Social Work Now: Burnout will persist unless we put the 'social' back into social work

Impossible caseloads and limited support cause many to burn out: emotionally exhausted, demoralised and defeated. It's a depressing situation given that forming relationships is the stock-in-trade of social work with children and families. This month's main feature examines some of the causes and the techniques that organisations can deploy to support those on the frontline to cope. Social workers need to have space for critical reflection of their cases but they also need managers and supervisors who themselves have the space and time to support them in their work. Unfortunately, that seems all too rare. Much of the problem lies in the present system. The burdensome volume of procedures, guidance and targets has created a culture of compliance and managerialism at the expense of relationships and practice. Previous reforms of the system have put so much emphasis on technical solutions and processes and undervalued the emotional dimensions of social work practice and the skills that are vital to engage families. Professor Eileen Munro's (delayed) final report for the government on child protection in England promises to be a watershed moment. Let us hope that it puts the "social" back firmly at the centre of social work.

This month's multi-agency panel considers the scenario of a 15-year-old fostered child receiving contact from her birth mother on Facebook. The majority of teenagers are on social networking sites, which heightens the likelihood of contact from birth parents before a child's 18th birthday. This increasingly common issue is fraught with risk. Aside from extreme cases of historic abuse, however, it should be something that carers properly prepare for rather than strive to prevent happening. Managed openly and sensitively, it could provide a positive channel of communication.

Elsewhere, we examine the serious case review on the death of homeless 17-year-old Lorna May, which identified a "silo mentality" in Cornwall County Council; there's a focus on the Prince's Trust's innovative Working for Wellbeing placement scheme, which enables social work students to work with young people who are long-term unemployed or in trouble with the law; Professor Keith Brown from Bournemouth University's centre for post-qualifying social work champions the importance of leadership training; and we trace the startling case of an unqualified assistant in Harrow who was found guilty of passing herself off as a senior social worker.

Ravi Chandiramani, editor-in-chief, Social Work Now