Social workers find new child protection assessments ‘scary’

Many social workers find moving away from a tick box approach to child protection assessments “scary”, according to one of the first councils to answer the Munro Review’s call for less bureaucracy and centralisation.

Speaking at Community Care Children and Families Live, Paul McGee, of Tower Hamlets Council, said that some social workers found having an assessment process that required them to give views or judgments “a challenge”.

From July this year staff at Tower Hamlets have been using reformulated initial and core assessments that aim to cut paperwork, put the voice of the child at the centre and places the professional judgment of social workers above box ticking.

But McGee, who is the service manager assessment and early intervention at the London borough, said that while some workers were inspired by the new approach many felt uncomfortable. “Some social workers are reluctant to analyse information or provide their judgment or opinions,” he said.

As a result he said that local authorities that sought to move away from the current centralised approach needed to think about how best to support staff. “Because this is a quite radically different approach, training alone will not suffice,” he said. “The fact that you explain the new approach does not mean it embeds so day-to-day support is vital and that’s why we have brought in a project manager whose help is critical in both reinforcing the new framework, supporting staff and troubleshooting.”

But fellow speaker Helen Lincoln, who initiated the changes at Tower Hamlets before becoming director of children’s social care at Essex Council, said that persuading social workers to give their views had benefits.

“What makes this different from before is that the professional has to give their view or judgment and that makes them ask what’s really important about what is being explored with each family,” she said.

A copy of Tower Hamlets’ new assessment form will available on the Community Care Children and Families Live website from tomorrow.

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