Judge warns of Shoesmith fallout

Shoesmith launched a legal challenge against Ofs­ted, Haringey Council and Children's Secretary Ed Balls after she was fired. But on Friday Mr Justice Foskett refused her application for a judicial review and ruled she was sacked lawfully.

Despite this, Foskett warned the actions of Haringey Council appeared to be unfair. He said that comments made by the authority at the time of her sacking implied that her dismissal was "a foregone conclusion".

"There is the wider concern of who will undertake the role of DCS if someone can be removed in these circumstances without a proper and obviously fair process," he explained. "That could potentially impact on the whole structure of the child safeguarding arrangements throughout the country, which everyone, what­ever their views about this particular case, must regard as ext­remely important."

Responding to the ruling, John Chowcat, general secretary of the children's services union Aspect, said: "This can really worry and demoralise children's services managers, when what we actually need is good senior leaders moving up the profession."

Marion Davis, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said DCSs had experienced ­increasing government scrutiny bordering on "micro-management".
She said: "We must not allow raw politics to simplify or distort what are complex and serious matters concerning the safety of children."

A spokeswoman for Haringey Council said it continued to believe the dismissal process was fair: "We have nothing more to say in view of the employment tribunal taking place later this year."