Welcome to these resources which have been made freely available to help support churches and Christian faith-based organisations.
To view our Free Downloadable resources Click Here
My name is Professor Keith Brown and I am the founding director of the National Centre for Social Work. This centre leads in the most complex and difficult areas of social work and care within our society and I have acted as a Government advisor in these areas for over 15 years. Currently I chair the NHS Safeguarding Adults National Network which oversees and produces guidance on all areas of adult safeguarding. I also chair two regional Safeguarding boards. My other main role is leading the national research into fraud and scams for the National Scams Team and I also sit on the National Mental Capacity Leadership Forum.
Over the years I have published many textbooks for health and social care professionals and produced numerous governmental reports and professional practice guides. It is from this background that I want to share best practice with the wider church. I have been a Christian for over 50 years and during this time I have always had a calling to work with the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society, hence my work as a Professor of Social Work, and ultimately as the Director of the National Centre and Government advisor. I also chair Love Southampton, a body that aims to represent the social action of the churches in Southampton to the welfare state in areas such as food banks, debt advice and supporting refugees and the homeless. I am a board member for Moorlands College and an ambassador for Faith in Later Life.
My aim is to make these guidance notes accessible to the church as resources for those working in the faith-based sector with the guarantee that they are based on national guidance used throughout the health and social care sector.
The website Profkeith.com has resources covering ministry to older people, how to help prevent fraud and scams, how to manage teams effectively and prevent stress and burnout, managing end of life care issues including the value and use of Lasting Powers of Attorney, plus evaluations of the impact of food banks and - soon to be launched - an evaluation of the impact of churches supporting refugees in our society.
Please share these free resources with your church communities knowing they are based on the very best available understanding and policy. It is my desire and prayer that these resources will enable you to offer the very best pastoral care and support in your ministry area.
Finally, I wish to thank all those who have contributed and assisted in writing these guides - you are an inspiration to me and also great friends - and a big thank you to NPN for hosting this website to make these materials accessible.
Prof Keith Brown