Janet Lusk
Janet Lusk was born in Oxford on 27th April 1924, the daughter of Mary Theodore Colville and the Rev. David Colville Lusk. Her father was a Church of Scotland Minister and Chaplain to Oxford University. The family moved back to Edinburgh in 1933, with Janet attending attended St Leonard’s School, St. Andrew’s (Anon, 2018).
She served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) between 1943 – 1946 (Centre for Research Collections). The ATS was initially set up as a voluntary unit, although this changed during the war and by 1941 women were being conscripted into it. The roles women performed varied and developed as the war progressed, initially beginning with roles such as cooks, drivers, and clerks but later progressing to include manning anti-aircraft units, although they were never allowed to fire weapons (National Army Museum, 2025).
Afterwards Janet Lusk attended the University of Edinburgh where she completed an M.A. in French and Spanish. Janet Lusk then worked as an Assistant Secretary with the Edinburgh Children’s Holiday Fund, before studying for the Diploma of Social Studies at the University of Edinburgh from 1954-56, with a thesis entitled ‘A comparative study of the action being taken by some Scottish Local Authorities to prevent children coming into care’ (Centre for Research Collections).
After this she went to the University of Birmingham where she completed the Child Care Certificate Course. Social Work training was developing and expanding rapidly following the Second World War. The Children’s Act of 1948 (which brought in the recommendations of the Curtis Committee in England and Wales, and the Clyde Committee in Scotland) required local authorities to set up Children’s Departments with Child Care Officers. Birmingham had established a Child Care course in 1948 to provide specific training for Child Care Officers (Davis, 2008). Having gained this qualification Janet Lusk returned to Edinburgh and began to work for the Guild of Service as their third caseworker (Family Care, 1986)
There were no Child Care Certificate offered in Scotland at this time, however in 1960 Janet Lusk “worked with the University of Edinburgh to launch the first childcare course in Scotland, with placements at the Guild” (Anon, 2018, p254). This began by the Guild offering practice placements to two students from the Child Care course in its first year 1960-61, with Janet Lusk acting as their supervisor (Guild of Service, 1961). Placements continued to be provided for Child Care course students until generic training was brought in by the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, which saw an end to specialist social work training courses. However, the Guild’s role in providing practice placements continued for students of the new generic Diploma qualification.
Janet Lusk became Director of the Guild of Service in 1962 upon the retirement of Dr. Alexina McWhinnie, and she continued in this role until 1982. Under her Directorship she promoted high standards of professional practice in children’s services both within the Guild, and more widely. She recognised the importance of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 – which reorganised social work services in Scotland and led to distinct Social Work Departments being set up in Local Authorities for the first time – in providing the context for this further professionalisation to happen, and she used her influence whenever possible to encourage this (Anon, 1994).
“Janet Lusk pioneered professional practice in social work with children and families, in Scotland and across the UK. She was acknowledged as the leading authority on adoption in Scotland in the 1960s and 70s and served on several key committees including the Houghton Committee on Adoption, on which she was the sole Scottish representative.” (Anon, 2018, p254)
Upon her retiral from Family Care (it had been renamed in 1978) she was elected as the Convenor of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations – an organisation which aimed to promote cooperation among voluntary and statutory organisations working to address issues of poverty, poor health and the promotion of education (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisation, 2022). She was the first woman to hold this role. Janet Lusk died in a car accident in 1994.
References:
Anon. (2018) ‘Janet Lusk’, The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd.
Anon. (1994) ‘Janet Lusk’, The Scotsman, 2nd July, page 10.
Centre for Research Collections, University of Edinburgh, ‘Janet Theodora Lusk’, EUA IN1/ACU/S2/8/1/516.
Davis, Ann, (2008) Celebrating 100 years of Social Work. Birmingham: University of Birmingham.
Family Care, (1986) Family Care: A Concern that goes on Caring 1911-1986. 74th Annual Report. Edinburgh, Family Care.
Guild of Service, (1961) 50th Annual Report – Guild of Service. Edinburgh: Guild of Service.
National Army Museum, (2025), Auxiliary Territorial Service. Available at: National Army Museum website
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, (2022), History. Available at: Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations website