Learn on the go: the Community Care podcast Podcast By Community Care cover art

Learn on the go: the Community Care podcast
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Learn on the go is the Community Care Inform podcast where practitioners, trainers, consultants, academics and researchers discuss practice, research, and theories and what they mean for social workers. Listening to episodes is a convenient way to learn and refresh your knowledge when you don’t have much time to read or prefer other ways of getting information and reflecting on your practice.

We’ve been recording Learn on the go on an ad hoc basis since 2017. Over these eight years our podcast audience has grown, and in 2025 we made the decision to start recording Learn on the go in seasons. We launched Season 1 Episode 1 in January 2025.

During each season, episodes are released monthly on the last Friday of the month and all episodes appear on Inform Adults and Inform Children or you can subscribe to Learn on the go through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.2026 Community Care
Episodes
  • Season 2 Episode 6 - county lines: playing the long game

    Season 2 Episode 6 - county lines: playing the long game
    Feb 26 2026

    A manually transcribed transcript of this podcast is available here.

    Welcome to Learn on the go, the podcast from Community Care Inform, where we discuss the issues affecting social workers and social care practitioners.

    This episode looks at county lines and child criminal exploitation. Discussing this is Adam Elliott, founder of The Long Game, a youth-led intervention to reduce young people’s risk of exposure to these forms of modern slavery.

    Adam uses his lived experience to highlight how children and young people are groomed, exploited and manipulated into county lines.

    At about 1 hour and 20 minutes, this is an extended edition of Learn on the go but we feel it is justified. Adam’s story is hard-hitting and, at times, difficult to listen to but it is full of information and tangible red flags that have to be heard to be understood.

    We realise that it’s a commitment on your part to sit with his story to the end but you will find learning points all the way through. If you’re finding it difficult to listen to, you may want to take a break and come back to it. We’d like to remind you to practise self-care and use supervision and peer support if you’ve been affected by this episode.

    Questions were asked by Natalie Valios, senior content editor, Community Care Inform Adults.

    00:01:45 – Life before county lines

    00:03:44 – Stereotypes and vulnerabilities

    00:06:52 – Being groomed

    00:08:53 – Dropping off the first package

    00:13:13 – Early warning signs

    00:14:59 – How county lines operate

    00:23:13 – A community problem

    00:25:52 – Asking for help

    00:27:52 – Trap houses

    00:34:51 – Hope of escape

    00:38:40 – Facing prison

    00:42:57 – Knife and chemical attacks

    00:48:53 – Victim of modern slavery

    00:51:27 – Parents’ suspicions

    00:54:39 – Arrest on 18th birthday

    01:01:44 – Missing out on life

    01:07:51 – Contextual safeguarding

    01:10:07 – Family support

    01:11:20 – Importance of knowing the slang

    01:13:55 – Misconceptions

    01:18:08 – Crime and Policing Bill

    01:19:18 – Life now

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • Season 2 Episode 5 - welfare benefits

    Season 2 Episode 5 - welfare benefits
    Jan 30 2026
    This episode focuses on welfare benefits and support in England and Wales.

    The welfare benefits system is designed to provide financial support to individuals and families in need. However, according to a report published in 2025 by Policy in Practice, over 7 million households in the UK are missing out on benefits and support due to limited awareness, complexity in the benefits system and stigma around claiming. These barriers are found to often overlap and disproportionately affect people already facing other disadvantages, including carers, disabled adults, older people on low incomes, single parents and people without strong social networks.

    Discussing this topic is Gary Vaux, the author of Community Care Inform's Benefits A-Z knowledge and practice hub. Gary has been involved in welfare rights for many years and until recently managed a team of local authority benefit and debt advice workers. His background includes training and writing on welfare benefit rules and policies, and he was also chair of the Social Security Advisers Group at the Local Government Association.

    Questions are asked by Gemma Balmford, content editor at Community Care Inform Adults.

    Subscribe to the Learn on the go series to stay up-to-date with new episodes. Look out for the final episode in Season 2, which will be released at the end of February 2026.

    Links to resources mentioned in this podcast
    • Advicenow
    • Age UK
    • Benefits and Work
    • CC Inform's benefits A-Z (free for CC Inform subscribers)
    • Child Poverty Action Group
    • Citizens Advice
    • Contact
    • Disability Rights UK
    • entitledto
    • Mencap
    • MIND
    • Motor Neurone Disease Association
    • Policy in Practice
    • Rightsnet
    • RNIB
    • RNID
    • Scope
    • Turn2Us

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    38 mins
  • Season 2 Episode 4 - the occupational therapist's role in eating disorder treatment

    Season 2 Episode 4 - the occupational therapist's role in eating disorder treatment
    Dec 16 2025
    Welcome to Learn on the go, a Community Care Inform podcast, where we discuss the issues affecting social workers and social care practitioners. This episode focuses on eating disorders in adults and the support that occupational therapists can provide. Beat, the UK's eating disorder charity, estimates that 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder and, contrary to popular belief, about a quarter are male.

    Discussing this subject is Abigail Cardwell, the lead occupational therapist for eating disorders at the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. Abigail is also a clinical associate trainer for Beat and co-chair of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists' eating disorders specialist network.

    Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses affecting people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. Behaviours can include limiting the amount of food eaten, eating very large quantities of food at once, getting rid of food eaten through unhealthy means or a mixture of any of these. They can cause serious harm physically, mentally and emotionally and, sadly, in some cases can be fatal. But despite being such serious illnesses, they are treatable and people can make a full recovery with the right support.

    We want to give a warning about the content in this episode. We'd encourage you to look after yourself while listening and use supervision and peer support if it brings up anything difficult for you.

    And if you’re worried about your own or someone else’s health, you can contact Beat, the UK's eating disorder charity, on 0808 801 0677 or visit the website beateatingdisorders.org.uk

    Questions are asked by Natalie Valios, senior content editor at Community Care Inform Adults.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    37 mins
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