Social work leaders criticise landmark child protection ruling

The ruling was made by Lord Justice Munby on a case brought by Staffordshire County Council who wanted to prevent the father from publishing details and posting footage of the baby’s removal.

The council had argued that publishing details of the case and identifying a social worker risked identifying the child. However, Lord Justice Munby disagreed that there was such a risk.

BASW chief executive Bridget Robb said: “While we agree that the public should be better informed about what social workers do and the decisions they take to protect children, this is not the way.
 
“Posting emotive footage of emergency care orders being undertaken is always going to be hugely distressing, but such images do not tell the whole story of the work done by many professionals which result in a child's removal from their parents.”
 
BASW has run a number of campaigns to combat negative portrayals of social workers in the media and so called ‘naming and shaming’-style stories.
 
Robb added: “If the public want children to be protected, they have to get behind social workers, understand that removal of a child is not a decision taken lightly by them alone and stop this demonising of social workers who are trying to work in accordance with the law.”