March 2009 - The Social Work Blog

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MPs' travel expenses leave bad taste in mouth

by Andrew Mickel As Heather Brooke of Freedom of Information blog Your Right To Know has pointed out , with a busy news agenda going on it is a good day to sneak out the long-overdue MPs' expenses report. Read More...

Published 31 Mar 2009 3:10 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: expenses, MPs, Phil Hope, Politics, social care, Tim Loughton
GSCC decision could affect Baby P social workers

By Emma Maier The GSCC's latest decision highlights an important issue about where accountability lies for child protection actions taken by multi-agency teams. In doing so, it sets a precendent that could have implications for the conduct hearings...

Published 30 Mar 2009 5:13 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Baby P, child protection, conduct, Emma Maier, General Social Care Council, gscc, Media, multi-agency, multi-disciplinary, stand up now for social work
Anti-teenager pink light is one step beyond Mosquito

by Andrew Mickel Several papers have today reported on a housing association in Nottinghamshire who have installed pink lights that highlight young people's bad skin , therefore making teenagers less likely to congregate in a given area Read More...

Published 26 Mar 2009 2:41 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Andrew Mickel, antisocial behaiour, mosquito, pink light, teenagers, young people
Time for government to learn lessons on data protection

By Bronagh Miskelly Even the most pig-headed amongst us eventually learn from our mistakes. We learn that ploughing on with a set of actions that repeatedly end in problems is a bad idea. Not so in Whitehall - or so it would seem from the latest ContactPoint...

Published 25 Mar 2009 10:57 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: child protection, children and young people, children in care, ContactPoint, data protection, health, Politics, safeguarding
The time to say sorry

by Emma Maier This week's report from the ombudsmen for local government and the health service shines a light onto services for people with learning disabilities. It concludes that failures in six cases directly caused suffering and a death. Read...

Published 24 Mar 2009 12:25 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Department of Health, Emma Maier, Healthcare Commission
What about the workers?

by Bronagh Miskelly Probably the most important resource for any successful organisation is its staff, but a skilled workforce does not appear spontaneously fully-formed. It requires investment just as much, if not more so, than a computer system. Read...

Published 24 Mar 2009 12:03 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: british association of social workers, Bronagh Miskelly, Chidren's Workforce development council, Social Work Taskforce
Everyone can Stand Up Now for Social Work - regulators included

by Daniel Lombard Community Care launched Stand Up Now for Social Work after witnessing the relentless vilification by the media in recent months, which damaged not only the sector's morale but its overall public image. In times like this it may be...

Published 23 Mar 2009 5:31 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Baby P, conduct, ed balls, General Social Care Council, Sharon Shoesmith
A right Balls up?

By Clare Jerrom I think it's great that the government are looking into different ways to boost the numbers of social workers needed to ensure departments have fewer vacancies and run more smoothly. Children's secretary Ed Balls and the Local...

Published 23 Mar 2009 11:46 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Barbara MacArthur, Clare Jerrom, ed balls
Returning to social work, at the age of 82?

by Andrew Mickel The LGA may be bidding for retired social workers to return to work , but this presumably isn't exactly what they had in mind. Read More...

Published 20 Mar 2009 12:21 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Andrew Mickel, social work, social workers
Beware: Sun radio

By Emma Maier I kid you not. The Sun is apparently launching a radio station. What does this mean for social workers, who are, as we well know, the paper's favourite cannon fodder? Read More...

Published 19 Mar 2009 3:14 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Emma Maier, Media, The Sun
Tackling parental in-work poverty is key to 2020 target

By Amy Taylor Yesterday saw the anniversary of the government's pledge to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020. Read More...

Published 19 Mar 2009 2:34 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: child poverty, child poverty action group, poverty
LGA bans management speak - again

By Keith Sellick The Local Government Association has issued a list of words that it wants councils to stop using. Chair of the LGA Margaret Eaton said "The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. Why do we have to have...

Published 18 Mar 2009 12:32 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: jargon, keith sellick, LGA, words
Is degree split necessary

by Emma Maier Social work students should be able to specialise in children's services after their first year of study, Lord Laming has said. He is concerned that graduates without child protection or local authority experience can take on a full...

Published 18 Mar 2009 11:18 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: laming report, social work students
Now for implementation

by Bronagh Miskelly Disappointment for some, a realistic appraisal for others - Lord Laming's report, The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report will have had a mixed reaction. Those with knowledge of or an interest in the nitty-gritty...

Published 18 Mar 2009 10:58 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Bronagh Miskelly, laming report
Dementia, NHS, elderly people, bed blocking: Judith's story

by Adam McCulloch Here's a very perplexing case history for those of you in older people's services. I'd really like some comments, especially if you have ideas how things could have been handled differently or have any suggestions to make...

Published 17 Mar 2009 5:11 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Adam McCulloch, alzheimers, bed blocking, Care Homes, carers, delayed discharge, dementia, elderly people, health, home care, hospital, mental health, NHS, older people, personalisation, psychiatrists, social work, social workers
Laming's most used word: 'Children'

by Emma Maier Having spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon reading the recommendations from Lord Laming's report , I wondered if there was a quick way to get an overview of what he said. So I used a useful online tool to run an analysis of the...

Published 13 Mar 2009 2:38 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Baby P, child protection, children's services, Emma Maier, Laming inquiry
Social care mustn't fall into The Sun trap

by Adam McCulloch Social care, particularly at management level, is hamstrung by its careful language when it comes to confronting The Sun and other tabloid newspapers, which it must do in the aftermath of the Baby P case. In social care language is tempered...

Published 13 Mar 2009 10:13 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Adam McCulloch, General Social Care Council, gscc, Kelvin Mackenzie, language, local authorities, Media, Question Time, social work, social workers, stand up now for social work, The Sun
Laming report: From inquisition to happy every after?

by Bronagh Miskelly Disappointment for some, a realistic appraisal for others - Lord Laming's report , The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report will have had a mixed reaction. Read More...

Published 12 Mar 2009 4:47 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Bronagh Miskelly, Laming inquiry, Politics, safeguarding, serious case review, social work, social workers, training, workforce
Standing up for social work: our letter to British Press Awards

As part of our Stand Up Now for Social Work campaign , Community Care is writing to the organisers and judges of the British Press Awards, which has shortlisted The Sun's Baby P coverage as its "campaign of the year". Read More...

Published 12 Mar 2009 10:43 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: british press awards, social workers, stand up now for social work, The Sun
Setting The Sun straight

By Emma Maier As part of Community Care 's Stand Up Now for Social Work campaign -which is calling for more suport for social workers from the media, government and employers - we have been keeping an eye close eye on how the media reports social...

Published 11 Mar 2009 12:27 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Emma Maier, Media, stand up now for social work, The Sun
We all need to stand up for social work

By Emma Maier You have told Community Care that you have had enough of inaccurate, misleading and hostile media coverage of social work - and we agree. We've launched the Stand Up Now for Social Work campaign to fight back and show the public what...

Published 11 Mar 2009 12:09 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Baby P, Emma Maier, Media, stand up now for social work, The Sun
Social work recruitment campaign?

Clare in the Community creator Harry Venning has an interesting take on efforts to encourage older social workers to come back to the profession. Just thought I'd share. Read More...

Published 11 Mar 2009 12:01 PM by The Social Work Blog
Baby P: Was it The Sun wot won it?

By Maria Ahmed, Deputy News Editor Was Ed Balls acting under media pressure when he removed Sharon Shoesmith from her post following Baby P? As part of her legal challenge to Balls' decision , Shoesmith claims that he was. Read More...

Published 11 Mar 2009 9:41 AM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: W
Party political consensus on adult care funding looks remote

By Mithran Samuel Like pensions and climate change, the future funding of adult social care is an issue ripe for resolution through party political consensus. After all, no government is going to be able to escape the profound implications of the increased...

Published 10 Mar 2009 2:02 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: adult social care, Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Local Government Association
Laming report "leaked" to the News of the World

By Maria Ahmed, Deputy News Editor Lord Laming's review of child protection ordered after Baby P appears to have been leaked to the News of the World ahead of its official publication on Thursday. Whether or not the content reported by the paper is...

Published 9 Mar 2009 12:34 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Baby P, child protection, children in care, David Cameron, ed balls, Gordon Brown, Haringey, lord laming, the news of the world, The Sun, victoria climbie
Social work - a career for brainy boys?

After Ed Balls called for social work to require a masters level qualification to improve its status , Sunday Times columnist Daisy Goodwin has joined the debate with a call to draw more men into the profession. Read More...

Published 9 Mar 2009 12:06 PM by The Social Work Blog
Why are they in prison?

by Mark Ivory The treatment of people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system is a scandal. Community Care ran a campaign to highlight the problem more than a decade ago but, despite some improvements, unsympathetic policing, harsh sentencing...

Published 4 Mar 2009 3:47 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Criminal justice, Learning Disabilities, Mark Ivory, prison reform trust
Use delay to best effect

by Emma Maier News that the publication of the final report of the Social Work Taskforce will be delayed until October did not come as a surprise. The original timetable, to report in the summer, was always ambitious - particularly since the taskforce...

Published 4 Mar 2009 3:42 PM by The Social Work Blog

Filed under: Emma Maier, Social Work Taskforce

March 2009 - The Social Work Blog

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives

MPs' travel expenses leave bad taste in mouth

GSCC decision could affect Baby P social workers

Anti-teenager pink light is one step beyond Mosquito

Time for government to learn lessons on data protection

The time to say sorry

What about the workers?

Everyone can Stand Up Now for Social Work - regulators included

A right Balls up?

Returning to social work, at the age of 82?

Beware: Sun radio

Tackling parental in-work poverty is key to 2020 target

LGA bans management speak - again

Is degree split necessary

Now for implementation

Dementia, NHS, elderly people, bed blocking: Judith's story

Laming's most used word: 'Children'

Social care mustn't fall into The Sun trap

Laming report: From inquisition to happy every after?

Standing up for social work: our letter to British Press Awards

Setting The Sun straight

We all need to stand up for social work

Social work recruitment campaign?

Baby P: Was it The Sun wot won it?

Party political consensus on adult care funding looks remote

Laming report "leaked" to the News of the World

Social work - a career for brainy boys?

Why are they in prison?

Use delay to best effect