Furious!

[viscount17]

Unannounced checks on children's services introduced after the Baby P case should be halted because they are unfair, senior officials have said.

It is believed that out of the first nine councils checked, "serious concerns" were reported in six of them.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8155081.stm

 

[mancity101]

....and I thought this was a golf forum!

 

[Imurg]

Anounced checks are a complete waste of time. If you know you're being checked you'll do it properly.

 

[Adrena1in]

....and I thought this was a golf forum!

No, this is the "Out of Bounds" forum for discussing non-golf issues.

 

[RGDave]

Which way are you falling on this Viscount?

Unannounced checks on anything in this world ought to be fair game.

 

[viscount17]

Officials are more concerned with being inspected than they are with doing their job properly.
Sloppy work might not have killed BabyP (or all the others)but it didn't save him either.

 

[RGDave]

Officials are more concerned with being inspected than they are with doing their job properly.

True....but if you are on top of your job it shouldn't be a worry, should it?

 

[dangermouse]

you are absolutely correct dave - some of the stuff that goes on to pull the wool over peoples eyes (particularly in the public sector) baffles me completely.

my wife is a teacher, and they get advance notice of OFSTED visits, so the head simply suspends all the difficult kids for the 2 or 3 days that OFSTED are in (but with no official record - they are given an "authorized absence"). School gets a decent report (and more funding), the teachers get an easy time (and a pay rise from the extra funding) and the kids get pushed a bit closer to the scrapheap of life. Aged about 13. Happy days.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

But if the kids wren't disruptive and were learning they wouldn't be heading to the scrapheap. It is hard enough for teachers and they have limited (ok none) powers to really stop the truley disruptive other than excluding them from lessons. The need of the many and all that.

Where does the bame lie? My belief is with the parents. If they don't get taught the basics and have an interest from parents they are always going to struggle. If mum and dad are feckless (latch key kids) kids will mimic and follow.

That said I understand the problems of bringing up a number of kids on no money (dole and benefits) and can't make that the only excuse (although contraception is easily available so why keep reporducing if you can't afford it) and so the blame also has to lie with the government for the under-funding of schools and the nanny state protection offered to kids these days.

Its a complex issue and I've no defining answer.

 

[Yerman]

Social workers didn't kill baby P, they need support, training and manageable workloads with continuous monitoring, not the interference of politically motivated pen pushers.

 

[Imurg]

Social Worker - why on earth would anyone want to be a Social Worker? If you take the kids away you get grief for separating families, if you don't they get abused or worse. I'd even rather be a Traffic Warden or an Estate Agent.

 

[Herbie]

Why is there concern at inspections?

If they are being inspected by people who dont know enough, how could they find fault?

If they are inspected by people who know their stuff, why should there be a concern if these services are working well?

Social services have had and still have an awful lot of power over people, power can often breed many things and social services are not beyond such effects. Even though I am well aware of how difficult life as a social worker may be, they are supposed to be trained to do their job, many are paid well for their work and they choose it as a carreer.
Everything I have ever done, I have expected to be trained and/or experienced to do it and if I do it wrong, I take responsibility for it. Almost every case in recent history involving social services has been cloaked in secrecy and denial and excuses of how hard it is for social workers followed by a limp general apology and few (if any) disciplines or dismissals.

Inspect the hell out of them I say, if they have nothing to hide, whats the problem? Most professionals I know are inspected in one way or another every minute of the day, by each other, by consumers, staff, colleagues etc. Social services work behind the cloak of official(need to know)privilage and often use this to defend thmselves from searching questions as well as from revealing information.

I know its a tough job, but many jobs are tough, if you dont like being checked out, then get out!
A good social worker or service should have nothing to fear.

 

[Yips]

I totally agree with the idea of inspections but how long do you think this will actually last?
All that will happen over time is the inspectors will get complaicent and the whole cycle will start again!
In my line of work I have dealing with social services (or lack of), we recieve a call asking myself or my coleagues to attend a concern for a child / adult because social services are about to go home. The last time this happened SC knew about a problem for 3 weeks before calling us and asking us to attend and then did S*D ALL.
So in my opinion they shoul be inspected to the standard that my career is.

Climb off soap box!

 

[Brendan]

.

Where does the bame lie? My belief is with the parents. If they don't get taught the basics and have an interest from parents they are always going to struggle. If mum and dad are feckless (latch key kids) kids will mimic and follow.

Bang on in my eye's

 

[viscount17]

This occurred today. My mates Mum was taken into hospital after a fall about a week or so ago. She's suffering from dementia and is going down hill fast. It didn't help that she was on three wards in five days.
All the medical professionals (Consultant, Registrar, Juniors, Ward Sister) were in agreement that there was no way she could go home as she needed residential care.
The Social Services said ' They don't understand these things' and were insistent that she was to be sent home, tomorrow. The bed manager wanted the space!
Fortunately my mate stuck to his guns, the SS got a flea in her ear from the medics and his mum is now going to get the care she needs.