Quarter of social workers say they never get to read serious case reviews

One in four social workers never get the chance to read serious case reviews, according to a survey by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW).

Published on the same day as the serious case review (SCR) into the death of Coventry schoolboy Daniel Pelka, the survey of 238 BASW members found 25% of social workers said they were either too busy or were never made aware of the publication of an SCR in order to read it.

Two thirds (67%) of the social workers surveyed said they “sometimes” read recommendations and nearly all (97%) said they want to see reviews stored in one central location so there is continuous and easy access to them.

BASW chief executive Bridget Robb said there needs to be a better use and distribution of SCRs to ensure all professionals are able to use them as learning opportunities.

“Rather than the current ad-hoc distribution of SCRs, where hard pressed staff are expected to read and interpret findings on their own and in their own time, we’d like to see structured briefing podcasts for professionals produced by the authors of the SCRs,” Robb said.

The organisation also wants to see SCRs publish key lessons for all professionals, as opposed to specific recommendations for the organisations involved in a single case.

The review into the death of Daniel Pelka found four social care assessments failed to identify the serious risks posed to the four-year-old by his mother and step-father, who were last month convicted of his murder. However, the authors found no single professional could have predicted the child’s death.

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