independent Reviewing Officer, and held roles in Quality Assurance and Practice Improvement and Development. I returned to Manchester Met as a Senior Lecturer in July 2015.

I am committed to critical and social pedagogy, and social justice, and have an overarching interest in critical, radical and collaborative social work practice. 

I am a trustee for a community youth project and support youth participation. 

Academic and professional qualifications

  • Commenced PhD
  • PG certificate in Learning and Teaching in HE, 2018
  • Fellow of the HEA, 2017
  • Post Qualifying Award in Social Work, Salford University, 2003
  • PG Diploma in Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2000
  • Masters in Social Work , Manchester Metropolitan University, 2000
  • BA (hons) Visual Communication, Edinburgh College of Art, 1996

Professional Membership

Social Work England registration number: SW77036

Fellow of Advance HE

External Examiner 

2020 - ongoing: University East London, Pre-Qualifying Social Work 

Projects

MMU funded PhD Study 2022: Care Experienced young people, digital rights and participation: “A qualitative exploration of how living under a ‘professional gaze’ impacts digital rights and participation, for care experienced young people”

Erasmus + 2020-2022: Urban Diversities and Community Service Learning International Exchange. Forthcoming: ‘The added value of transnational learning in social work programmes’.This work was supported by the ERASMUS+ Programme under Grant number 2019-1-BE02-KA203-060321. 

Health Education England: Building a Virtual Community for Inter-Professional Exchange.

Health Education England/Point of Care Foundation: Schwartz Rounds in Higher Education Institutions Project. Trained Facilitator of Schwartz Rounds at Manchester Metropolitan University. 

Teaching

Why do I teach?

I understand from first-hand experience just how daunting the role of a social worker and social care practitioner can be, and as such, critical thinking, a strong knowledge base and purposeful practice skills are essential. My practice as an educator and social worker is underpinned by an ethic of love and care, and commitment to social justice. I encourage inclusive learning through collaboration, creativity, mutual appreciation, respect, and curiosity. 

Teaching

  • Children and Families
  • Safeguarding
  • Critical and International Perspectives in Social Work
  • Inter-professional Practice
  • Critical Theory
  • Urban Diversity
  • Care
  • Post - Digital Society
  • Children’s Rights and Participation
  • Youth Work

Education Roles and Experience

  • Departmental Education Lead From Sep 2020
  • Programme Lead BA (hons) Social Work 2017- 2020
  • Programme lead GM First BA (hons) Social Work 2016-18
  • Co-developed BA (hons) Social Work (apprenticeship) 2017-2019
  • MA Admissions Tutor 2015-17

Special interests 

  • Community and Stakeholder Collaboration
  • Collaborative Teaching 
  • Support for Care Experienced Students 
  • Student Equality Networks 
  • Student Voice and Participation 
  • Employability and Professional Confidence
  • Digital Educational
  • Pastoral Support

Supervision

Commenced October 2021: Sarah Dennis, Research project: ‘How can the wellbeing of families involved in child protection court cases be improved?’ White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship

Research outputs

Research and Practice Interests

  • Care Experience 
  • Children’s Rights and Participation
  • Surveillance and Discipline in Children’s Social Work Practice
  • Post Digital Rights and Inclusion  
  • Participatory and Creative Research and Education
  • Collaborative Learning
  • Flexible and Social Learning

Recent Publications

Dillon, J., Evans, F., and Kippen, R. (2022) Enabling and embedding creative participation in child and family social work’, Research In Practice, Available at https://www.researchinpractice.org.uk/children/publications/2022/march/…

Ffion Evans, Professor Kirsten Jack, Elenor Hannan, Professor Claire Hamshire and Professor Alison Chambers, Manchester Metropolitan University (2021) Birley place: An innovation to support learning about the complexities of interprofessional working, Employability Symposium 2021: 3E’s for Wicked Problems, Advance HE, https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/3-es-wicked-problems-employa…

Evans, F. (2021) “Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears About Technology Shape Children’s Lives, Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross, 2020, New York, Oxford University Press, Isbn: 9780190874704,” Journal of Technology in Human Services, 39(2), pp. 212–213. doi: 10.1080/15228835.2021.1902909.

Dillon, J., Evans, F., Wroe, L. (2021) COVID-19: changing fields of social work practice with children and young people, Critical and Radical Social Work, Vol 9, issue 2, Doi 10.1332/204986021X16109919842882

Evans, F. (2020) Considering children and young people’s digital rights after the pandemic, SW2020-21 Covid-19 -. Available at: https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/sw2020-21-covid19/editions/5th-edition-14-july-2020/considering-children-and-young-peoples-digital-rights-after-the-pandemic (Accessed: 13 April 2022).

Career history

2020

Department Education Lead - Social Care and Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University

2015

Senior Lecturer - Social Care and Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University

2012

Social Work Consultant - Manchester City Council 

2009

Independent Safeguarding Chair - Cheshire East Council 

2000

Social Worker - Cheshire County Council (Cheshire East Council)