![David Wilkins BA (Hons), MA, PhD, SFHEA](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/3238?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Professor David Wilkins
BA (Hons), MA, PhD, SFHEA
Teams and roles for David Wilkins
Professor
Overview
I am a Professor of Social Work, with a research and teaching profile focused on improving the quality of person-centred practice, professional judgement, decision-making and supervision in child and family social work.
My work sits at the intersection of empirical research, professional education and practice improvement. I am particularly interested in how social workers make judgements and decisions under conditions of uncertainty, risk and moral complexity, and how organisations can better support high-quality, ethical practice. My research combines applied social work questions with ideas and methods from judgement and decision-making science, supervision research and implementation studies, and has informed policy, workforce development and professional education in the UK and internationally.
My professional background is in child and family social work, primarily in disability and child protection.
Publication
2026
- Webb, C. M. and Wilkins, D. 2026. Echoes and ripples: a qualitative analysis of the relationship between social work supervision and home visits. Children and Youth Services Review 180 108681. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108681)
2025
- Meindl, M. and Wilkins, D. 2025. Can social workers forecast future actions, events, and outcomes? A study of referrals to children’s services in England. Child Care in Practice 31 (2), pp.321-335. (10.1080/13575279.2021.2001434)
- Nordmo, L. C. L. , Wilkins, D. and Nordmo, M. 2025. Unwanted variability in child welfare decision-making: an empirical investigation. Journal of Social Work Practice (10.1080/02650533.2025.2589778)
- Schroeder, E. et al., 2025. Family VOICE: family group conferencing for children and families: implementation, context and cost-effectiveness [Abstract]. Presented at: 2nd North American Conference on Integrated Care Calgary, Canada 15-17 October 2024. Vol. 25.Vol. 178. (10.5334/ijic.NACIC24178)
- Wilkins, D. and Bennett, V. 2025. Making accurate judgements in child welfare: comparing ChatGPT with qualified social workers. Child & Family Social Work (10.1111/cfs.13304)
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2025. Can child protection social workers forecast future actions, events and outcomes? A case study of long-term work with five families. Child Care in Practice 31 (2), pp.301-320. (10.1080/13575279.2022.2118674)
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2025. Implementing Schwartz Rounds in children’s social care: enablers and barriers. Journal of Social Work 25 (1), pp.61-82. (10.1177/14680173241278249)
2024
- Cowley, L. E. et al. 2024. Factors influencing clinicians', health visitors' and social workers' professional judgements, decision‐making and multidisciplinary collaboration when safeguarding children with burn injuries: a qualitative study. Child Abuse Review 33 (1) e2862. (10.1002/car.2862)
- Phillips, A. R. et al., 2024. A qualitative investigation into care‐leavers' experiences of accessing mental health support. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 97 (3), pp.439-455. (10.1111/papt.12525)
- Powell, S. et al. 2024. Understanding how and under what circumstances parental advocates support parents to participate in decision-making: a scoping review. Child Care in Practice 30 (4), pp.517-536. (10.1080/13575279.2024.2354823)
- Randell, E. et al. 2024. Watch Me Play!: protocol for a feasibility study of a remotely delivered intervention to promote mental health resilience for children (ages 0–8) across UK early years and children’s services. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 10 (1) 55. (10.1186/s40814-024-01491-7)
- Randell, E. et al. 2024. Watch Me Play! A pilot feasibility study of a remotely- delivered intervention to promote mental health resilience for children (aged 0-8) across UK early years and children's services.. Project Report.Foundations.
- Scourfield, J. et al. 2024. Family group conferencing for children and families: Evaluation of implementation, context and effectiveness (Family VOICE). Study protocol. PLoS ONE 19 (6) e0300834. (10.1371/journal.pone.0300834)
- Tahsini, I. and Wilkins, D. 2024. The patchy landscape of supervision for child protection professionals in Albania. The Clinical Supervisor 43 (1), pp.22-41. (10.1080/07325223.2023.2282018)
- Wilkins, D. 2024. Improving the accuracy of social work judgements: A proof-of-concept study of a training programme. Child & Family Social Work 29 (4), pp.948-959. (10.1111/cfs.13146)
- Wilkins, D. 2024. Seven principles of effective supervision for child and family social work. Practice: Social Work in Action 36 (3), pp.213-229. (10.1080/09503153.2023.2261148)
- Wilkins, D. and Keddell, E. 2024. Risk perceptions and experience in child protection decision-making: a comparative study of student social workers in Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand. Children and Youth Services Review 163 107623. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107623)
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2024. Can social workers estimate the likelihood of future actions and events? A forecasting accuracy study. The British Journal of Social Work 54 (3), pp.1150-1169. (10.1093/bjsw/bcad234)
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2024. Measuring the ratio of true-positive to false-positive judgements made by child and family social workers in England: A case vignette study. Child & Family Social Work 29 (2), pp.327-338. (10.1111/cfs.13086)
- Wood, S. et al. 2024. Family group conference provision in UK local authorities and associations with children looked after rates. The British Journal of Social Work 54 (5), pp.2045-2066. (10.1093/bjsw/bcae019)
2023
- Bennett, C. V. et al. 2023. The impact of a clinical prediction tool (BuRN-Tool) for child maltreatment on social care outcomes for children attending hospital with a burn or scald injury. Burns 49 (4), pp.941-950. (10.1016/j.burns.2022.07.014)
- Jones, R. et al. 2023. How did levels of psychological distress and perceptions of workplace support among children’s social work staff change during the Covid-19 pandemic?. British Journal of Social Work 53 (1), pp.405-424. (10.1093/bjsw/bcac126)
- Phillips, A. R. et al., 2023. Secondary data analysis of social care records to examine the provision of mental health support for young people in care. JCPP Advances 3 (2) e12161. (10.1002/jcv2.12161)
- Phillips, A. R. et al., 2023. A scoping review of factors associated with the mental health of young people who have 'aged out' of the child welfare system. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse (10.1177/15248380231196107)
- Wilkins, D. , Pitt, C. and Addis, S. 2023. What do child protection social workers talk about when they talk about helping children and families? An observational study of supervision. Practice 35 (2), pp.169-187. (10.1080/09503153.2022.2034777)
2022
- Bezeczky, Z. and Wilkins, D. 2022. Repeat missing child reports: Prevalence, timing, and risk factors. Children and Youth Services Review 136 106454. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106454)
- Flinkfeldt, M. et al., 2022. Conversation analysis in social work research: a scoping review. Qualitative Social Work 21 (6), pp.1011-1042. (10.1177/14733250221124215)
- Forslund, T. et al., 2022. El Apego Va a Juicio: Problemas de Custodia y Protección Infantil1 [Attachment goes to court: Child protection and custody issues]. Anuario de Psicología Jurídica 32 (1), pp.115-139. (10.5093/apj2021a26)
- Forslund, T. et al., 2022. L'attaccamento va in tribunale: protezione e affidamento dei minori. Quaderni Di Psicoterapia Cognitiva - Open Access, 50 , pp.25-97. (10.3280/qpc50-2022oa14082)
- Forslund, T. et al., 2022. Attachment goes to court: child protection and custody issues. Attachment and Human Development 24 (1), pp.1-52. (10.1080/14616734.2020.1840762)
- Jones, R. K. et al., 2022. How did levels of psychological distress and perceptions of workplace support amongst children’s social work staff change during the Covid-19 pandemic?. The British Journal of Social Work 53 (1), pp.405–424. (10.1093/bjsw/bcac126)
- Pitt, C. , Addis, S. and Wilkins, D. 2022. What is supervision? The views of child and family social workers and supervisors in England. Practice 34 (4), pp.307-324. (10.1080/09503153.2021.1959543)
- Symonds, J. et al., 2022. Eliciting third person perspectives in social work case discussions: A device for reflective supervision?. Qualitative Social Work 21 (6), pp.1274-1289. (10.1177/14733250221124206)
- Webb, J. , Wilkins, D. and Martin, R. 2022. (How) are decisions made in child and family social work supervisions?. Qualitative Social Work 21 (6), pp.1252-1273. (10.1177/14733250221124209)
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2022. A regional study of supervision for child protection professionals.
- Wood, S. et al. 2022. How might changes to family income affect the likelihood of children being in out-of-home care? Evidence from a realist and qualitative rapid evidence assessment of interventions. Children and Youth Services Review 143 106685. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106685)
- Wood, S. et al. 2022. A UK-wide survey of family group conference provision. Project Report.Cardiff: CASCADE.
2021
- El-Banna, A. et al., 2021. Systematic review of economic evaluations of children's social care interventions. Children and Youth Services Review 121 105864. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105864)
- Forrester, D. , Wilkins, D. and Whittaker, C. 2021. Motivational interviewing for working with children and families. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
- Wilkins, D. 2021. Supervision in child and family settings. In: O'Donoghue, K. and Engelbrecht, L. eds. The Routledge International Handbook of Social Work Supervision. Routledge International Handbooks Routledge. , pp.153-164.
- Wilkins, D. and Forrester, D. 2021. What do parents think about statutory child and family social work services in the UK?. British Journal of Social Work 51 (6), pp.2210-2227. (10.1093/bjsw/bcaa185)
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of a ‘checklist’ intervention to mitigate confirmation bias and improve forecasting accuracy in social work.
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of Schwartz Rounds: An intervention to reduce psychological distress for staff in children's services.
2020
- Stabler, L. , Wilkins, D. and Carro, H. 2020. What do children think about their social worker? A Q-method study of children's services. Child and Family Social Work 25 (1), pp.118-126. (10.1111/cfs.12665)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2020. Do performance indictors predict Ofsted ratings? An exploratory study of children’s services in England. Journal of Children's Services 15 (2), pp.45-59. (10.1108/JCS-07-2019-0035)
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2020. Good judgement and social work decision-making: a randomised controlled trial of brief interventions to improve forecasting. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Good_judgement_and_social_worker_decision-making_report_Jan_2020.pdf.
- Wilkins, D. , Thompson, S. and Bezeczky, Z. 2020. Child and family social work during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review of the evidence in relation to remote leadership. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Rapid_Review_Remote_Leadership_June_2020.pdf.
- Wilkins, D. , Thompson, S. and Bezeczky, Z. 2020. Child and family social work during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review of the evidence in relation to social work practice, natural disasters and pandemics. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Natural-Disasters-Rapid-Review_Aug-2020.pdf.
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2020. Outcomes-focused supervision: a pilot and feasibility study. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Outcomes-Focused-Supervision_full-report.pdf.
2019
- Beddoe, L. and Wilkins, D. 2019. Does the consensus about the value of supervision in social work stifle research and innovation?. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 31 (3), pp.1-6. (10.11157/anzswj-vol31iss3id643)
- Brand, S. et al. 2019. How family budget change interventions affect children being in care: a rapid evidence assessment. Project Report.[Online].Cardiff, Wales: What Works for Children's Social Care. Available at: http://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Family_Budget_Change_rapid_evidence_assessment_Full_Report_Aug2019.pdf.
- Wilkins, D. 2019. Social work supervision in child and family services: developing a working theory of how and why it works. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 31 (3), pp.7-19. (10.11157/anzswj-vol31iss3id644)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2019. Ofsted and Children's Services: What performance indicators and other factors are associated with better inspection results?. British Journal of Social Work (10.1093/bjsw/bcy100)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2019. Ofsted and Children's Services: What performance indicators and other factors are associated with better inspection results? (Corrigendum). The British Journal of Social Work (10.1093/bjsw/bcy134)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2019. What does supervision help with? A survey of 315 social workers in the UK. Practice 31 (1), pp.21-40. (10.1080/09503153.2018.1437398)
- Wilkins, D. and Forrester, D. 2019. Predicting the future in child and family social work: theoretical, ethical and methodological issues for a proposed research programme. Child Care in Practice 26 (2), pp.196-209. (10.1080/13575279.2019.1685463)
- Wilkins, D. , Shemmings, D. and Pascoe, C. 2019. Child Abuse 5e An evidence base for confident practice. Open University Press.
2018
- Wilkins, D. and Jones, R. 2018. Simulating supervision: How do managers respond to a crisis?. European Journal of Social Work 21 (3), pp.454-466. (10.1080/13691457.2017.1366429)
- Wilkins, D. , Jones, R. and Westlake, D. 2018. 'The activity does not archive well': Comparing audio and written records of supervision case discussions in Children's Services. Journal of Children's Services 13 (3/4), pp.93-109. (10.1108/JCS-03-2018-0005)
- Wilkins, D. , Jones, R. and Westlake, D. 2018. The activity does not archive well: comparing audio and written records of supervision case discussions in Children’s Services. Journal of Children's Services 13 (3/4), pp.93-109. (10.1108/jcs-03-2018-0005)
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2018. Evaluating the quality of social work supervision in UK children's services: comparing self-report and independent observations. Clinical Social Work Journal 46 (4), pp.350-360. (10.1007/s10615-018-0680-7)
- Wilkins, D. , Lynch, A. and Antonopoulou, V. 2018. A golden thread? The relationship between supervision, practice, and family engagement in child and family social work. Child and Family Social Work 23 (3), pp.494-503. (10.1111/cfs.12442)
2017
- Wilkins, D. 2017. Does reflective supervision have a future in English local authority child and family social work?. Journal of Children's Services 12 (2/3), pp.164-173. (10.1108/JCS-06-2017-0024)
- Wilkins, D. 2017. How is supervision recorded in child and family social work? An analysis of 244 written records of formal supervision. Child & Family Social Work 22 (3), pp.1130-1140. (10.1111/cfs.12330)
- Wilkins, D. 2017. Using Q methodology to understand how child protection social workers use attachment theory. Child and Family Social Work 22 (S4), pp.70-80. (10.1111/cfs.12276)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2017. How not to observe social workers in practice. Social Work Education 36 (7), pp.837-843. (10.1080/02615479.2017.1340446)
- Wilkins, D. , Forrester, D. and Grant, L. 2017. What happens in child and family social work supervision?. Child and Family Social Work 22 (2), pp.942-951. (10.1111/cfs.12314)
- Wilkins, D. and Whittaker, C. 2017. Doing child-protection social work with parents: what are the barriers in practice?. British Journal of Social Work bcx139. (10.1093/bjsw/bcx139)
2015
- Wilkins, D. 2015. The impact of 'being assessed' by a disabled children's team: a personal reflective account. Child and Family Social Work 20 (1), pp.10-18. (10.1111/cfs.12026)
- Wilkins, D. 2015. The use of theory and research knowledge in child protection social work practice: A study of disorganised attachment and child protection assessment. PhD Thesis , University of Kent.
- Wilkins, D. , Shemmings, D. and Shemmings, Y. 2015. A-Z of Attachment. Professional Keywords Bloomsbury Publishing.
2013
- Wilkins, D. 2013. Balancing risk and protective factors: how do social workers and social work managers analyse referrals that may indicate children are at risk of significant harm. British Journal of Social Work 45 (1), pp.395-411. (10.1093/bjsw/bct114)
- Wilkins, D. and Boahen, G. 2013. Critical analysis skills for social workers. Open University Press.
2012
- Corby, B. , Shemmings, D. and Wilkins, D. 2012. Child abuse: an evidence base for confident practice. Open University Press.
- Wilkins, D. 2012. Ethical dilemmas in social work practice with disabled people. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities 16 (2), pp.127-133. (10.1177/1744629512444986)
- Wilkins, D. 2012. Ethical dilemmas in social work practice with disabled people: young adults with autism. Ethics and Social Welfare 6 (1), pp.97-105. (10.1080/17496535.2012.651892)
- Wilkins, D. 2012. Ethical social work practice in direct work with carers and children. Ethics and Social Welfare 6 (4), pp.404-410. (10.1080/17496535.2012.735816)
2010
- Wilkins, D. 2010. I'm not sure what i want (and I don't know how to get it): how do social care workers perceive the parental relationships of children with autistic spectrum conditions?. Journal of Social Work Practice 24 (1), pp.89-101. (10.1080/02650530903532799)
Articles
- Beddoe, L. and Wilkins, D. 2019. Does the consensus about the value of supervision in social work stifle research and innovation?. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 31 (3), pp.1-6. (10.11157/anzswj-vol31iss3id643)
- Bennett, C. V. et al. 2023. The impact of a clinical prediction tool (BuRN-Tool) for child maltreatment on social care outcomes for children attending hospital with a burn or scald injury. Burns 49 (4), pp.941-950. (10.1016/j.burns.2022.07.014)
- Bezeczky, Z. and Wilkins, D. 2022. Repeat missing child reports: Prevalence, timing, and risk factors. Children and Youth Services Review 136 106454. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106454)
- Cowley, L. E. et al. 2024. Factors influencing clinicians', health visitors' and social workers' professional judgements, decision‐making and multidisciplinary collaboration when safeguarding children with burn injuries: a qualitative study. Child Abuse Review 33 (1) e2862. (10.1002/car.2862)
- El-Banna, A. et al., 2021. Systematic review of economic evaluations of children's social care interventions. Children and Youth Services Review 121 105864. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105864)
- Flinkfeldt, M. et al., 2022. Conversation analysis in social work research: a scoping review. Qualitative Social Work 21 (6), pp.1011-1042. (10.1177/14733250221124215)
- Forslund, T. et al., 2022. El Apego Va a Juicio: Problemas de Custodia y Protección Infantil1 [Attachment goes to court: Child protection and custody issues]. Anuario de Psicología Jurídica 32 (1), pp.115-139. (10.5093/apj2021a26)
- Forslund, T. et al., 2022. L'attaccamento va in tribunale: protezione e affidamento dei minori. Quaderni Di Psicoterapia Cognitiva - Open Access, 50 , pp.25-97. (10.3280/qpc50-2022oa14082)
- Forslund, T. et al., 2022. Attachment goes to court: child protection and custody issues. Attachment and Human Development 24 (1), pp.1-52. (10.1080/14616734.2020.1840762)
- Jones, R. et al. 2023. How did levels of psychological distress and perceptions of workplace support among children’s social work staff change during the Covid-19 pandemic?. British Journal of Social Work 53 (1), pp.405-424. (10.1093/bjsw/bcac126)
- Jones, R. K. et al., 2022. How did levels of psychological distress and perceptions of workplace support amongst children’s social work staff change during the Covid-19 pandemic?. The British Journal of Social Work 53 (1), pp.405–424. (10.1093/bjsw/bcac126)
- Meindl, M. and Wilkins, D. 2025. Can social workers forecast future actions, events, and outcomes? A study of referrals to children’s services in England. Child Care in Practice 31 (2), pp.321-335. (10.1080/13575279.2021.2001434)
- Nordmo, L. C. L. , Wilkins, D. and Nordmo, M. 2025. Unwanted variability in child welfare decision-making: an empirical investigation. Journal of Social Work Practice (10.1080/02650533.2025.2589778)
- Phillips, A. R. et al., 2023. Secondary data analysis of social care records to examine the provision of mental health support for young people in care. JCPP Advances 3 (2) e12161. (10.1002/jcv2.12161)
- Phillips, A. R. et al., 2023. A scoping review of factors associated with the mental health of young people who have 'aged out' of the child welfare system. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse (10.1177/15248380231196107)
- Phillips, A. R. et al., 2024. A qualitative investigation into care‐leavers' experiences of accessing mental health support. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 97 (3), pp.439-455. (10.1111/papt.12525)
- Pitt, C. , Addis, S. and Wilkins, D. 2022. What is supervision? The views of child and family social workers and supervisors in England. Practice 34 (4), pp.307-324. (10.1080/09503153.2021.1959543)
- Powell, S. et al. 2024. Understanding how and under what circumstances parental advocates support parents to participate in decision-making: a scoping review. Child Care in Practice 30 (4), pp.517-536. (10.1080/13575279.2024.2354823)
- Randell, E. et al. 2024. Watch Me Play!: protocol for a feasibility study of a remotely delivered intervention to promote mental health resilience for children (ages 0–8) across UK early years and children’s services. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 10 (1) 55. (10.1186/s40814-024-01491-7)
- Scourfield, J. et al. 2024. Family group conferencing for children and families: Evaluation of implementation, context and effectiveness (Family VOICE). Study protocol. PLoS ONE 19 (6) e0300834. (10.1371/journal.pone.0300834)
- Stabler, L. , Wilkins, D. and Carro, H. 2020. What do children think about their social worker? A Q-method study of children's services. Child and Family Social Work 25 (1), pp.118-126. (10.1111/cfs.12665)
- Symonds, J. et al., 2022. Eliciting third person perspectives in social work case discussions: A device for reflective supervision?. Qualitative Social Work 21 (6), pp.1274-1289. (10.1177/14733250221124206)
- Tahsini, I. and Wilkins, D. 2024. The patchy landscape of supervision for child protection professionals in Albania. The Clinical Supervisor 43 (1), pp.22-41. (10.1080/07325223.2023.2282018)
- Webb, C. M. and Wilkins, D. 2026. Echoes and ripples: a qualitative analysis of the relationship between social work supervision and home visits. Children and Youth Services Review 180 108681. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108681)
- Webb, J. , Wilkins, D. and Martin, R. 2022. (How) are decisions made in child and family social work supervisions?. Qualitative Social Work 21 (6), pp.1252-1273. (10.1177/14733250221124209)
- Wilkins, D. 2013. Balancing risk and protective factors: how do social workers and social work managers analyse referrals that may indicate children are at risk of significant harm. British Journal of Social Work 45 (1), pp.395-411. (10.1093/bjsw/bct114)
- Wilkins, D. 2017. Does reflective supervision have a future in English local authority child and family social work?. Journal of Children's Services 12 (2/3), pp.164-173. (10.1108/JCS-06-2017-0024)
- Wilkins, D. 2012. Ethical dilemmas in social work practice with disabled people. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities 16 (2), pp.127-133. (10.1177/1744629512444986)
- Wilkins, D. 2012. Ethical dilemmas in social work practice with disabled people: young adults with autism. Ethics and Social Welfare 6 (1), pp.97-105. (10.1080/17496535.2012.651892)
- Wilkins, D. 2012. Ethical social work practice in direct work with carers and children. Ethics and Social Welfare 6 (4), pp.404-410. (10.1080/17496535.2012.735816)
- Wilkins, D. 2017. How is supervision recorded in child and family social work? An analysis of 244 written records of formal supervision. Child & Family Social Work 22 (3), pp.1130-1140. (10.1111/cfs.12330)
- Wilkins, D. 2010. I'm not sure what i want (and I don't know how to get it): how do social care workers perceive the parental relationships of children with autistic spectrum conditions?. Journal of Social Work Practice 24 (1), pp.89-101. (10.1080/02650530903532799)
- Wilkins, D. 2024. Improving the accuracy of social work judgements: A proof-of-concept study of a training programme. Child & Family Social Work 29 (4), pp.948-959. (10.1111/cfs.13146)
- Wilkins, D. 2024. Seven principles of effective supervision for child and family social work. Practice: Social Work in Action 36 (3), pp.213-229. (10.1080/09503153.2023.2261148)
- Wilkins, D. 2019. Social work supervision in child and family services: developing a working theory of how and why it works. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 31 (3), pp.7-19. (10.11157/anzswj-vol31iss3id644)
- Wilkins, D. 2015. The impact of 'being assessed' by a disabled children's team: a personal reflective account. Child and Family Social Work 20 (1), pp.10-18. (10.1111/cfs.12026)
- Wilkins, D. 2017. Using Q methodology to understand how child protection social workers use attachment theory. Child and Family Social Work 22 (S4), pp.70-80. (10.1111/cfs.12276)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2020. Do performance indictors predict Ofsted ratings? An exploratory study of children’s services in England. Journal of Children's Services 15 (2), pp.45-59. (10.1108/JCS-07-2019-0035)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2017. How not to observe social workers in practice. Social Work Education 36 (7), pp.837-843. (10.1080/02615479.2017.1340446)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2019. Ofsted and Children's Services: What performance indicators and other factors are associated with better inspection results?. British Journal of Social Work (10.1093/bjsw/bcy100)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2019. Ofsted and Children's Services: What performance indicators and other factors are associated with better inspection results? (Corrigendum). The British Journal of Social Work (10.1093/bjsw/bcy134)
- Wilkins, D. and Antonopoulou, V. 2019. What does supervision help with? A survey of 315 social workers in the UK. Practice 31 (1), pp.21-40. (10.1080/09503153.2018.1437398)
- Wilkins, D. and Bennett, V. 2025. Making accurate judgements in child welfare: comparing ChatGPT with qualified social workers. Child & Family Social Work (10.1111/cfs.13304)
- Wilkins, D. and Forrester, D. 2019. Predicting the future in child and family social work: theoretical, ethical and methodological issues for a proposed research programme. Child Care in Practice 26 (2), pp.196-209. (10.1080/13575279.2019.1685463)
- Wilkins, D. and Forrester, D. 2021. What do parents think about statutory child and family social work services in the UK?. British Journal of Social Work 51 (6), pp.2210-2227. (10.1093/bjsw/bcaa185)
- Wilkins, D. , Forrester, D. and Grant, L. 2017. What happens in child and family social work supervision?. Child and Family Social Work 22 (2), pp.942-951. (10.1111/cfs.12314)
- Wilkins, D. and Jones, R. 2018. Simulating supervision: How do managers respond to a crisis?. European Journal of Social Work 21 (3), pp.454-466. (10.1080/13691457.2017.1366429)
- Wilkins, D. , Jones, R. and Westlake, D. 2018. 'The activity does not archive well': Comparing audio and written records of supervision case discussions in Children's Services. Journal of Children's Services 13 (3/4), pp.93-109. (10.1108/JCS-03-2018-0005)
- Wilkins, D. , Jones, R. and Westlake, D. 2018. The activity does not archive well: comparing audio and written records of supervision case discussions in Children’s Services. Journal of Children's Services 13 (3/4), pp.93-109. (10.1108/jcs-03-2018-0005)
- Wilkins, D. and Keddell, E. 2024. Risk perceptions and experience in child protection decision-making: a comparative study of student social workers in Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand. Children and Youth Services Review 163 107623. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107623)
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2018. Evaluating the quality of social work supervision in UK children's services: comparing self-report and independent observations. Clinical Social Work Journal 46 (4), pp.350-360. (10.1007/s10615-018-0680-7)
- Wilkins, D. , Lynch, A. and Antonopoulou, V. 2018. A golden thread? The relationship between supervision, practice, and family engagement in child and family social work. Child and Family Social Work 23 (3), pp.494-503. (10.1111/cfs.12442)
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2025. Can child protection social workers forecast future actions, events and outcomes? A case study of long-term work with five families. Child Care in Practice 31 (2), pp.301-320. (10.1080/13575279.2022.2118674)
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2024. Can social workers estimate the likelihood of future actions and events? A forecasting accuracy study. The British Journal of Social Work 54 (3), pp.1150-1169. (10.1093/bjsw/bcad234)
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2024. Measuring the ratio of true-positive to false-positive judgements made by child and family social workers in England: A case vignette study. Child & Family Social Work 29 (2), pp.327-338. (10.1111/cfs.13086)
- Wilkins, D. , Pitt, C. and Addis, S. 2023. What do child protection social workers talk about when they talk about helping children and families? An observational study of supervision. Practice 35 (2), pp.169-187. (10.1080/09503153.2022.2034777)
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2025. Implementing Schwartz Rounds in children’s social care: enablers and barriers. Journal of Social Work 25 (1), pp.61-82. (10.1177/14680173241278249)
- Wilkins, D. and Whittaker, C. 2017. Doing child-protection social work with parents: what are the barriers in practice?. British Journal of Social Work bcx139. (10.1093/bjsw/bcx139)
- Wood, S. et al. 2022. How might changes to family income affect the likelihood of children being in out-of-home care? Evidence from a realist and qualitative rapid evidence assessment of interventions. Children and Youth Services Review 143 106685. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106685)
- Wood, S. et al. 2024. Family group conference provision in UK local authorities and associations with children looked after rates. The British Journal of Social Work 54 (5), pp.2045-2066. (10.1093/bjsw/bcae019)
Book sections
- Wilkins, D. 2021. Supervision in child and family settings. In: O'Donoghue, K. and Engelbrecht, L. eds. The Routledge International Handbook of Social Work Supervision. Routledge International Handbooks Routledge. , pp.153-164.
Books
- Corby, B. , Shemmings, D. and Wilkins, D. 2012. Child abuse: an evidence base for confident practice. Open University Press.
- Forrester, D. , Wilkins, D. and Whittaker, C. 2021. Motivational interviewing for working with children and families. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
- Wilkins, D. and Boahen, G. 2013. Critical analysis skills for social workers. Open University Press.
- Wilkins, D. , Shemmings, D. and Pascoe, C. 2019. Child Abuse 5e An evidence base for confident practice. Open University Press.
- Wilkins, D. , Shemmings, D. and Shemmings, Y. 2015. A-Z of Attachment. Professional Keywords Bloomsbury Publishing.
Conferences
- Schroeder, E. et al., 2025. Family VOICE: family group conferencing for children and families: implementation, context and cost-effectiveness [Abstract]. Presented at: 2nd North American Conference on Integrated Care Calgary, Canada 15-17 October 2024. Vol. 25.Vol. 178. (10.5334/ijic.NACIC24178)
Monographs
- Brand, S. et al. 2019. How family budget change interventions affect children being in care: a rapid evidence assessment. Project Report.[Online].Cardiff, Wales: What Works for Children's Social Care. Available at: http://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Family_Budget_Change_rapid_evidence_assessment_Full_Report_Aug2019.pdf.
- Randell, E. et al. 2024. Watch Me Play! A pilot feasibility study of a remotely- delivered intervention to promote mental health resilience for children (aged 0-8) across UK early years and children's services.. Project Report.Foundations.
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2022. A regional study of supervision for child protection professionals.
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2020. Good judgement and social work decision-making: a randomised controlled trial of brief interventions to improve forecasting. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Good_judgement_and_social_worker_decision-making_report_Jan_2020.pdf.
- Wilkins, D. and Meindl, M. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of a ‘checklist’ intervention to mitigate confirmation bias and improve forecasting accuracy in social work.
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of Schwartz Rounds: An intervention to reduce psychological distress for staff in children's services.
- Wilkins, D. , Thompson, S. and Bezeczky, Z. 2020. Child and family social work during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review of the evidence in relation to remote leadership. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Rapid_Review_Remote_Leadership_June_2020.pdf.
- Wilkins, D. , Thompson, S. and Bezeczky, Z. 2020. Child and family social work during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review of the evidence in relation to social work practice, natural disasters and pandemics. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Natural-Disasters-Rapid-Review_Aug-2020.pdf.
- Wilkins, D. et al. 2020. Outcomes-focused supervision: a pilot and feasibility study. Project Report.[Online].London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Outcomes-Focused-Supervision_full-report.pdf.
- Wood, S. et al. 2022. A UK-wide survey of family group conference provision. Project Report.Cardiff: CASCADE.
Thesis
Research
I am an active social work researcher with a focus on supervision, professional judgement and decision-making in child and family social work.
I have led or contributed to externally funded research projects totalling £8 million, supported by funders including Health and Care Research Wales, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Nuffield Foundation and Foundations. My funded research has included evaluations of family group conferencing, studies of supervision models and their relationship to practice quality, and empirical investigations into how social workers make judgements under conditions of uncertainty and risk. These projects typically involve close collaboration with local authorities, third-sector organisations, and policy partners, ensuring that findings are grounded in practice contexts and inform workforce development.
Alongside funded work, I have undertaken a range of unfunded and exploratory studies, including piloting interventions designed to support professional judgement and comparing decision-making accuracy across different professional and technological contexts.
Current projects include an HCRW-funded study examining how young people, parents and social workers assess the quality of social work practice in Wales, and involvement in research evaluating system-level interventions to improve support for children with emotional and behavioural needs.
Key words: child protection; decision-making; disability; judgement; risk assessment; safeguarding; statutory social work; supervision
Teaching
I am Programme Director for the MA Social Work programme at Cardiff University, and for the new MSc and PgDip Social Work programmes starting in September 2026. Across these programmes, my focus is on helping students develop humane, person-centred and proportional professional practice, with particular emphasis on communication skills, judgement and decision-making in complex and high-risk statutory settings.
I teach and co-convene core modules across the programmes, including Developing your Social Work skills in Year 1 and Advanced Social Work Skills in Year 2. My teaching spans areas such as person-centred practice, Motivational Interviewing, assessment, care planning and ethical decision-making.
Alongside qualifying education, I contribute regularly to professional development and practitioner training, particularly in Motivational Interviewing and supervision for social workers and managers. I also deliver invited guest lectures and workshops on supervision and professional judgement for other universities and professional organisations.
Biography
Honours and awards
- Award in Team Leading, Institute of Leadership and Management (2009)
Professional memberships
- Senior Fellow, Advance HE (2025)
- Fellow, Advance HE (2023)
- Registered Social Worker, Social Care Wales
Academic positions
- Professor of Social Work, Cardiff University (2024–present)
- Reader in Social Work, Cardiff University (2021–2024)
- Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Cardiff University (2018–2021)
- Senior Lecturer in Social Work / Senior Research Fellow, University of Bedfordshire (2014–2018)
Speaking engagements
- Invited keynote and workshops on supervision and professional judgement for national workforce development programmes and local authorities (2018–present).
- Invited speaker, International Interdisciplinary Conference on Clinical Supervision (Washington DC).
Committees and reviewing
- Advisory Group Member, Centre for Child, Youth and Family Welfare, Queen’s University Belfast
- Editorial Board Member, Child & Family Social Work
- Editorial Board Member, The Clinical Supervisor
Supervisions
Current supervision
Zoe Bezeczky
Ceri Morgans
Kate Phillips
Louisa Roberts
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Social work
- Supervision
- Decision making
- Practice skills
