Taskforce chair calls on local leaders to boost social work

Moira Gibb also said that unless directors were clear on what the role of social work is the public perception of the profession will not change.

Echoing the words of Lord Laming in his review of child protection, Gibb said there was a need for an immediate "step change" in the training and supervision of social workers to plug the gaps in the profession.

She said: "The social workers we need are not just going to turn up on the bus, boat or train. We are going to have to contribute to their training and the quality of the placements we offer is a big part of that."

Reiterating the increasing pressures on the workforce, with rising care applications coupled with a recruitment crisis, Gibb said it was essential that directors and leaders began to "tell our story".

"I am not sure we are clear enough of what the role of social work is," she said. "Being on the taskforce has taken me to a new level of understanding about how bad we are at telling our story.

"We are told that social workers are threatened with disciplinary action if they talk to the press. We find it very easy to hide behind confidentiality, but we live in an age where people do want to tell their stories."

Gibb added that change could not come solely from central government but had to be locally led. She said: "We have to learn how to better collaborate. We were all affected by the events in Haringey."