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After the Baby P case broke, I listened to an audience on television baying for blood, and felt nothing but sympathy for Haringey social workers. How many of the jeerers would give up their relatively undemanding careers and go to work with some of the most dysfunctional families on some of the worst estates in the country, I wondered.
Not many, a friend at the council told me. Concerned citizens were hardly rushing to volunteer. About 15 per cent of social workers' vacancies were unfilled. As for the rest, foreigners had taken many of the posts. Like cleaning offices and driving buses, protecting children from abuse was a task Londoners were happy to contract out.
Yet now that Sharon Shoesmith, head of children's services at Haringey, has been sacked, I cannot pretend she is a victim of such hypocrisy.
Double standards do indeed abound in our attitude towards social work. I, like many other journalists, have listened to heart-breaking stories from mothers who have had their children taken from them by the council. I have written my share of furious articles about the secrecy of the family courts, which prevents MPs and reporters campaigning to overturn alleged miscarriages of justice. It's easy to claim that the press damns social workers if they take children and damns them if they leave the kids with their mothers.
But much though I would like to defend Haringey, I'm afraid that such pleas on behalf of its social workers won't wash. Yesterday's report was devastating, uncovering systemic failures as well as key failings by individuals: Children's Secretary Ed Balls was unsparing in his criticism.
Its conclusions are backed by a recent statistical analysis of how the young suffer in Britain from the NSPCC. It's depressing reading, although it concludes that social services do not even know about half of the victims of sexual and physical abuse and so cannot be blamed for their deaths.
But social services knew all about Baby P and had seen him dozens of times. If responsibility is to mean anything in the public sector, then the preventable death of a child under the supervision of social services has to result in the sacking of the social workers involved.
I say this with reluctance because I won't be applying to fill the vacancies. Will you?
Reader views (6)
I agree with Peter.
- Peter, Bournemouth, Dorset, England, 02/12/2008 20:44
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I lived next door to a family who were known as the salt of the earth by certain stupid villagers where they think interbreeding is country passtime for boredom!
The woman only being 50 had given birth 10 times or more if she could remember. 3 she gave away to family members for whatever reason and never saw them again!
The whole family that I knew and tried my best to stear clear of where totally dysfunctional to the highest degree. The Mother had never gone to school. She could never get up early enough for it!
All she knew about was sex...In the Barn and in the field. Nothing else to do!
Her 2 daughters were told by the local doctor not to have children and to think seriously about being sterilised because there certainly would be problems.
the mother thought this stupid and encouraged her daughters to proove the doctor wrong!
Most of her grandchildren are now in care looked after by the tax payer.
After what I know and saw of this family I would have all of them put on an island without their disgusting videos and made to work in a factory for their supper!
Everything this family wanted they got!! Even not having to look after their own children!
Free school dinners and uniforms and a special car for the eldest daughter who while drunk walked in the road and caused a terrible accident....She was allowed to sue the driver!!!!
They were even allowed to keep their guns!
Would I want to help this lot? Never! They all made me seriously ill!
- Valerie, London, 02/12/2008 18:10
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I would love to be a social worker and right all the wrongs that have happened over many many years, not only in my personal life with bad experiences with social services, but also those cases we read about in the papers. My gripe is that social services aren't regulated properly, they are snowed under with paperwork, and they aren't allowed to do the job they are trained to do. The at risk register means nothing if there is noone to follow up the cases, and generally it's a quick fleeting visit and then on to the next family. Social workers are not welcomed, which I understand, but if a family doesn't cooperate and are frightened of the system, then they risk losing their children, and I know we shouldn't take children from their families, but if there is the slightest risk that they are being harmed, wouldn't that be better than waiting for a tragedy to occur. The Baby P incident ticked so many boxes of abuse on my studies that the child should have certainly been removed a long time ago, why he wasn't only those case workers know.
- Aw, yorkshire, 02/12/2008 15:15
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It seems from most reports about this and other cases that the main problem rests with an ineffective management. This is a disease within the whole public sector, with the exception of the Armed Forces. People who are fast-tracked, without the relevant experience or are promoted on the basis of reciting politically correct mantras and fluency in management gobbledygook will inevitably make poor managers. They will not have acquired the hands-on experience to provide guidance to junior staff. Everybody needs a good mentor, whatever profession they chose. Inexperienced social workers are being thrown to the wolves and left to fend for themselves in a very difficult area.
- Peter, Pirot, Serbia, 02/12/2008 14:23
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Dear Nick
Which is the greater evil, dysfunctional families or a dysfunctional child protection system?
- Kenny Richards, Caernarfon, North Wales, 02/12/2008 12:29
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I'm astonished to learn of Ms Shoesmith's salary but that apart - I work as a Medical Secretary and am accountable for the accuracy of my work and the conscientious way in which I am expected to carry out my duties. My husband works in Health and Safety, there is a legal obligation for him to do his work properly. My grandfather was a policeman - again he was expected to work diligently - likewise police officers today would be disciplined most strongly for repeatedly not spotting a crime which was right in front of their faces. We are trained for the work we do, we choose our careers with our eyes open, as adults. Without doubt, social work has always been and will always be stressful - but the very worst way of attracting new promising recruits to the profession is to allow poor practice to continue undisciplined and ineffective senior staff "off the hook" on such ridiculously high pay. Really would you want to work for a boss like this?
That's got that off my chest Nick - thank you! (actually I like my job - but three ten-hour days a week are enough for me) I work for very good and pleasant consultants, whom I respect and admire - and with whom I share many lighter moments. I hope you like your work - it matters that we achieve a certain amount of satisfaction from whatever we do to "pay the rent man" at the end of the week.
Cheerio, Susan
- Susan Connolly, Yorkshire, 02/12/2008 11:54
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