The Social Worker & The Mentor Podcast
A UK podcast where a social worker and a mentor have frank conversations with practitioners about the realities of social care and education.
This is a UK-based interview show focused on the frontline realities of social work and education. The hosts engage guests—from academics with lived experience to fostering managers and community founders—in candid discussions about systemic challenges, professional pressures, and the human side of the care system. The conversations are grounded in practice, often tackling difficult topics like racism, professional burnout, and systemic failures.
“The show's strength is its 'from the trenches' perspective, blending one host's deep professional credentials with a raw, unfiltered interview style that pushes beyond jargon to get to the heart of the matter.”
Who hosts this show
Hosted by qualified social worker Nana Yabbey-Hagan and his co-host Robert ("The Mentor"), this podcast features in-depth conversations with professionals from social care and education. The show explores the substance of the work, advocating for change and solutions within the system, often through the lens of guests who have both professional and lived experience.
Credentials & credits
- Qualified Social Worker for Children and Families
- Team Manager, Looked After Children's Team
- University Lecturer
- Practice Educator
- ASYE assessor
- SWU Executive Committee Member
Other ventures
- Founder, Street Social Work Practice Model
What kind of podcast
When new episodes drop
- 01Episode 104 - Dr Jahnine Davis, The National Kinship Care AmbassadorJun 23, 2026 · 45 min
- 02Episode 103 - Zinah, The Fostering Social WorkerJun 15, 2026 · 48 min
- 03Episode 102 - Teinye Boyle, The Founder Of Afri-BallJun 4, 2026 · 28 min
- 04Episode 101 - The Climate Of Social Media and PodcastingMay 11, 2026 · 26 min
- 05Episode - 100 - case study discussion.Apr 13, 2026 · 1h 04m
- 06Episode 99 - The Mentor ReturnsMar 24, 2026 · 41 min
- 07Episode 98 - Families first for children (FFC) pathfinder with Sharon and CathyFeb 23, 2026 · 1h 11m
- 08The Social Worker and The Mentor Car Series Episode 1 - The Social Worker and AudreyFeb 16, 2026 · 47 min
Notable episodes
- 01Episode 104 - Dr Jahnine Davis, The National Kinship Care Ambassador
An powerful interview where the guest, a doctor of social work, reveals her own difficult journey through the care system, including being abandoned by a social worker and later sectioned.
- 02Episode 103 - Zinah, The Fostering Social Worker
A practical look into the realities of being a fostering social worker, covering caseloads, the emotional impact of allegations, and innovative support models like Mockingbird.
- 03Episode 102 - Teinye Boyle, The Founder Of Afri-Ball
Explores the creation of a major cultural event, the 'African Met Gala,' to celebrate and elevate African creators in the UK diaspora, linking it to charitable causes on the continent.
What you'll be asked on this show
Host Nana Yabbey-Hagan begins by highly praising his guest's credentials and work before moving to a broad origin story question to set the scene. [l3K6iO5VpSI] He actively listens, provides affirmations, and uses his own professional experience to connect with the guest's points. [l3K6iO5VpSI, -C3QP-9ycyk] He is not afraid to ask direct, even blunt, questions to probe deeper, such as asking a care-experienced guest if she felt the system bluntly "failed" her. [l3K6iO5VpSI] He encourages a "raw" and "open" atmosphere, which successfully allows for vulnerable disclosures about professional and personal challenges. [l3K6iO5VpSI]
The show is typically a two-host format, though host Nana Yabbey-Hagan leads the interviews. He opens episodes with his catchphrase, "What you saying people, we are back..." before creating a space for vulnerable, raw conversations with guests. [l3K6iO5VpSI, LHc4oFumNHM, -C3QP-9ycyk] The co-host is referred to as Rob, "The Mentor". [LHc4oFumNHM]
Questions the host keeps coming back to
10 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when the host reaches for it.
origin
3- Q.01
“Please introduce yourself to the audience.”
A standard opening to allow the guest to state their name and role in their own words.
- Q.02
“What was your route into this field of work?”
The host often asks this early to establish the guest's origin story and motivations.
- Q.03
“Tell us about your project or initiative and how it got started.”
Used for guests who are founders to get the backstory behind their work.
process
2- Q.01
“What is it actually like to be a [guest's specific role]?”
This question seeks to get past the job title and into the day-to-day reality of the work.
- Q.02
“What are the day-to-day pressures and demands of your job?”
This question surfaces the practical challenges and workload realities of a specific role.
personal
2- Q.01
“What has your personal experience been with the system you now work in?”
A key question for guests with lived experience, bridging their personal history and professional life.
- Q.02
“Would you say, bluntly, that the system failed you?”
A direct, challenging follow-up the host uses to get an unfiltered assessment from guests with negative lived experiences.
future
1- Q.01
“Where do you see your project or this work in the next five years?”
The host asks this to understand the guest's long-term vision and future ambitions.
technique
1- Q.01
“Can you explain [jargon/acronym] for the audience?”
The host will pause the conversation to clarify technical terms for listeners outside the immediate profession.
backstory
1- Q.01
“What were the specific objections you faced when choosing this career path?”
This question is used to explore external or family resistance to the guest's chosen profession.
Signature segments
- · Opening Catchphrase: "What you saying people, we are back..."
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically UK-based social care practitioners, academics, or founders of social initiatives, often with personal lived experience of the systems they now work within.
- Dr. Janine Davison Episode 104 - Dr Jahnine Davis, The National Kinship Care Ambassador
- Zena Domeron Episode 103 - Zinah, The Fostering Social Worker
- Teinye Boyleon Episode 102 - Teinye Boyle, The Founder Of Afri-Ball
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast is consistently sponsored by Liquid Personnel, a specialist social work and healthcare recruitment agency, suggesting the audience is composed of qualified, practicing UK professionals. [l3K6iO5VpSI, LHc4oFumNHM, -C3QP-9ycyk]
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- What are the hosts' names?
- The hosts are Nana Yabbey-Hagan, a qualified social worker, and his co-host Robert, known as 'The Mentor'.
- What is the podcast's format?
- It is an interview-based show where the hosts talk with professionals in social care, education, and related fields.
- What topics does the podcast cover?
- The show focuses on the professional and systemic issues within UK social care and education, including fostering, kinship care, safeguarding, and the role of lived experience.
- Is the podcast still running?
- Yes, it releases new episodes regularly.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The podcast is available on YouTube.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Black History Month: Recognising the needs of black children in care in the UKfosterplus.co.uk
- [02]I want to talk about the UK riots and the impact on the social work professionswu-union.org.uk
- [03]The Social Worker & The Mentor Podcast - YouTube Channelyoutube.com
- [04]Reflection & Hope: An End of Year Special - Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
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