I felt this! Fellow SEND Caseworker here and constantly contemplating my life choices. The Sunday scaries have officially kicked in, although it is becoming more of an everyday thing. Really sad, as you join wanting to make a difference, however, the role quickly becomes unsustainable.
Desperately trying to get out, but with it being such a niche role, nobody wants to see the many transferable skills. We cover admin, legal, finance, customer service, complex case management. We work across NHS, social care, education, legal, and many more. My brain is mush and the effort to complete these increasingly lengthy applications is soul destroying. Internal vacancies already have someone’s “friend” earmarked for the role.
Staff turnover is beyond ridiculous and I am seeing signs of traumatic responses within myself and colleagues. We are not the decision makers! We action the decisions and then act as human shields for those who did. Rude, entitled, aggressive, bullying parents and unfortunately wider colleagues in school and social care (who really should know better). The constant emails and telephone calls, insistence that an LA representative should be present at the meeting, against the expectation to process annual reviews, issue drafts and finals, endless consultations for placements that you know are full or won’t be able to meet needs. Yet everyone wonders why there is a new caseworker every 6-12 months!
Manners, common sense and initiative seem to have gone amiss somewhere in between emails and social media. The forums that encourage parents to effectively harass you daily need to be shut down. Note: If my line is constantly engaged, it is because I am busy talking to another caller! Does not matter how many times you email me, I cannot attend to phone, email and be in a meeting at the same time. I am not intentionally not responding, it is because there are 300 other emails ahead of yours which are also marked as “URGENT”. I understand that everyone is frustrated. We are too! That does not however make it fair that we should be the punch bag, and certainly will not change anything. Please redirect your anger to the decision makers who are paid a lot of money to cower behind us and ignore the solutions we offer.
Management do not have a clue and just sit in meetings/push emails around. They come up with useless “improvements” based on what they need to add to their CV for the next promotion. No leadership whatsoever, they are just there to collect their very healthy paycheque and blame everything that goes wrong on the caseworkers. The biggest joke of all, is when yet another vacancy is advertised, they expect you to encourage your friends and family to apply!
It is bittersweet as without the abuse and incompetent management, I actually enjoy my job and am good at what I do. I have gained so much knowledge and it is such a shame to think that this will go to waste, but I just cannot work with the general public anymore.
Anyone who managed to get and knows of any jobs that will appreciate the vast range of skills, please let me know of any vacancies. Asking for myself and the rest of my team who are desperately trying to find an out before the jobs takes us out.
I feel so bad for the children at the heart of the mess as they are the ones who will suffer. Unfortunately, you will be getting yet another caseworker….