I survived being LAC and wanted to be a social worker to make a difference as SW failed me. 31 years on I am reminded why I hated Social workers. Just finished working with a SW manager subject to fitness to practise warning from SW regulator and LA still have him working as a manager despite serious safeguarding concerns raised. Disgusted by this hypocrisy, I work with lots of amazing SW, Nurses, Dr , Therapists. It takes just one bad apple to sower the crop. I have raised objections with Regulator, a director of Social care. I know they will do nothing , corrupt just like it was when I was LAC.

When I started my career you were not required to have a formal qualification in the field I then worked,certainly not to the level expected today.

As the profession developed new laws and regulations where put in place to strengthen safeguarding but also close down a lot of residential homes. The level of skills necessary to safeguard vulnerable children became clear those working in the field had to have some form of formal qualification I believe it was the (CCETSW not sure about this ? ) everyone was offered training by the manager who in my case bought the black cat and gave it an offensive name.

Those who were given the opportunity was not of my skin colour I was the only one living and working in an opulent area , I was one of a few younger employees ,those who were offered the opportunity did not want the training but saw it has a day of work, some did not even attend the training.

The only way the manager allowed me to attend the training was by me offering to pay for it myself .Being young and just has committed as today I believed if I worked hard I would also have the opportunity to progression.I committed to the training which was the very first recognised social work qualification?

Since then I have kept up to date with relevent training life events permitting. When the training relevent to the service users I may be working with is not available I have taken the time to gain some insight/ understanding.

My point is, it is important to develop resilience belivie in who you are,your own strengths and areas which you may not be so good at (we all have such area’s )Racism marginalisation,those who are visible and those who are not still exists to date and will continue to erode a much needed profession if nothing is acknowledged ,if nothing is said nothing is done about it.

Unfortunately opportunities for some and not others continues today however tell yourself you deserve respect,opportunity and dignity has does the vulnerable children and service users whom we work closely with.As social workers you also do not work in isolation it takes a variety of agencies to provide a professional service with a confident and efficient workforce.Such has leadership skills.

These are some of the realitys for which some will face some will not.If the reality does not affect some why then would anything change? Why be open and honest?

Just asking.

These are my opinions based on my experiences this may not be experienced by some .Social work involves carrying out diffrent types of assessments to inform decision making.Direct work being one of them.The work also involves being aware of non verbal clues both with the younger child and young person all of which are important,not only helps support the child talk about their lives,how they are feeling some of which may be anger or indifference at this stage.

There are work sheets to help the older child with direct work,however this may not be a preferred option for the young person therefore speaking with and planning with the young person what would help them can help the young person in expressing their feelings therefore giving better insight into the young person’s lived experiences and may be Informative for the court process.

My point is the work is necessary,should take time,should involve planning to understand the child’s cultural needs,what may be viewed as normal behaviour/expectation for the child may not infact be, the childs age,the childs learning capacity for example (the child with autism who may be high functioning but may not be)what works for one child may not work for all.Speaking with the child about what would be helpful for them takes time and is not a tick box exercise.

Children are human beings who may be traumatised, who may want to talk about their lives or who may not be ready to do so.They may have suppressed their feelings and or view their lives as normal when it is not.My point is the work is an important process.Is it not?

The profession needs a confidence workfore who can bring about positive change for (All) service users who’s life we intervine in,whether that be for safeguarding or support reasons .We pursued this profession for a reason.We are all entitled to respect and dignity are we not?

For me having some understanding about the service where the profession started, mistakes made, how and the reasons the profession faces today’s challenges all play a part in shaping the process.

These are my opinions based on my experiences.I accept others will not have the same experiences and challenges but it does not mean these experiences are not relevant.

My experience was I rarely even consulted with my Team Manager or Senior Management on my cases, unless they were complex or court cases, and I was just left to get on with things.

I remember on one of my last Section 7 Private Family Law Court Cases around parental custody and contact, I wrote the entire Statement, including the final recommendation, without one consult or supervision on the case. It was just read and authorised by the Team Manager, who trusted my judgement (to be fair I probably had more experience than she had), but the issue I had was I was not employed as an Advanced or Senior Practitioner, I was just employed as an Agency SW etc.

The main and consistent challenge for me was dealing with volatile, aggressive, and threatening clients, which I came across often towards the last 10 years, due to my experience. I was never asked if I was okay, or supported with the offer of even a duty Social Worker to come with me, and as you get older (I’m in my early 50’s now), your tolerance and ability to put up with things you would normally accept and put up with in your 20’s and 30’s, goes down.

I only stayed in CP Social Work for 27 years, as I started in this job when I was 24, and because I got the proper grounding and training in another country – there is no way I could enter the job now, and put up with the high caseloads, and lack of support.

The other issue for me was I was not prepared to ‘Write rubbish assessments’, and all my Single Assessments’ I can say were all well-written, quality work, and evidence-based, and that takes a lot of time, which I did predominately at home in my own time – all free of charge.

I have read some horrible reports, which were either one liners, or one paragraphs; which were not factual or evidenced based, and should never have been authorised by managers. This means the next Social Worker who gets the case, has to start from scratch again, as the previous report was so inadequate. However, I know that Social Workers have to cut corners and choose to do this, just to survive, and have a life outside of work etc.

There there were just the sheer volume and number of cases, which was another main issue. I remember one of the worst caseloads I had was of 38 children on my list (Duty & Assessment), and they were almost all single children, and not families.

Some colleagues had the same numbers, but less individual children (i.e. families of 3 – 4 children) which meant fewer assessments and less work for them. When I asked my TM about this, she said it was because I was so capable and quick, and I pointed out I was working until midnight – every night to just sustain it.

Sadly, the majority of older Social Workers such as myself, either leave when they became too sick and burnt out to continue; or when something serious happens on their caseload (because they are too overloaded and overworked to keep their hand in on everything), and then they leave in shame.

It’s just sad all around.

Hi Pauline,

Thank you for your lovely and gracious reply, it is much appreciated.

I chose Social Work as I wanted to make a positive difference to the lives of children and young people, and qualified and have been working in (children’s) statutory services, since 1998.

I had worked initially for around 7 years in Child Protection abroad, where the system is totally different (few cases, and more support), but I always felt Managers there ‘Had my back’, and where Social Workers were given more support (i.e. for example, a Social Worker in R&A would always go out in pairs, and never alone, due to worker safety etc).

I came to the UK and practised for the next 20 years, and it was an absolute shock to see how the system was in disarray, and not fit for purpose. One of the main concerns is the high caseloads and the amount of paperwork and assessments required just to identify needs and risks – that is not even to provide any services or support to the child or family!

We are all working under extreme amounts of pressure and stress, from within the organisation and external from our partner agencies and central government, and something has got to give, and it is usually us.

It became a battle just to get through the working day, and then to have to go home and switch on the laptop in the evening for 3-4 hours, to just keep your hand in at a minimum level is not acceptable.

Sadly the children and the families get lost in the process, because there is not enough time or workers to do the job properly or effectively.

I would love the job I was trained to do, if there were fewer cases, more support, and a work / life balance.

I am so glad to be leaving the profession, as it’s not going to change, so I have to change, and enjoy the rest of my life.

To attempt to challenge possible red flags leaves the social workers integrity called into question (with no basis simply because they can because a managers must have integrity no )or because you dear to question the decision making in respect of a child.

Having your contract terminated because you question the safety of a plan which does not meet the child’s individual needs, however you are being bullied to put your name to a plan you do not feel comfortable with.No manager in sight to expain the wider issues to the courts.

The social worker who fears looseing their job and near to tears when asked for their professional opinion which may differ from the reasons/evidence he/she must argue in court.

The social workers evidence appears inconsistent because they must argue the management decision making and not the real reasons.No manager in court to back up their decision making has to why a provision is not identified to meet the child’s individual needs.

Questionable management or poor pratice by the social worker.Analyse what is really happening for the child,social worker and profession.

Do you seek clarity for questionable decision making or do what you are told even when you can for see the dangers?

Just asking.

What inspired me to choose this career are several reasons,however the main one is my experiences of feeling different placed by society has a young person and the feeling of helplessness has a young vulnerable person facing the work enviroment.

I believed being in a position to be the voice of a vulnerable child is what the profession was about.This is not the case unless professionals are open and honest about what really needs to change.

All are my experiences which I can expand on in more detail but will not do so.

I am leaving with anxiety, stress, panic attacks, heart palpitations, and what I suspect is un- diagnosed post-traumatic stress syndrome, due to the long-term exposure to multiple episodes of cumulative harm over the past 20+ years. The so-called ‘Caring Profession’ is most uncaring towards their own Staff, and is filled with un-supportive and bullying managers, who do not value their own Staff, nor really care about anybody other than themselves.

I found a lot of Managers (especially in children’s social care local authority work) should not be managers as some genuinely don’t care for their Social Workers or the Families, they like the money , status, and power of their position, and try to do as little as possible.

I found some permanent (as opposed to agency) Team Managers who had been long-term in their particular authority (for years) would often ‘Rule the Roost’, delegate their work to the poor Practice Managers, whilst receiving considerable benefits of a higher salary, holiday pay, and sick pay etc. If they are not going to do any actual work, or give guidance or support, why do the role?

I had a Team Manager who would do very little via way of her own work, she did not support staff, would delegate everything, never gave out any praise or positive feedback, and would take all of the credit (for the work of her staff) given by senior management. She would fill up her work day with personal telephone calls, shopping, getting her hair and nails done, would rarely be available to consult, and would switch her phone off straight at 5pm. And, she was a massive bully, putting down her staff, giving out personal insults, gossiping to staff about other staff (we all knew, as we shared what she said with each other),all whilst senior management were aware and turned a blind eye to her unacceptable behaviour.

I had another Team Manager who declined initially to re-allocate a child protection case when I started to receive escalating threats of violence and assault from the Mother of children I was working with, who had a criminal history, which included physical assault. She had an issue with me (not with anybody else), and she rang the TM one day, and said if I ever showed up on her doorstep again, she would physically assault me, and asked for the case to be re-allocated. He refused, and jokingly said to me ‘Just Run’ (she was a big and intimidating woman), which showed no insight into the emotional impact of implied violence on me, no regard for my personal safety, and of course no care about putting me harm’s way.

I was so scared, but I put my foot down, and I told the TM I had clearly communicated to him verbally the risk (and she had a history, which spoke for itself), and I said if I was assaulted, I would sue the LA, for him knowingly putting me in harm’s way. The case was immediately re-allocated, only because the TM did not want either the bad publicity or a lawsuit, and it was not about him supporting or keeping me safe. Ironic, given we are supposed to be in the business of keeping children and adults safe, and we get forgotten and overlooked ourselves!

I think we can all think of cases where we have gone out on home visits, where we have all felt abused, threatened, and intimidated by our Service Users at some point, and the majority of us have never been offered a second Social Worker, nor for the Manager to come with us; yet Housing and Police Colleagues never go out alone, so all of this say’s how bad things have been for a very long time in the local authority.

If I could have my time over again, I would tell my younger self not to be a Social Worker, as whilst it can be rewarding and fulfilling, this comes at an enormous personal cost and sacrifice, and there are more enjoyable careers out there, and you only get to live your life one. Make the most of it.

I also adopted children worked as a Social worker yet echo empathise. Due to new manager who was about numbers not people no empathy to clients or staff. I left had loved my job but over 30 years given up. Now have several grandchildren 1 who am carer for. Suggest Adoption UK maybe helpful as well as prioritising your needs. I learnt more frommy children than any course. Now am appalled at standards and lack of insight shown by SW to my grandchildren who appear to not be seen or understood.