The Social Work Task Force, set up last year by the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the wake of the tragic Baby Peter case, is due to issue its final report next month. Whilst awaiting their recommendations with anticipation, there is a clear need for the government to listen carefully to the voice of social workers themselves – many of which work in very challenging environments and are highly committed to the work they do.
The Association of Social Work Employment Businesses (ASWEB) represents social work employment agencies, helping to safeguard professional standards in social work recruitment, training and employment and promote the professional development of social workers. In a survey among 250 of our members published this week, almost four in five (79%) say morale within the social work profession is lower or much lower than five years ago. Much of this, they told us, is attributed to low professional respect, with almost half (48.4%) feeling this is the biggest challenge facing social workers today. Excessive and inappropriate government targets were identified by over two fifths (43.7%) of respondents as the biggest obstacle to the social work profession, and over a third (36%) feel it is the complexity of the issues they are dealing with day to day that pose the biggest challenge.
The clear conclusions are that the view from the ground is pretty bleak so what’s the synopsis to improve the situation, learn the lessons of the Baby Peter case and help the profession deliver one of our most crucial frontline public services – protecting the most vulnerable in our society.
A good way to start tackling these issues would be to establish representation of social work practitioners at a national level. Indeed, our poll reveals that nearly nine in ten (89.4%) of those surveyed support the creation of a National College of Social Work and over four-fifths (81.4%) would like the government to appoint a Chief Social Worker to advise ministers and the public.
ASWEB believes this would send out powerful and positive messages that society values social work as a profession, recognises the value it brings, and demonstrates a clear government commitment to drive up standards and competence. We also think that such initiatives would help attract more people into the profession and help us retain talent in this sector.
Social work practitioners themselves acknowledge in our poll the need for improved professional standards and competence. Nearly two-thirds (63.4%) would like to see a license to practice system introduced for newly qualified social workers across the board. Over four-fifths (86.2%) of social workers feel that there should be more practical training on how to make objective evaluations and assessments. Over two-fifths (43.8%) would also want better training in how to cope with working under pressure. More than nine in ten (93.1%) want there to be equal access to on the job training for locum and permanent social workers.
Following the Baby P scandal it is important that the right lessons are learnt to avoid similar tragedies happening in the future. The real focus needs to be on improving management strategies and quality of training for all front line workers, and bolstering morale is an important part of underpinning this process. Within the discussion about the role of temporary staff, it must be remembered that many social workers choose to work as locums and their valuable contribution should also be recognised.
These are difficult times and the current scrutiny of the social work profession is only right and proper, but we must all be careful not to neglect the concerns and needs of those under the spotlight. Let there be no delay in us moving forward together with these objectives for reform.