Recruitment drive launched to tighten child protection safety net - LGA

LGA press release - 3 March 2009

The first ever national campaign to respect, recruit and retain child social workers will be launched today with a drive to recruit 5,000 professionals who have recently left to tighten the safety net and reduce the chance of children dying from abuse or neglect.

Council leaders will highlight that, while there have been consistent improvements in recruitment and retention over the last few years, there are still problems that need to be addressed. In the aftermath of the tragic death of Baby P, council leaders are deeply concerned that the fallout from the case will lead to a decline in respect for child social workers, a wave of departures from the profession and a difficulty in attracting new candidates. The LGA fears that this could lead to a greater chance of a case of child abuse being missed.

A new report launched today, Respect and Protect, by the LGA shows that:

• One in ten child social worker post are vacant at any one time
• Of those councils who experience recruitment difficulties, 89% had trouble recruiting experienced children social workers
• Around 5,500 child social workers are agency staff.

A survey of councils carried out by the Local Government Association, Improvement and Development Agency and Local Government Employers, between July and September of 2008, found that :-

• Two in three reported problems recruiting children’s social workers, almost double the number reporting problems recruiting adult social workers
• Four in ten reported problems in retaining children’s social workers compared to one in four reporting problems retaining adult social workers.

In the coming weeks, the LGA will set out a series of measures which it believes will help recruit the best, retain the brightest and increase the amount of respect for child social workers in order to close the gaps in the child protection safety net.

Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Margaret Eaton, said:-

“Poor performance at the frontline in any of our services must be effectively challenged, in this area above all, and where good support does not result in improvement it has to be dealt with firmly.

 “There are real difficulties for councils in recruiting and retaining high calibre child social worker staff. If lessons are to be learned, then we must look to the future and recruit and retain staff so that they can protect the most vulnerable children in society. In the short term we must encourage up to 5,000 recently retired child social work professionals back to the front line to help keep children safe.

“Being a child social worker is one of the toughest jobs in Britain. Encouraging back those who have been at the frontline tirelessly working to save the lives of vulnerable children is key to helping plug the gaps and ensure that we, as a nation, can do everything we can to keep them safe.

“The recent sad events shine a light on the onerous responsibility councils bear in working with the most vulnerable children and families, and the equally onerous responsibility we ask children’s social workers to carry on our behalf. It is a tough job to do and for councils it is the toughest job to fill.

“Striving to maintain the status quo is not nearly good enough; we have to aspire to reduce the numbers of children who suffer and die in this country as a result of abuse and neglect, and we must never be complacent about the need to do more to improve the services that work with the children at greatest risk.

“There are no simple or easy answers to the challenge of protecting the most vulnerable children, only a relentless focus on doing the best we possibly can, at every level and in every service.”

ENDS

Media contact: LGA media team 020 7664 3333