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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think some posters are naive about SS?

999 replies

fudgeraisinbiscuit · 21/08/2018 10:29

I see many posts where people seem to believe either that SS will offer support and that parents who are loving and coping but struggling can contact them for a hand-hold, or posts where people believe a not ideal yet normal situation can and should be reported.

AIBU to think posters are naive about what SS actually do?

OP posts:
SusanWalker · 23/08/2018 14:09

In my opinion CP SW should not be involved with children with disabilities, unless they are trained in SEN and the EHCP process!

Totally agree with this. The SW I saw was really good with regards to DS autism. But my friends DS had OCD, which the SW knew about, but she proceeded to go into his room and pick up and touch all of his stuff, causing him to completely freak out. She also refused to believe that he had any kind of mental health problems, despite camhs diagnosis, and kept accusing my friend of trying to medicalise his issues.

I don't think SW s are snatching kids for adoption and I do think that child protection is necessary. But I do think that SW s need to assess whether their involvement is going to be beneficial in the long run, especially in cases where a child is already involved with services such as camhs.

auntethel · 23/08/2018 14:25

A few extracts from the Maternity Services AIMS letter to the Department of Health. we are now so concerned at the adverse effects of Child Protection in the UK, that we felt we had to write to you. and Since, as advocates and occasional family court witnesses, we see many cases and court files, we know how questionable and inaccurate are the allegations, interpretation and documentation from which many investigations spring.

auntethel · 23/08/2018 14:28

Could anyone provide the link to above letter from AIMS which I've Google addressed, please?

Tessliketrees · 23/08/2018 14:29

www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/child-protection

Claw001 · 23/08/2018 14:31

CP cannot get involved in education. However, LA’s often get CP involved in children with disabilities who are not attending school! Usually due to school not meeting needs.

CP cannot make Educational recommendations. LA’s use CP to threaten parents. They have no intention of removing children or supporting them, as they can’t!

auntethel · 23/08/2018 14:33

Well, they're obviously not sanctioning enough then, are they Tess? Not enough to deter others anyway. The report from AIMS was ten years ago and it's still continuing.

auntethel · 23/08/2018 14:35

Thankyou Tess

midgesforever · 23/08/2018 14:35

susan social workers aren't legally able to stop their work because CAMHS are involved, they have different roles in the system. Ideally they would work in conjunction with CAMHS, but they are often even more poorly funded than social services and two very overstretched teams trying to work together is challenging.
Most of the answers for running good teams are already known and neither exciting or surprising. Good training is key but that takes budgets for it, case loads small enough to be able to attend it, cover for the staff attending. I can't tell you the amount of training I couldn't attend as a social worker because of the above issues.
In addition there are wider societal issues about the impact of child poverty for example on mental health, housing, diet etc and the role that plays in child protection issues.

Tessliketrees · 23/08/2018 14:39

Well, they're obviously not sanctioning enough then, are they Tess?

It depends on how widespread you think mistakes are. I wouldn't except any group of professionals to be beyond making mistakes or being actively poor at their job.

That letter is very unprofessional, I don't think it's good evidence for widespread poor practice.

Pandamodium · 23/08/2018 15:14

My ex and younger DD's bio dad reports us at least twice a year. Malicious crap which is luckily seen through.

I've never had a bad experience or any talk of my DC being removed. All of them are blonde angelic looking shame not acting dotes including a young baby the last time I was reported.

It doesn't make me angry either other then with ex-p for wasting childrens services time and my own. I've been accused of physical abuse and sadly worse, of course all accusations of such things should be investigated.

FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast · 23/08/2018 15:18

" All of them are blonde angelic looking shame not acting dotes " - hair colour is really immaterial...Confused

auntethel · 23/08/2018 15:22

So basically it's been decided then, that there are good sw's that help children and there bad sw's who damage children. The sw's who lie, frighten and damage children, make false reports, taking babies away from breastfeeding mothers etc, are doing so because of lack of money? Wish I'd known that at the time, we would have gladly paid to prevent the damage to our dc!! How ridiculous!

toomanychilder · 23/08/2018 15:38

There are good SW's and not very good SW's, andthe odd very bad one. There are also good SW's who are painted to be very bad ones by parents. It's not surprising, who would compliment the people who took their children away, no matter how necessary it is?

There is such a lot of doublehthink about it. The same people who accuse SW of not doing enough and missing terrible cases are also the people who would be completely outraged at being visited by SW after a report about them, as if it should be obvious without checking that they are good parents.
Tehn you haev the people who need the intervention but can't admit it, so blame SW's for interfering and damaging their children, conveniently glossing over the evidence of damage to their children which is why they have the involement. And the parents who can't ever admit to their own failings so it obviously all has to be the SW fault......

optimusprimesmother · 23/08/2018 15:44

There is a thread on here where a women is talking about her aggressive husband and what he is doing to the kids. She spoke to a SW (Male) friend and he said ‘I think he is just doing his best’ - because he is working hard Hmm

It’s totally unrelated to this thread but it just shows you how seriously ineffective some can be

midgesforever · 23/08/2018 15:46

Like any other profession there will good, bad and average. There is a professional body to report the bad to.
Yes, a massively underfunded organisation and the individuals in it will not function as well as one that is properly funded, this shouldn't be surprising to anyone.
Good teams are stable, they have a minimum reliance on locum workers, they have contained caseloads, workers are able to spend time getting to know the families they are assessing, time to make connections with other relevant professionals such as CAMHS, teachers and health visitors. Workers are able to attend regular training, there is time for regular meaniful supervision. Workers are able to arrive and leave work at sensible hours meaning that they have sufficient energy and clear focus for their work, they have time to buy and eat lunch even if it is at their desks. More senior colleagues have time to mentor those starting out. Managers have time to receive training both about social work and management. Managers have time to provide supervison. Managers have time to assess the reports written by their workers.
All of this takes money and the opposite increases the risks of poor practice.

toomanychilder · 23/08/2018 15:49

It’s totally unrelated to this thread but it just shows you how seriously ineffective some can be

It doesn't show anything of the sort since we have no clue as to the actual situation, and speaking to someone as a friend is not at all the same thing as speaking as a professional. It's a ridiculous point to make.

Tessliketrees · 23/08/2018 15:50

So basically it's been decided then, that there are good sw's that help children and there bad sw's who damage children. The sw's who lie, frighten and damage children, make false reports, taking babies away from breastfeeding mothers etc, are doing so because of lack of money? Wish I'd known that at the time, we would have gladly paid to prevent the damage to our dc!! How ridiculous!

Is this supposed to be a response to me?

optimusprimesmother · 23/08/2018 15:55

toomany the op clearly talks abouts what’s been happening and is being encouraged to leave as he clearly bring abusive. She reached out to a SW friend who IS a professional the last time I checked and what the whole threads about - who minimised it all. I’ve read the thread. YOU havnt. Go read it before you add sneering posts.

Weird Confused

Cassimin · 23/08/2018 16:03

If it wasn't for parents who lie frighten and damage children there would be no need for SS.
So good and bad everywhere.

toomanychilder · 23/08/2018 16:05

Actually i don't need to read it and I stand by my point. Was he working as HER SW? If not, its irrelvant.

auntethel · 23/08/2018 16:11

No Tess, I meant the thread as a whole.

optimusprimesmother · 23/08/2018 16:13

Too she was reaching out and got rejected at first point of call ffs! He could of said ‘ring this number and discuss your concerns’ but no he closed her down and made her feel it was in her head. He should have referred her after she disclosed an issue as a general safeguarding issue at the very least.

It’s piss poor.

optimusprimesmother · 23/08/2018 16:15

Actually i don't need to read it and I stand by my point. Was he working as HER SW? If not, its irrelvant

Other words - fingers in ears singing ‘la la la la la’

Tessliketrees · 23/08/2018 16:17

optimusprimesmother

It makes him a poor friend but not necessarily a poor social worker. Also he may not exist. Also he may not have said that.

Honestly if you want examples of shit social workers you can Google them, you really don't need to reference a thread on here.

optimusprimesmother · 23/08/2018 16:22

actually tess he should have referred her as he is in a position of trust.

I believe her. Sorry if that doesn’t fit your ideas of wonderful SW