Social workers
Promising findings from social work pilots
Devolving budgets to frontline workers to directly support families could reduce the likelihood of children going into care, pilots have found.
Report: 580,000 more social workers needed by 2035
More than 500,000 social care jobs in England will need to be filled by 2035, a new report has predicted.
Children's services progress 'slow and uneven'
Ofsted has described the progress of Reading BC to improve its children’s services as ‘slow, uneven and not always sustained’.
Time to reassess children’s mental health
In over a third of local areas spending on children’s low-level mental health services dropped in real terms between 2016/17 and 2018/19. Charlotte Levey says councils need to work alongside health partners to prioritise vital provision.
Nine in 10 social workers hampered by austerity
Social workers say repeated cuts that have created a crisis in the sector, according to a trade union survey published today.
'Slow progress' two years after inadequate judgement
Gloucestershire CC is making ‘slow progress’ in improving its services for its children and young people two years after it was judged inadequate, Ofsted has found.
Birmingham to scrap controversial care service reorganisation
A long-running industrial dispute between Birmingham City Council and care workers is expected to end after reorganisation plans were dropped.
Recruiting for Liverpool’s future
Liverpool City Council is recruiting more social workers to cut workloads and improve outcomes for children in an unprecedented investment, says Steve Reddy
Inspectors criticise council's pace of improvement
The overall pace of improvement in Reading Council’s children’s services has ‘not been sufficient’ three years since the authority was judged inadequate, Ofsted inspectors have said.
Directors' commitment after culture shift call
Children’s services directors have insisted they are ‘committed’ to protecting face-to-face work after social workers suggested too much time was being spent doing paperwork.
Councils transfer services amid healthcare trust closure
A healthcare trust running care services across two counties has announced it is likely to close.
Baby P fallout still having impact, committee hears
High turnover rates – and the ongoing risk aversion generated by the Baby P case – are exacerbating the funding crisis in children’s services, MPs have heard.
Bexley’s six pillars
Jacky Tiotto describes the six elements that drove the overall improvement and development of children’s services in Bexley LBC and took the council from an Ofsted judgement of inadequacy in 2012 to an outstanding rating in 2018
Making changes and building evidence in children’s social care
Michael Sanders outlines how the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care is working with partner councils to gather evidence on the impacts of two projects - devolving budgets to social workers and co-locating social workers in schools.
Four in 10 social workers want to quit
Four out of 10 social workers want to leave the profession due to chronically poor working conditions, a new study has found.
High staff turnover at 'inadequate' Gloucestershire
Too many Gloucestershire children are experiencing frequent changes of social worker more than a year after the county council was judged inadequate by Ofsted.
Delay to apprenticeship scheme
Plans for a child and family social worker apprenticeship have been hit by delays.
'Radical approach' to improve Surrey's children's services
Surrey CC will take a ‘radical approach’ to improving its inadequate children’s services in a bid to avoid a Department for Education (DfE) takeover, councillors will be told.
Council has taken 'too long' to improve
Reading Council has improved services for young people leaving care since an inadequate Ofsted inspection two years ago.
Five councils to trial social workers scheme
The new national assessment and accreditation system (NAAS) for child and family social workers is expected to be rolled out to five areas this month.