February 2008 Archives

by Amy Taylor

New figures out from the Office of National Statistics show that the government's target of halving the number of teenage pregnancies by 2010 will be missed by 20 years. Given the prudish attitude to sex in this country this is not surprising.

The fact that statutory sex and relationships education is not mandatory is nothing short of ridiculous. Every day we are bombarded with images and words about sex, on television, in magazines and in music. Why then are some schools in the UK a sex education free zone or make such a weak effort that putting a condom on a bananna is about as deep as it gets.

by Natalie Valios
A psychologist is claiming that 10% of the 4,000 Harry Potter fans (presumably adults) he studied suffered withdrawal symptoms on a parallel to an addict coming off drugs when they finished the last book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

by Maria Ahmed

In August last year, I received an anonymous phone call warning that there was “another Victoria Climbie waiting to happen” in Jersey. The caller went on to say I should look into “potential failings" in child protection on the island.

This week in Community Care we had three features, covering issues on workforce, the Children's Fund and continuing care.

In this weeks main feature, Lauren Revans looked at plans to introduce a probationary year for newly qualified social workers.
Read Keeping a head above water

by Adam McCulloch

So 40% of social work practitioners have, or have had, second jobs, according to our exclusive survey. Now that was a surprise to all of us here at Community Care. And perhaps I wasn't alone in feeling a pang of guilt. Clearly we are very lazy people with our nine to fives, and evenings free to watch the telly.

by Mithran Samuel

Our exclusive survey out today on social worker pay reveals remuneration (or lack of) remains a huge issue for practitioners.
Forty per cent of you have taken second jobs to make ends meet, and almost 40% are "always overdrawn" at the end of the month. Almost 60% are considering leaving the profession because of pay and over 70% of you feel your pay is unfair.
This situation is pretty intolerable and it's time the government responded with a commission on pay for social workers, tied to the findings of the review into their roles and tasks under the GSCC.

By Mike McNabb

“Off with his head” was a rallying call of reproach used first by Shakespeare but made colloquial by Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Today’s government has a similar rallying call: “Off with their benefits!”

by Mike McNabb

A debate on Community Care's new discussion forum has me wondering why our leading politicians seem so out of touch with social care.

I'm very excited to be able to announce the launch of CareSpace, a new online community for social workers, featuring a discussion forum, blogs, messaging and picture upload.

by Maria Ahmed

The recent discovery of a child's remains in a former children's home in Jersey has reignited concerns that - at least historically - all is not well on the child protection front. But how far the Jersey police will get in their inquiry will be interesting to follow.

by Natalie Valios
It’s not often I’m in agreement with MPs, but I can’t believe there are many who would disagree with their calls for the coroner to scrap the inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed. As the bill to taxpayers currently stands at an estimated £6m it’s not hard to see why the inquest has been called an “abuse of law” and a “scandalous waste of public money”, particularly in the light of Mohamed Al Fayed’s laughable claims in court this week.

by Mike McNabb

So now we know: breaching an Asbo really can damage your freedom.
But for homeless former chef Anthony Delaney, who lived and showered at Gatwick airport for three years, this outcome is at least a guarantee of a roof over his head.

by Lauren Revans

If ever we needed proof that the government’s left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, we were handed it on a plate this week by business secretary John Hutton.

The MP – who until June 2007 was work and pensions secretary – has revealed that, despite an earlier promise to extend the right to request flexible working hours to parents of older children, a review into the issue is in fact unlikely to result in anything other than a small increase in the age limit (from the current age of five).

This week in Community Care, our feature articles looked at personal relationships between staff, fostering and the Care Quality Commission.

First up, Natalie Valios looks at problems that can occur when personal relationships exist between staff and speaks to social care workers who have witnessed bad practice as a result of this dynamic.
Read: A culture of collusion

by Mithran Samuel

The launch today of a review into adult protection policy in England should be a cause for celebration, an opportunity to reverse the sector's perennial Cinderella status.
However, the review of the No Secrets guidance, published in 2000, is being launched with misgivings among one person who should be one of its key champions, Action on Elder Abuse chief executive Gary FitzGerald, as our news story today demonstrates.
While he believes the review can achieve much, he says its success could be stymied by a decline in engagement with adult protection, and stakeholders like him, from the Department of Health, care services minister Ivan Lewis excepted.

by Adam McCulloch

The British Medical Association, the Patients’ Association, GPs, the Liberal Democrats and the Tories are up in arms about Lord Darzi’s plans for polyclinics to replace GP practices in some parts of the country.

By Amy Taylor

The government's document on reforms to the care of unaccompanied ayslum seeking children, published last month, takes a different tone to its original consultation document published last February.

The need to safeguard the group while at the same time putting forward proposals that could make them destitute is still there but the new document makes it much clearer that these children are separate to other children looked after by the local authorities and to other children in general.

Today is a bad day for former social worker Tricia Forbes. The General Social Care Council has decided to remove her from its register, which means she can no longer practise in the profession for which she trained and qualified in 1999.

by Natalie Valios
Graham Calvert is suing bookies William Hill for more than £2m, claiming they let him carry on gambling when he was clearly addicted and had asked to be barred.

by Adam McCulloch

Daniel Finkelstein in The Times has come up with a plan to raise £1bn for charity every year.

This week our features look at issues covering home working; child protection and older people.

In the main piece this week, Louise Tickle looks at how home-working can be beneficial for employers and employees, but worries whether it could lead to professional isolation. She reports on the experiences of Hertfordshire Council and Stockport Council, and hears the Unison View. Read The Home Office

by Natalie Valios

Driving home last night listening to BBC Radio 4’s six o’clock news as I am wont to do, I heard the headline “An inquiry into the killing of a seven-week-old girl by her father has said social services should have taken action to protect her”.

by Adam McCulloch

Came across this little gem while perusing blog comments on Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' controversial sharia law speech.

by Mike McNabb

If there is one advantage of being in my forties it is that there will not be a buzzing in my ears at the bus stop tonight.

If you are younger, specifically under 25, and standing near me, your ears may detect a high-pitched whine.

by Lauren Revans

I had a definite sense of deja-vu this weekend reading reports about the Institute for Public Policy Research calling for more care to be taken around the issuing of antisocial behaviour orders to children. The think-tank – along with Community Care, children’s charities, the children’s commissioner and others – has been making similar demands for years. But it would seem that all have so far fallen on deaf ears.

by Natalie Valios

About a third of 300 people surveyed would not want a care home for people with learning disabilities and related mental disorders next door, consultants PIELLE reveal this week. This rises to 40% among people with children. The irony was that 39% believed society discriminates against people with learning disabilities.

by Mike McNabb

Great news! Well done the government! The supercasino planned for a run-down part of Manchester where local people can waste what little disposable income they have has finally been scrapped.

by Mike McNabb

At the risk of appearing paranoid, I know this government is bugging me.

Three features appeared this week.

In the main piece, Alex Fox says that "small organisations at the sharp end of social care have their hands full but shouldn't neglect any possibility of influencing policymakers" - read Make your case

by Simeon Brody

The BBC Horizon programme, aired last night, on the relative dangers of different drugs was interesting viewing.

by Keith Sellick

Workers at the biggest council in England staged a one-day walk out over new contracts on 5 February. As part of the single status review the council had proposed new contracts to all staff - with about 4,500 staff losing out, two-thirds women.

by Adam McCulloch

David Cameron wants us to chastise other people’s children, when necessary, in public. The reaction from many can be summarised as “What? Doesn’t he realise we’ll all be murdered? These kids – and their dodgy parents – have got guns now!”

by Mike McNabb

Housing minister Caroline Flint has arrived. With a metaphorical 41-gun salute she has given Labour's increasingly hard line on disadvantaged people an edge of serrated steel.

Social worker Alison Napier has written an interesting piece in the Herald against individual budgets.

by Maria Ahmed, deputy news editor

The story of how baby "G" was taken unlawfully from his 18-year-old mother by Nottingham social workers created a predictable media frenzy. It was all too easy for the Daily Mail and the rest to take their usual line about baby snatchers. But acting up as news editor when the story broke, I was faced with a quagmire of difficulty in how to cover this case. As the professional social work magazine, we could not just piggyback on the tabloid spin.

by Mike McNabb

It's bizarre how our communities secretary, Hazel Blears, views immigrants. Apparently, they drink and drive, drop litter, spit, don't educate their children, play loud music and touch people without their permission.

Worst of all, in a deed that would make the stiffest of upper lips go all a-quiver, some of them even put their bins out on the wrong day.

by Amy Taylor

While some people with learning difficulties continue to live in long-stay hospitals, all of them must be helped to move into supported living or residential care by April 2009 - five years after the original deadline for the hospitals' closure, some ex-residents are now becoming elderly.

This represents a dilemma for adult services departments which is only just starting to come to the surface.

by Keith Hassell

“Murders fall for fifth year in a row” Where did you see that headline on this week's redtops, “qualities”, or newsstands?

I doubt you did. When the government released the homicide statistics on Thursday no news outlet rushed to parade this fact.

by Natalie Valios

Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland is in trouble for calling care services minister Ivan Lewis “an arsehole” after he refused to let Mulholland intervene three times during a debate on the problems of funding hospices.

Here at Community Care towers, we thought we would brighten up your day, so watch the video and enjoy.

by Mike McNabb

In the worst government tradition, it was a good day to bury bad news. Yesterday started with the continued furore over the expense account of the Conservative MP Derek Conway; then it continued when the Inland Revenue's online self-assessment site crashed.