you know how Brighton & Hove LA had a question and answer session last week, well wouldn't it be great if Ms Munro and Mr Loughton had one too. These are the questions/topics I'd like to ask/raise:
anymore for anymore....
Just go for it them email them or write to them. Don't leave it to someone else.
If they don't reply keep nagging them, they've been given the job to do this.
Rachel Bramble
It's hard I know ...but you have to try.....go on
Hi Jelly_tot,
Thanks for these. I'll make sure we ask Loughton and Munro these questions. We'll keep you posted on their answers.
Ruth
(Head of content at Community Care)
Ruth Smith Editor at Community Care
Twitter: @ComCareRuth
Email: ruth.smith@rbi.co.uk
6. The impact of inaccurate reporting by the media has led to distorted perceptions by the media and service users regarding Social Workers' role, powers and responsibilities. This has created in response a culture of risk aversion, which is getting stronger with each highly publicized case. How do you plan to restore the Social Workers' confidence in their own ability to do the work they have set out to do? What will be your proposals to ensure balanced reporting of statutory Social Work?
7. What do you plan to do to ensure that employers are held accountable if they do not create the conditions for Social Workers to meet their professional responsibilities?
From piecing together information from various reports I think #7 is really important. For instance, I think it was Peterborough (I could be wrong) that was recently criticised because cases were sitting with managers when they didn't have the staff to allocate them to, whereas it appears to be quite common practice in other councils for managers to allocate all cases out no matter how high individual caseloads are, and they seem to get away with this.
thanks Ruth
please add any further questions you would like to ask Prof Munro
Just got an email from child protection consultant Perdeep Gill on this topic and thought you might be interested:
"For Prof Munro
1. What does she think about the issue of thresholds- listening to her on radio it would suggest she supports high threshold?
2. Could she define what she thinks is significant harm and at what point should children be removed-? push her on this one she will say lots of factors come into play - push her to give a example of a case if not offer her an example: chronic neglect ( about two years) of a five year and substance misusing parent ( been misusing heroin for six years) and what factors would determine if children should be removed or not. should the govt then not draw up clear guidelines of what criteria should lead to proceedings?
3. How many care proceedings has she initiated in her career? How many of those were under the Children Act 1989? What child protection practice experience does she have and how much of was under the Children Act 1989?
5. She's going to consult so- who is she going to consult? Have we not had that with the social work taskforce?
6. What does she think about perhaps the need for a complete outsider eg a barrister heading this up with her advising so we do have fresh eyes and complete impartiality?
2. Has he appointed Eileen Munroe because she is an advocate of family support child protection- after all she boasted re reduction of children being removed?
3. Does he agree that we need to be cautious about statistics as the reduction does not mean children are being protected?
4. What does he think about the lessons to be learnt from the Shannon Mathews case? The scr has said what occurred couldn't have been predicted but even based on the executive summary an average person would say it was predictable that Shannon would be abused given the pattern of risk re physical and sexual abuse already known. Is it not the case that the thresholds are so high has we do a small but substantial number of parents whose parenting is inadequate and significantly harmful but it would be politically unacceptable to remove high numbers of children as the drive is reduce numbers coming into care ( never mind the cost)? Also, does he think it is a justifiable reason not to protect children because our care system is not good?
RP: 6. The impact of inaccurate reporting by the media has led to distorted perceptions by the media and service users regarding Social Workers' role, powers and responsibilities. This has created in response a culture of risk aversion, which is getting stronger with each highly publicized case. How do you plan to restore the Social Workers' confidence in their own ability to do the work they have set out to do? What will be your proposals to ensure balanced reporting of statutory Social Work? 7. What do you plan to do to ensure that employers are held accountable if they do not create the conditions for Social Workers to meet their professional responsibilities?
I think there is a fundamental misconception from the public in what social services can do or will do for someone asking for help.
It is not the fault of the Press. I think the medical profession are very reluctant to refer families to Social Services.
In the case of Child Protection, Not enough early support and early intervention is given.
Both - How do we fix an almost totally broken social care system? There is a real lack of understanding about the origins of social work and unless the 'profession' can recover its roots then it will have to accept that it has become a Government Institution with all the controls, restraints and bureaucracy associated with that.
Where are the 'radical' social workers of the 70's? Where are the voluntary sector 'challenging' social workers? Where are even the local authority Neighbourhood Community Workers? Even the NSPCC has retreated far from its original community-based role.
What is 'social work' and what ought 'social workers' to be doing? Did we not ought to be far more shoulder-to-shoulder' with local communities, the persecuted, the disadvantaged, the marginalised?
Yes, we need Regulation but not the powerless, excuse-ridden likes of OFSTED who advise me that post-Inspections the carrying out or not of their recommendations is not within their remit - even to not even knowing when they will go back into clearly failing local authorites! So who is responsible, well OFSTED referred me to the 'local Government Office' - but oh no, it's not them either!!! They have an advisory / challenging role . So who is responsible? Well, would you believe what they say - it's the local authorities themselves!!! YOU COULDN'T INVENT IT!!!
No-one seems accountable. Lynne Featherstone MP is right and to be supported in her call for an Independent Public Inquiry into the death of 'Baby P' - there is, I believe, a lot more to come out - not least where TRUE personal and professional accountability should lay - it is all too simplistic to scapegoat Sharon Shoesmith - but where was OFSTED in refusing to rigourously pursue their concerns? Where was the Government Office in ensuring that OFSTED concerns were vigourously addressed? Whose responsibility was it to see that Haringey was not functioning and children and young people were not being protected?
If anything failed the likes of Maria Colwell, 'Baby' P', Kyra Ishaq in Birmingham and the many other tragic child victims it seems to be the 'system' - a 'system' that is under-resourced, under-qualified, over-managed to meet 'Performance Indicators' at the expense of QUALITY and which seems to accept that 3 or 4 Inspectors from OFSTED can really get to grips with what is happening over a 1 week Inspection! It is crazy.
So how do we fix it? And who is responsible? And are social workers really speaking out or just moaning and groaning?
Loughton has been charged with social work reform. How can he convince us he has a good knowledge of the work done with adults and in mental health fields - specifically as they relate to social workers - for us to feel confidence in his ability to take up the brief and not concentrate solely on the needs of children and families services for which he has prime responsibility. I am concerned that again, the work and the nature of social work in these other areas will be ignored and bypassed.
I work in health- we continually challenge many local authority decisions/assessments ( as we are supposedly meant to do). Most of the time we know the what we recommend doesn't happen because of resources. I would happily support my social work colleagues in challenging thir managers and commisioners but they don't seem to want it- perhaps most of them simply don,t have the time to battle. it is very frustrating for primary care practitioners however as the assessments of families whioch lead to initial referrals have often been much more intensive than many core assessments, but our work seems to count for very littlewhen decisions are made?
Rupert M:And are social workers really speaking out or just moaning and groaning?
Rupert M:Where are the 'radical' social workers of the 70's?
the higher eschelons of Sw are full of managers that expect SW's to conform to performance indicators and leave their value base at the door. "you are either on the bus or off it" is the common phrase in one LA very close to home. Those that do not conform soon have their card marked. Most SW's are just trying to survive it and do not have the individual or collective strength to do anything else. Also, many managers at the top of the ranks are the radical 1970's SW's.