Social worker backlash after Baby P

12 April 2012

The struggle to keep hold of social workers who protect vulnerable children has become more difficult following the tragic death of Baby Peter, councils have said.

A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) found six out of 10 councils reported difficulties retaining staff, a 50% rise on the four in 10 who admitted problems 12 months ago.

The LGA fears the figures suggest that "thousands" of frontline children's social workers have turned their backs on the profession following a backlash after the death of Peter Connolly.

Shireen Ritchie, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said dedicated staff had been "put through the mill" and too many had decided "the strain of this difficult work is more than they can handle".

Peter, who was initially known as Baby P, was 17-months-old and on Haringey Council's at-risk register when he died at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger in August 2007. He had suffered 50 injuries despite receiving 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police over the final eight months of his life.

Mrs Ritchie, a councillor in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said: "The vilification of children's social workers has increased the risk of harm to some children by opening up gaps in the safety net which works so hard to protect them."

She said councils must make sure social workers feel "valued and supported" and people should understand that social workers are "the solution, not the problem".

The number of councils which said they were struggling to retain children's social workers was double the number which said they were struggling to keep their adult social workers. The worrying trend also comes despite a third (34%) of the councils who admitted difficulties boosting salaries for children's social workers.

Children's Minister Delyth Morgan said: "There is no doubt about the challenges faced by the frontline over the last year. Social workers do a job which is complex and difficult at the best of times but which saves lives."

Baroness Morgan said the Be The Difference campaign run by the Government-funded Children's Workforce Development Council had prompted more than 30,000 people to apply for more information on becoming social workers in just 10 weeks. She said the Social Work Task Force was looking at what long-term reforms were needed to the profession.

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