for cpd see corporatewatch.org

And while group-think has ordinarily specific meaning the dimensions of the ‘thinking’ has now been commercialised ~ hence the reference to the Company Law Act.

14 Yr old Amy El-Keria died whilst in hospital care ~ the Group owner was given a £458,000 golden handshake.

The Children’s Commissioner is uniquely placed to raise these matters with the CMA and seek properly constructed legal protections for children.

group think is dangerous in any relationship or setting, no?

does the law of unfair prejudice apply when more weight is given to organisational and institutional interests of provider’s over and above the obligations to the child ~ this is Company Law Act 2006 territory maybe the Children’s Commissioner will cast an eye on the status of Children in respect of the obligations owed?

Trust? And, for sure it is all about, Trust. The trust an employer and employee create knowing what is likely to happen to them both, individually and corporately, if the private lives and experiences of children in public care is actually exposed to scrutiny ~ there’s a reason why OAP’s are expensive! And, in some instances it is literally getting away with murder ~ it’s damn serious stuff!

For those who dare-to run such gauntlets, and from someone who has repeatedly done so, be assured that just as good social work practices are remembered for life so are the records and memories of when abuse and ill treatment when it isn’t stopped ~ and in the fullness of time, if you stand ground, truth will out.

Except, of course, the actual duty to hold this information, which once over was a 100 year assurance, is now limited to the terms of a contract for both actual employment and for services ~ this is one of the reasons agency staffing has been so popular, and expensive! And, why NDA’s are a useful proxy measure of deeper systemic invalidation of the existence of wrongdoing.

Trust, like other aspects of social work, ratherthan being a unifying force embodied in practice expectations of demonstrating values has been reduced to compliance with an abstracted matrix of external rules.

A ‘ how can we get away with this’ mindset prevails right across the sector. When the actual and perceived threat of ‘group sanctioning’ acts as a deterrent to disclosure and/or action, Trust, as a demonstrable value, ceases to exist at all. These are the premodern conditions of postmodern services delivery, no?

The neoliberalist deconstruction of Children’s Care Services has moved us both backwards and towards a new generation of ‘Rag Nymph’ arrangements ~ whistleblowing in such an environment is nigh impossible if not futile.

For cpd see ‘The Problem of Trust’ by Adam Seligman 1997.

*I am, in some circles, known as a serial whistle-blower and pretty much been sent to Coventry ~ be careful ~ I have a specific and peculiar biography making my actions meaningful but I have paid a pretty heavy price too*