How easy is it for you to take time out for CPD (besides mandatory training)?
- Very difficult (59%, 527 Votes)
- Fairly difficult (28%, 246 Votes)
- Fairly easy (9%, 77 Votes)
- Very easy (4%, 39 Votes)
Total Voters: 889
Loading ...Social workers believe social care ministers should have a background in the sector, a Community Care poll has found.
The results follow former fostering social worker Janet Daby’s appointment as minister for children and families, with responsibility for children’s social care, within the Department for Education.
Daby’s appointment was much celebrated by social work bodies, but her background is a rarity among ministers with responsibility for social care.
Her most recent Conservative predecessors were formerly a charity chief executive (David Johnston), a banker, think-tank worker and political special adviser (Claire Coutinho), the owner of a marine survey consultancy (Kelly Tolhurst) and a teacher (Brendan Clarke-Smith)
Daby’s counterpart with responsibility for adult social care, Stephen Kinnock, worked for non-governmental organisations and in consultancy before becoming an MP, while his Conservative predecessor, Helen Whately, was in the healthcare consultancy sector.
However, it is clear that social workers believe that Daby’s background should be the norm, not the exception. The Community Care poll, which amassed just over 1,350 votes, revealed that the vast majority of practitioners (91.2%) believed a social care background was needed for social care ministers because “otherwise they wouldn’t understand the role”.
Only 8.8% said background was not important “so long as they have reasonable expertise”.
‘A step forward’
Janet Daby (credit: Richard Townsend Photography)
Comments under the relevant article applauded Daby’s appointment.
“It is at least a step forward in having a person who understands children’s social care and the issues needing addressing,” said Tom Farmcombe.
“After 25 years as a [social worker and guardian], I know full well the challenges ahead. It is not just about the efficiency of services, it is also about the funding systems and interplays with local authority resources, politics and agendas.”
Pauline O’Reggio also expressed hope that Daby would receive “support to make changes for all”.
“I understand [Daby] comes from a social work background. […] Let’s hope she has an understanding of the difficulties faced by the service and social workers,” she added.
“The profession is in need of change, there is no doubt about that. I sincerely wish her all the best and [that] she’s able to withstand the difficulties she will no doubt face in all areas of her new role.”
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How does one define ‘background experience’ there’s huge deficits in a traditionally gained ‘social work’ experience and especially when it comes to organisational management and the understanding of the marketisation of all the services.
The nature of the mindset across most social welfare law is constructed as permissive legislation ie it’s used for only the length of time it needs to be. In sharp contrast public procurement legislation and regulations are highly prescriptive and the working assumptions otherwise are wholly at odds both practically and often ethically with what is currently going on ~ hence the Middlesbrough fiasco and the laughable position described by the CMA of sleep walking into this mess.
The lack of managerial oversight repeatedly sighted as a causal attribute in serious case reviews ~ the MacAlister Review is silent on the details, say, for example the 100 year rule requirements enshrined in the information management requirements of the duty of care obligations held by Councils and not transferred through 3rd Party contracting; there is no expectation of an indivisible obligation and the prevailing case law is the antithesis of anything like what one would expect ~ I have tested this for real and the scope of the law is too tightly bound to get anywhere near addressing the operational reality. And, by design, perhaps?
Perhaps, the advances being made within the NHS embracing trauma informed approaches alongside the clinical advances in developmental neuroscience in Children’s Services may open up the opportunity for new NHS s75 agreements with Councils?
The geography of the ICB’s offering both ‘the place’ and strategic planning needed for such?
I have trained and practiced social work alongside public procurement, management accounting (information and performance management) and commissioning ~ the value bases of which are often incommensurable.
Working with ncommensurability and indeterminacy are though the bread and butter of social work and it’s way too easy for tradeoffs to be made ~ and often by social workers unfamiliar with the overlaps!
Of course it is always better to have an understanding of children’s lived experiences and the experiences of being a social worker who has worked in frontline and have had the challenge of working in such a dogmatic system. I am sorry but I don’t see that Janet has any of these experiences and already, from what I see she is following the same route as most MP’s. She claims to have 15 years experience as a ‘front line social worker’, I dont see how she can put claim to this as Janet has worked 10 years in fostering and the rest in social work consulation, this is so far apart from the pressures faced by the real front line social workers who work under so much pressure to meet timescales rather than have opportunities to enhance and improve children’s life experiences.
I think social care has lost its way.
I think an outsider may see how horrifyingly wrong some things are.
The current approach to harmful sexual behaviour is abhorrent.
The approach to supporting families is appalling
The attitude towards parents who submit legitimate complaints is bullying.
It may take someone outside the profession to see this at this point especially if the attitude to feedback is to victimised complainants