Social workers are rarely in the news for the right reasons.
Too often we read stories of tragic cases where children have been failed, and the blame is landed at social workers’ doors. What we do not read are stories of the social workers who work hard every single day to make children’s lives better.
In my constituency and in the short time that I have been minister for children and families, I have already seen that this profession is achieving incredible things every day.
From the high profile – think of those drafted in to provide vital support to survivors of the Grenfell tower fire or working with asylum seekers from the Calais camp – to the casework happening every single day all over the country. I am more convinced than ever before that social workers are this country’s unsung heroes, and we must do more to support them and value their tremendous contribution.
That starts with government, and I’m pleased to have joined the Department for Education at a time when a radical programme of social work reform is already in full swing.
Our aim is to ensure all vulnerable children – wherever they are across the country – receive the expert, high quality support and protection they need. So we have set clear expectations for child and family social workers, and will work with them to make sure they get the training and support they need to meet these standards. That’s why we are introducing a system of assessment and accreditation to ensure standards are consistent, as well as giving the profession more confidence in the work they do.
A consultation on how this system will be implemented closed earlier this year. We received almost 400 individual responses – an impressive number for a government consultation – and as a result of listening to these views, I will today tell the annual conference of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services that we have fundamentally changed our plans.
Rather than having a system focused on the numbers of social workers assessed, we will focus much more on the support that local authorities and individuals will need. Where we initially proposed working with 31 pilot authorities, we now plan to start work with six. National rollout will follow, subject to and informed by the findings in the early phases.
We will also set up a new regulator, Social Work England, which will be a strong voice for the sector. From initial education and training through to continued professional development, this regulator gives us the opportunity to make sure all practising social workers in England are properly trained and have the right knowledge and skills. We want to make sure they are fully confident and highly capable, in order to improve the outcomes for the vulnerable children and adults they work with.
Today I am speaking at the ADCS conference, where the theme is how to make this a country that works for all children. This is our overarching goal, which we must never lose sight of, and supporting social workers as they do their vital work is an important part of this.
There are lots of positive stories, which we must become better at telling. The almost 30,000 child and family social workers employed in local authorities do inspiring work every single day.
I have been delighted to meet some of them since taking on this role and look forward to speaking to many more. Over the coming months I will take as many opportunities as I can to listen to views of those on the frontline as well as the people delivering social work courses. Our reforms are about changing lives, as well as valuing and rewarding best practice and instilling confidence.
Let’s work together to make this a country that works for all children and families.
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