The response, submitted today (3 August), warns that despite evidence showing that good social work can save vulnerable children’s lives, more children are at risk because experienced social workers are prevented from doing effective work and are being driven out of the profession.
Hilton Dawson, chief executive at BASW, said: "It is a national scandal that so many social work professionals are not properly supported to undertake the very complex yet highly rewarding task of protecting children. Social workers must be supported and empowered to do the job they have been trained for, rather than being defeated by the gross inadequacies that are plaguing the current system." Dawson also warned that child protection systems must be given financial priority in times of public spending cuts to ensure that more effective practices can be developed.
The response confirmed that BASW supports the full publication of serious case reviews, and is calling for a "sustained campaign of public information" to change negative perceptions by helping members of the public better understand the role of social workers. It also says that social workers should be encouraged to engage with the media and claims that local authorities’ "uselessness" in promoting good social work actually undermines the profession.
In its submission, BASW voiced overwhelming support for the introduction of a new child protection system, backed by the College of Social Work, which values, rewards and supports social workers to stay in frontline practice and reasserted its call for the appointment of a chief social worker who would work with both the government and the public on behalf of social workers. The association also demands that standards of social work training and continuing professional development must be improved.
The government’s "big society" ideal is highlighted by BASW as an opportunity to engage communities more effectively in the role of keeping children safe.
The submission also urges careful examination of the children’s services inspection process, which the BASW believes does not currently measure the right things.
Professor Munro was commissioned by Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove in June to provide an independent review of England’s child protection system. Munro is expected to set out the main issues exposed by the review in September, and produce her final recommendations in April 2011.