by Sophie Ayers
When my workload is intense, I have a recurring dream where I have missed a child on my caseload and not visited. I wake up in a pool of sweat, heart thumping only to realise that the child in my dream does not exist.
I entered child protection social work in 2008 in the midst of the media and political storm surrounding the death of Baby P, or Peter Connelly as he should be known.
The redaction of Peter’s name sends chills into my spine. It represents a sanitised label, the forensic tone enables people to cope better with the gruesome horror that this child endured.
The shockwaves from his death: a babe in arms; a little person who may or may not have proffered the world with ideas, intelligence and character, still loom over our profession.
Media humiliation
At present, social workers are faced with the trepidation that their lives will be destroyed by media humiliation; being unable to practice again and in the future, receiving a prison sentence if grave mistakes are made.
Peter’s life ended when he was killed aged just one year, five months old on the 3rd August 2007. At the time I write he would now be nine years old.
The overwhelming response to Peter’s death was to seek retribution: He was a child who could have been saved, if only the system worked correctly and adequate procedures were followed.
The political narrative at the start of my social work career was one of blame and criticism. Within my new status of a social worker, I was met with ever increasing hostility from families. From their perspective, I was coming into their home with ‘minor’ concerns and yet children were dying.
This view continues to be presented within many newspapers today: social workers are invasive and intrusive to families that do not deserve draconian intervention, while at the same time we willingly allow children to suffer and die due to negligence.
This perspective does not in fact reflect the strict legislation in place and the criteria to be met before children can be placed outside of their birth family. Nevertheless it continues to be a view that is held by many members of society and one that was actively promoted by politicians following Peter’s death.
Never forgive
I will never forgive the popular, political approach following Peter’s death. So many condemned and labelled social workers as inadequate during hostile debates within parliament. I truly believe that their inflammatory comments gave unprecedented permission to criticise and defame our profession.
My transition from social work training into child protection social work was a veritable culture shock.
As a student I’d worked punishing hours within a residential unit to fund my studies, I was by no means guileless. Yet in my new job I was confronted by a pile of files on my desk that nearly hit the ceiling; post-it notes tethered to the documents, indicating the urgent action required.
I was lucky enough that my first manager lovingly tolerated my endless questions and guided my naivety and promise into a robust worker.
But even with cogent support, my awakening into the grown up world of social work was engulfed by negative stereotypes and fighting to be heard among professionals who had lost faith in our profession.
Misinterpreted
I have increasingly learned over the years that we work in a multi-faceted and non-scientific world. In social work, situations can be misinterpreted: sometimes due to poor practice but often there is simply not the evidence available to demonstrate harm despite intensive, good quality assessments and thorough enquiries.
Multi-agency work has improved since Peter’s death. It is now embedded in practice, but there continues to be a misunderstanding of social workers’ roles. We are often looked to for a ‘magic solution’, with impassioned frustration vented at our inability to find one.
Frequently, the desired outcome for children does not exist due to the overwhelming complications of the human race and the elitist society that we practise within. Our profession bears the brunt of injustice and sadness associated with children facing pernicious harm and not reaching their full potential.
We continue to be confronted with ‘disguised compliance’, one of the greatest hurdles to recognise and overcome. Unfortunately no amount of training and suspicion can override absolute deception.
The alarming example of Ben Butler and the horrific murder of his daughter, Ellie, illustrates that people who harm children do not fit the stereotype of ‘evil’. In so many cases when serious injury has occurred to a child, parents present as loving, doting and attentive.
Increasingly divided
We work within an increasingly divided country where it appears to me that the most disadvantaged members of our society are punished and denounced.
Over the past two years I have been shocked by the amount of families requiring the service of ‘food banks’ and living without electricity or gas when their resources dwindle. We are expected to elicit change within a country that has seemingly walked away from the issue of child poverty. It appears that social care is expected to ‘prop up’ the failing welfare state with ever decreasing budgets.
Child protection social workers continue to work in a climate of fear, terrified that we have missed something that will ultimately lead to a death or a serious injury to a child. The guilt and anxiety can be all consuming.
In my professional life so far I’ve seen numerous attempts by politicians to shape, transform and ameliorate the social work profession. Their attempts at reform leads me to believe that true change will not be achieved until our leaders and their advisors have a much better understanding of the ever increasing nuances of child protection work.
They need to experience and encounter the lived experience of children and the social workers guiding their future.
Sorrow
Better policies and reforms can only come after true comprehension and direct observations of the intricate and foreboding world of social work.
Come sit in the cars of the professionals that witness the breathtaking and entangled lives of those we try to help and then you will have a true appreciation of the changes that must take place.
To Peter Connelly, Damilola Taylor, Daniel Pelka, Victoria Climbie, Ellie Butler and all the murdered children that have not been named in the media: please accept my heartfelt sorrow and apology for your grotesque and untimely end. Your deaths are inexcusable. Our profession must accept responsibility when profound errors have occurred: we will never be able to atone for your bitter end.
But just as we must seek to better understand your worlds and experiences, so must leaders, ministers, journalists and other professions strive to understand the intricate practice of social workers and the reality of your true circumstances.
Sophie Ayers is a child protection social worker. She tweets @sophieayers1982
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What a profound, open, honest and heartfelt account on the realities of social work in this country,
It will be interesting to see how much a profile and more importantly meaningful debate this piece receives both in the media and government.
Justine Greening should personally meet this social worker and ask her what do I need to do to make it right for children/families and professional social workers…who everyone wants and needs until it goes wrong…and as Sophie states everyone then quickly points the finger of blame towards.
Ms Greening should also review the work of the chief social workers and ask why are they not being the true voice of social work? And are they doing what Professor Munro recommended
Well done Sophie for an excellent written piece, I endorse and share everything you have said, but most of all your apology to all the children who have sadly died or being seriously injured or abused.
I agree with both Sophie and the above comments.
Just as the baton was passed on to you by your first manager’s loving tolerence, so you will pass on yours, thankfully for those that followed, and are to follow, in your footsteps, to the benefit of those children we work with.
I am a foster carer and over the last 16 years I have to say I have worked with the most amazing team of S/workers and our link workers ,always guiding us in the right direction working endless hours just to get things right .Maybe some of the people that put this profession down would like to take up a shadow shift for a week and then report back. At one point my husband one night sent an email to one of our young person’s S/worker time 3.15am and with in minuets she had replied ,yes still working not letting her young people down and would still have to be up again to start another difficulty day. Well I would just like to say thank you all S/workers link worker and teams who meet the endless needs of our young people daily .
Excellent evaluation of the public and political responses to such tragedies and a thought provoking account of the life of a Social Worker in a Child Protection
I really like Sophie’s writing, and a lot of this article is great, so I have hesitated to respond.
But…
I don’t practice worrying that something will go wrong, I don’t live in fear, and I don’t worry about how the media might portray something going wrong. I work in a great LA with a great manager and I have a reasonable case load. I am not on my own making any decisions, and I am in CP, so a lot of those decisions are about risk. I will not be the only SW who feels supported, and whilst something could happen as it did to the SW involved in the Baby P case, I’d be overly risk adverse if I absorbed that.
I don’t take much notice of the response to Baby P in terms of politicians; anyone who can say this won’t ever happen again because xyz has no credit. Other children were killed by those known to them that year. The media ran a campaign that even Rebekkah Brooks has said was OTT but SW were hated anyway. More transparency about what we do is helpful, but talk to anyone on the street and they think we remove children. That results in a dichotomy between hostility because we do too much or because we don’t do enough.
“I have increasingly learned over the years that we work in a multi-faceted and non-scientific world.” Not sure what to make of this, is social science not a scientific world?
“Often there is simply not the evidence available to demonstrate harm despite intensive, good quality assessments and thorough enquiries.” Then there isn’t the evidence.
“Multi-agency work has improved since Peter’s death. It is now embedded in practice” I would like to know more about why you think it has improved, most guidance predates Baby P?
“Frequently, the desired outcome for children does not exist due to the overwhelming complications of the human race and the elitist society that we practice within. Our profession bears the brunt of injustice and sadness associated with children facing pernicious harm and not reaching their full potential.” I have absolutely no idea what this means – social work is not about social engineering, if you can’t evidence harm, desired outcomes are not your remit. The vagaries of family life are not ours to police.
“The alarming example of Ben Butler and the horrific murder of his daughter, Ellie, illustrates that people who harm children do not fit the stereotype of ‘evil’.” I actually don’t think you can say this about the Butler case, whilst I hesitate to call anyone evil, Ben Butler fitted the stereotype.
The public does not need the permission of politicians to criticise social workers. YOU WORK FOR US! As for defamation, what about the false accusations of neglect and abuse which social workers make against innocent parents, the perjury, bullying vulnerable people into section 20 agreements, manipulation of assessments…
Actually Jonathan we work FOR Statutory agencies, be it local authority’s, courts, CAFCASS etc. ON BEHALF of the vulnerable As such there are Legal Duties on those agencies.
More importantly we work WITH vulnerable service users, whether they are children, adults or families to try and get the best possible outcome in the circumstances.
As for false accusations and bullying and manipulation of assessments isn’t this what the Courts and/or Regulatory bodies would have a view on and take action?
The simple fact is that adults have and will continue to kill or seriously injure children within their family – those professionals involved with those families (not just social workers) can only ever hope to manage risk as best they can. Or are you suggesting that children should be left with their parents/family in all circumstances? I’d be interested to know what your criteria is for when ‘enough is enough’ for the vulnerable child/adult?
Thank you for writing this article Sophie. It is very a well written piece of facts which show great depth, sorrow, honesty and trustworthiness which universities and the social work establishment tries to in still you when you are training, in this large complex area.
I do not know if you have wrote a book or a journal, I would love to read more of your thoughts and opinions on the career. As I have very similar feelings in which you have wrote in this article.
I have recognised only in a small amount of time that professionals and service users need to take some responsibility for their actions. We are constantly taught to withhold the values of dignity, accountability and credibility but many professionals do not fulfil to this hope.
Thank you again.