To ask who I report this to?

[Unicornmummy13]

I work as a social worker (adult social care) for a local council. I’m considering whistleblowing a serious safeguarding issue/failings but I’m not sure which external body to go to? Would it be Ofsted or the Department for health and social care? I would want to whistleblow it anonymously if possible. For various reasons it is not possible for me to whistleblow this internally at the council and it’s not possible for me to go to the LADO. I’m really not sure what to do but I can’t keep this on my mind any longer, I need to tell someone but I don’t know who

LAs are monitored by OFSTED I believe? So if it's whistle blowing directly regarding a council them and possibly your regulating body, I can't remember what the English one is but the English equivalent of Social Care Wales.

In Wales Care Inspectorate Wales monitor LAs, I'd potentially go via them and SCW here, in your position I'd probably contact both.

I used to be a children’s social worker. For children’s social care it is definitely Ofsted but I don’t know for adult social services and a google search isn’t clear

I’m in England unfortunately

It's CQC for adult social care in terms of organisational failings.

LADO is for childrens services. The equivalent for raising concerns about individual employees in adults services is PIPOT

However your local authority will have its own whistleblowing policy - have you looked at it?

Oh of course you've said adults 🙈 go via Social Work England in the first instance?

Does your employer have a whistleblowing policy?

We probably need more specifics about whether this is about an individual or whether it's about unsafe practices generally.

Sorry, unsafe practices generally in the adult social services/social worker team at a local council. One of the issues also relates to the LADO’s in the children’s services team as well.

The council that I am a social worker for does have a whistleblowing policy but for various reasons I can’t report this internally.

You work as a social worker but don't know the whistle blowing policy?

I only know how to whistleblow internally here at the council but I can’t do that in this particular case

It really does depend on what kind of things you are talking about I think.

There's a huge difference between a team failing to meet their statutory duties because of e.g. no staff/resources/unmanageable systems and poor senior management response in addressing this and e.g. all the staff in one team engaging in smoking crack in their lunch hour and having sex with service users outside work.

One CQC might be interested in and the other SWE/police/PIPOT/safeguarding might be interested in.