Social work review: Your comments

The task force was set up in the wake of the Baby Peter case

Social workers will need a licence to practise under reforms aimed at boosting standards and morale.

Pay will be also be improved for the most experienced front-line staff after the government accepted proposals from its social work task force.

The task force was set up a year ago after the death of Baby Peter. Here social workers have been telling us what they think of the proposals outlined in the review.

Retention remains our most pressing challenge David, England

In effect, a probationary year was trialled last year. It was a scheme for Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) overseen by the Children's Workforce Development Council. Part of the strict understanding was that NQSWs would have reduced caseloads and time off for study during the first year of practice following qualification. I can tell you with absolute certainty that this did not happen in the local authority that I work for. NQSWs were placed under intolerable pressure from the very beginning. My fear is that licensing and probationary years are all very well in theory, but there needs to be a far more stringent oversight of the bureaucrats if we are going to keep excellent social workers in this profession. Retention remains our most pressing challenge and poor management the greatest impediment.
David, England

Forget licences. Firstly, think about adequate funding of services. Driven by budgetary pressures, unrealistic targets, which fuel fears for their own job security and professional advancement, social work management have demanded and continue to demand increased throughput of cases. At the same time, they also expect high quality work from their front line social workers. As a children's social worker for over 20 years I know it's just not possible to do both! Social workers cannot work effectively and safely at break neck speed. It's a contradiction in terms! High quality social work is the key to protecting children. Ultimately, society must decide how important it regards the protection of its children and fund child protection services accordingly.
Karen, Hertfordshire

More awareness is needed of the importance of this job and how challenging and rewarding it is! Nikki, England

I have just qualified as a social worker and have now started my first job in substance misuse. I think a probationary period when you complete your degree would be a good idea as it would help improve confidence in the newly qualified social worker and it would force employers to make time to provide more support and guidance for new staff. I feel if a school dedicated to social work was created it would be a brilliant boost to the profession. A lot of people don't know the hard work social workers do, they just think we take children away from their parents. I think more awareness is needed of the importance of this job and how challenging and rewarding it is!
Nikki, England

Social work is already a professional qualification. You have to complete a three year degree and 200 days in practice to be able to qualify. You can also only legally use the professional name of Social Worker once you have qualified through this process. All social workers are also still in a probationary period for a year after they qualify. Adding a licence will do nothing to the actual training and qualification. I personally think it will put more people off training as social workers as it will stretch the process from a three year to a four year one. The majority of people who qualify to take part in the training already have experience working in a care setting and are of older age group than school leavers with families of their own. There is little financial support for students and it is very difficult for most students to fund the course and take care of their families. A four year process will put more people off taking the course or attract a younger less experienced selection of people who don't have families to support and financial commitments. More support, better work conditions, lower case loads and better financial incentives in hard to fill positions (Children's services) are needed to keep professionals in the job and increase standards.
Laura, Wales

Having heard all of the rhetoric before I will try to muster some optimism RD, Worcestershire

Lack of potential progression options within Social Work (without having to resort to seeking a management position) has been a longstanding issue within the profession. The majority of my peers with whom I qualified have left frontline practice and either gone onto work for private agencies which are financially more rewarding, or have retreated to the non-profit or voluntary sector in order to do pursue more face to face work or develop special isms, essentially to do what they joined the profession to do. Having heard all of the rhetoric before I will try to muster some optimism anew that opportunities to develop and progress for those sticking it out in the public sector will materialise.
RD, Worcestershire

It's about time that social workers got decent pay. We potentially hold the lives of children in our hands and it is a responsibility that causes enormous stress. Our job is on a par with that of a doctor. We have sleepless nights, we have stress, working late at night, emotional breakdowns, physical threats from families, and there are a lot of marriage breakdowns within our own families as we spend more time with the families we work with. Extra pay is good, but no amount of money can ever truly compensate for what frontline workers have to deal with.
AG, UK

I think it is a welcomed idea for social workers to have a licence, nurses and midwifes must have one to practice. I do not think that extra payment for managers is going to make an impact on their work, it will just make them more greedy and the standards will not improve. A years' probation is an excellent idea.
Deborah Worster, Folkestone, Kent

The tragic failings of recent years are largely due to systemic failings of the systems Clyde, Essex

I am a senior nurse and work in a multidisciplinary team which includes social workers. In my field of work they are an essential element of the team. Paying them in parity for similar work is one positive step to supporting the profession. A license to practice?! All that is going to do is add to bureaucracy and will no doubt attract a fee that they will no doubt have to pay. How is that going to encourage people to join the profession? Would that have prevented tragic mistakes? The tragic failings of recent years are largely due to systemic failings of the systems, organisations and practitioners carrying too heavy a work load. Not due to individuals being poorly trained. As usual the easiest targets are sighted to appear so that something is being done, when really only a comprehensive review of the way social services is run, organised, financed and managed is the way to address these kind of mistakes.
Clyde, Essex

Anything which raises the status and profile of social work is to be welcomed - but the stresses on the frontline relate to an over-stretched work force, under constant change, and with an ever increasing set of expectations - there have always been workers who are less than competent - but there have also always been a number who are dedicated, hard working and skilled.
Brian, Buckinghamshire

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