The General Social Care Council is to examine whether social workers involved in the Baby P case in Haringey, north London, are fit to remain on the register.
It also called for a debate on whether there should be a compulsory requirement for social workers to undertake post-qualifying training, saying the case "underlines the need for high-quality support and training".
The professional regulator said today that it is conducting preliminary enquiries into the actions of practitioners involved in the case of the 17-month-old boy whose mother and step-father have been convicted of causing or allowing his death while he was on the child protection register.
Saddened
GSCC chair Rosie Varley said: "We are deeply saddened by this case and we are conducting our own preliminary enquiries to establish whether the circumstances have any bearing on the suitability of individual social workers to remain on the register."
Baby P was placed on the child protection register in Haringey in December 2006 after bruises were found on his face and chest by a GP.
Haringey's children's services and other agencies had extensive contact with the family between then and his death in August 2007, during which time he repeatedly presented to professionals with injuries and bruising.
Practice failings
A serious case review, published on Tuesday, identified a number of practice failings by practitioners:-
Varley added: "We think this case underlines the need for high-quality support and training."
Training debate
She said the GSCC wanted to strengthen the system of ongoing training, adding: "We think there needs to be a debate about the potential advantage of introducing a compulsory requirement for social workers to undertake post-qualifying training. No social worker should be permitted to take on complex child protection work until they have the relevant specialist training."
The GSCC also reiterated its call for the code of practice for employers to be placed on a statutory footing. Varley added: "We know from our conduct cases that employers do not always provide adequate supervision and training, and social workers are often dealing with high caseloads."
Multiple inquiries
The GSCC's is one of a string of reviews and investigations, sparked by the Baby P case, including:-
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