Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

News

Take more babies away from bad parents, says Barnardo's chief

659 replies

bubblebutt · 06/09/2009 21:51

Many more children need to be taken into care at birth to stop them being damaged beyond repair by inadequate parents, the chief executive of the children's charity Barnardo's has told the Observer

How you can you say that when they the parents don't know how they will turn out themselves till after the event

Martin Narey called for less effort to be directed at "fixing families that can't be fixed" and for social workers to be braver about removing children at risk .

what tosh some families can be fixed and yes some cant but come on that means all babies that are under the SS would be taken into care because he fears another baby P and that is so wrong on many levels. A lot of families out there are going to suffer because of this reporting.

After revelations about the neglect and dysfunctional background of two young brothers from Doncaster who viciously attacked an 11-year-old boy and his nine-year-old nephew, social workers have once again come under fire for failing to intervene at an early stage.

this is alleged neglect and abuse no one knows this except the kids and their parents SS have to do a report and have to get all their facts together BEFORE they can remove a child. This takes time not 2 minutes. Another reason mistakes are made as there isnt enough Social Workers.

The brothers, aged 11 and 10, had been known to social services and police for several years. Their mother had allegedly given them cannabis as toddlers and forced them to forage for food in bins, while their father was allegedly a violent alcoholic. Despite this, the pair had been taken into care just three weeks before the attacks. The case has led to Doncaster social services opening an inquiry, its seventh serious case review since 2004.

What do they expect the SS to do wave a magic wand and its all better it doesnt work that way.The 2 boys are damaged now and need help as much as the other boys do.

Calling for more children to be in care from the moment they are born, Narey, a former director general of the Prison Service and previously a permanent secretary at the Home Office, made clear he was not reacting to this case in particular, but to issues with Britain's child protection services that needed urgent attention to avoid failing many more troubled young people.

Yes he is and a lot of families are going to suffer because of it.

"If you can take a baby very young and get them quickly into a permanent adoptive home, then we know that is where we have success," he said. "That's a view that is seen as a heresy among social services, where the thinking is that if someone, a parent, has failed, they deserve another chance. My own view is that we just need to take more children into care if we really want to put the interests of the child first.

So some one struggling is going to leapt on and the child taken away all cos she isnt coping the way the SS want and some want you to go after there arses cleaning em when they are old enough to do themselves Oh there is SS like this out there or the one that comdemns you if you cant cook and give your kids microwave meals all the time or something out of a tin god forbid they do that,

"We can't keep trying to fix families that are completely broken. It sounds terrible, but I think we try too hard with birth parents. I have seen children sent back to homes that I certainly wouldn't have sent them back to. I have been extremely surprised at decisions taken. If we really cared about the interests of the child, we would take children away as babies and put them into permanent adoptive families, where we know they will have the best possible outcome."

If the family is beyond repair so be it but what if they have turned there life around and can get their kids back why take that chance away as some SS do just that. they seem to tar every bad parent with the same brush hence why the SS shouldnt be there after 3 years as it makes them jaded in what they see everyday.

He said he understood his views would be seen as "illiberal heresy": "I think if social workers were courageous and sought to intervene quickly, and were supported properly in that, we would see far fewer problems."

As above and also there would be a national out cry from parents that have done nowt wrong but asked for help to be told they are neglecting their child(ren) when they clearly need help to be a better parent. Not penalized this way.

While foster care was on paper a good option for older children who had to be taken into care, he said, a shortage of suitable placements meant that children were suffering from a lack of stability. "What troubles me is the number of children I meet who have had vast numbers of placements. Last week, I met a 15-year-old girl and her foster mum. It was her 46th placement. The woman said that whenever there was a row or disagreement, the girl went to pack her bags. She expected to be sent on.

there isnt enough foster parents in the world as they are told to see the foster side as a business and it so isnt its helping and nuturing and caring for a child that needs your help

"It is undoubtedly a good option when children have been taken into care to replicate the family in foster care placements, but I have spent the past four years meeting a lot of children in care and I can tell you that it is by no means anything out of the ordinary to meet a child whose foster placements run into double figures. There comes a point where we have to accept that it is not working."

As above

Philippa Stroud of the thinktank Centre for Social Justice reacted cautiously to Narey's comments. "If the model is to move children very quickly to adoption, not necessarily from birth but certainly under a year, then that is something we would support," she said. "We need far more early intervention to try to stop this disintegration of the family we are seeing, but we would like to see more working with these families. What we recommend is the model of the mother and baby going into care, filling that hole and giving the whole family a chance. "With child protection, all the legislation is actually in place: it's the implementation that is the issue."

So if this is the case why do we see baby P stories all the time. I feel that the child protection and SS should be overhauled and the government needs to bring in more and they shouldnt be allowed anymore than 3 years in that field and then moved on if they wish to return they have to wait 3 years to do so. Also the work load of a SS shouldnt be anymore than 5 families and this is for full time workers not the part time.

The numbers of children taken into care rose slightly following the death of Baby P, the 17-month-old boy later named as Peter Connelly, who died in London in 2007 of injuries inflicted by his mother and her boyfriend, despite being seen repeatedly by doctors and social workers. But Narey says it was only a temporary increase.

How many of these babies, children whom parents hadnt done anything wrong really to their children and they where taken because of the mistakes of another SS office hmmmm that worries me more.

"As soon as these cases recede from the memory, everyone will get reluctant to move these children all over again. Only 4% of children adopted from care in England are under the age of one and the figure is even smaller in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I for one hope it doesnt recede from memory as we need to be reminded of baby P and the others out there that their own parents didnt give a stuff about them. We need to address these mistakes and take stock and agree we where wrong. Not hidding behind we did nothing wrong and it wasnt our fault crap. If known abuse of any kind you amass your info and remove the kids. Not this wishy washy oh we didnt see this or that or she wouldnt let us in crap either. Also if on the "at risk registrar" they should visit more than once a week or what is the point of being on the registrar in the first place. Also no written warnings either. They should just turn up on the door. Again this would mean a full over haul of the SS departments all over the world.

"Less than 5% of the children taken into care in England last year were aged under a year old. Some 3,500 children were adopted in Britain from care, at an average age of four."

This is to do with the birth parents wanting their children back and fighting the SS over it and it takes on average a year to go to court with all the evidence they have against the other to proceed and sometimes this can be stopped if the paperwork isnt done right. Also the parents themselves could have turned their lives round and can show they have so this again hinder any proceedings. Also the SS could be dragging their heels too as one SS could be busy on other cases so it is again delayed. Not good for the child is it.

I copied and pasted this as its the article of said subject and it has angered me the silly man he is. I have added my own bits to it and wondered what you all thought.

"here itthe piece"

OP posts:
nighbynight · 30/09/2009 21:39

nina, you do come across as scarily self-assured, considering the power that you have over other people's children.

Unfortunately, there are a number of social workers who seem to be carried away with their own power, and they can bully parents into giving up their children.
I have talked about our own experience last year before, when a hospital social worker started to suggest that my son needed psychiatric care, and as I later discovered, had a place ready for him on a psychiatric ward.
You can argue until you are blue in the face that this would have cost the system more than leaving him at home, so it wouldnt be done without good cause - the fact is, that it was done. Fortunately, I had a good lawyer, and was able to get backup as well from another sw later.
BUT the case got as far as a meeting where everything was set up for me to sign my son away - and the meaning of this innocent-looking document wasnt explained to me by the sw. Only my lawyer later told me what I had escaped signing by a hairsbreadth.

I am very grateful that John Hemming and others are prepared to stand up and talk about abuses of the system. We all know that there are good sws - but we need to know about the bad cases, and not just hear your argument that all is lovely in the garden.

staggerlee · 30/09/2009 21:40

Its a shame a debate about such complex issues has become so polarised.

I happen to think both nina and john hemmings have very vaild opinions and views albeit from different perspectives.Calling for posters to be 'ignored' or'investigated' adds nothing to the debate in my opinion.

I wonder where I fit into this debate as a social worker whose child has been subject to a Section 47 investigation due to an incident of domestic violence and local Child Protection policies? Despite having serious concerns about Child Protection policy developments I think that generally social services do try and support families in very difficult circumstances (that are getting worse due to the shifting sands of public perception and politically driven policy developments).

We generally have a hostile and biased media when it comes to the public sector with very little coverage of the positive differences that we make to peoples lives. I didn't come into the profession for the power (and certainly not the glory) but because I genuinely wanted to help people reach their potential.

dittany · 30/09/2009 22:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

staggerlee · 30/09/2009 22:44

I thought I made it clear that I don't see the value in either position dittany.

john hemming seems more than capable of defending himself and indeed has. He doesn't limit his opinions to this talkboard either and to his credit seems fairly transparent in his views.In this case then I think the 'threats' (as you perceive them) don't really have much teeth.

I think nana has some valid and interesting insights that don't deserve to be ignored on the basis of her (in my opinion) unwise comments towards john hemming.

As you are expressing an interest in my thoughts dittany, in my opinion you should drop your habit of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

nighbynight · 30/09/2009 23:13

Most people are not talking about ignoring nina, but they are entitled (imo) to draw conclusions about the validity of his/her position based on an apparent desire to discredit john hemming by vague, sweeping statements that he doesn't know what he is talking about, and to gag jh with a fairly pathetic threat to report him to his boss.

From out here, it looks like a social worker telling us that we cant possibly understand their work, that if we did, we would agree with everything they say, but as we dont, we should just shut up and disappear with our little complaints.
That may not be what nina intends to say, but it is what comes across.

dittany · 30/09/2009 23:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

atlantis · 30/09/2009 23:53

Is there a reason posts are dissapearing from this thread ?

cory · 30/09/2009 23:57

agree with nightbynight; once again, nina is not doing her profession any favours

I am very glad that my RL experiences of social workers have been different and that I do not have to base my opinion of the profession on her posts

rachyh85 · 01/10/2009 00:02

admittedly i did skim the news report, but as a teacher, i know all too much about children in care and with ss living in homes that you wouldn't send a dog to, (ive also seen a few foster carers that couldnt give a sh*t about the emotional needs of the children in their care but...) how can a child be taken away 'early' from assumed destructive parents? (give them a chance to make things work, whilst ensuring the child is safe?) parenting is hard, and i think that early intervention with the parents should still be a priority rather than
if the above quote is the case, what about children in homes where they are clean, fed and loved but are given no boundaries for behaviour, or support with education, should those children be taken away too, and placed with non-birth but stimulating parent, for the 'best possible outcome'? i think not.

NanaNina · 01/10/2009 10:10

Staggerlee - thanks for your support - could certainly do with some on this thread. Yes I think it's a shame the debate is getting polarised but I have to take some responsibility for this as it seems to be my comments that some people are getting angry about. I think I must come across in type rather differently from how I do in RL!

Dittany - would you like to evidence your assertion that I have been "personally abusive" on this thread please and that I am making "person attacks." I do not consider that I have made "threats" to John Hemming. I have simply advised him of action that I (and 8 other social workers) have decided to take. That is not a threat. We could have just gone ahead and done it but we decided to advise him beforehand and incidentally the letter that we send will be signed by 9 participants, with our own names of course and details for contactt, so we will not be hiding behind anonymity.

Strange how I am being accused of wanting to close down debate and then you are suggesting I am ignored........pots and kettles come to mind.

I have no problem with anyone expressing their views but when a person in public life makes such inaccurate statements and gets things so muddled and distorted, I think it is a real concern. Were he just posting his opinion that wouldbe fine but he is in fact (like others on here) posting very inaccurate information and making statements about social work activity and the courts that he simply cannot evidence. When challenged to provide evidence for his allegations he does not respond and it is clear that this is because he does not have the evidence.

Blueshoes and NighbyNigh - sorry I am coming across as "scarily self assured" and it's not meant to be like that but I have to take on board that that is how I am coming across. Phew.........must be something to do with me in print.

The idea that i think there are no problems with social work services is very very far from the truth and of course I have come across poor practice and social workers who I would not have wanted anywhere near my family. I think I have actually said this before in threads. I have spent many years challenging poor practice and as a sw manager for many years I have been in a position to influence change in poorpractice.

The system especially in child protection is far from ideal and I can't believe there is a sw in the country who would not agree with this. I do believe of course that mistakes are made which affect children and families and leave people feeling aggrieved - I have seen it myself all too often. I think what has made me frustrated on this thread is people making allegations and assertions about sws that are simply inaccurate and which cannot be evidenced. The other thing of course is that on these threads we only hear one side of the story and it always occurs to me that there is another side to someone's account. Now please don't anyone start saying I am accusing people of telling lies (I know how people seem to jump to conlusions) I am simply simply that there are 2 sides to a story and on here we only here 1 side. What happens then is that this "fuels" up someone else who has had a bad experience and the thing takes off into slagging off sws, which I don't think is fair. It's the same in the media - we only hear 1 side as SSDs are bound by confidentiality and so have to remain silent.

I can understand why people get angry at cases where children are harmed and even killed in their own homes, but the sad truth is that whilever there are people out there who are capable of this sort of thing, then no sw or procedures or anything else are going to save these children. After such an awful incident, there is talk of "lessons to be learned" but it doesn't matter what procedures are put in place it will never eliminate risk altogether.

Have just noticed an old thread Blueshoes where you are quite complimentary about my points but are annoyed because I come across as neverbeing "wrong" - I can only say that is something to do with the written word on these posts. Of course I can be wrong - and I am always more than willing to admit if I have got soemthing wrong. I have said this on another thread recently. I don't seem able to get my point across without coming over as "all knowing" (or somesuch) and that is not a good thing at all.

John Hemming (and his supporters) I am not trying to stop you posting at all. I think I have given my reasons for thinking you irresponsisble and so will say no more on this issue.

NanaNina · 01/10/2009 14:17

Dittany - I am awaiting your evidence for the serious allegation that you have made against me i.e. that I "resort to personal abuse" if someone disagrees with me. Please quote my exact comment that gives you the right to make this allegation. No social worker would ever be able to make such a comment without being able to provide the evidence for it.

Someone has said that I make "vague sweeping statements" about John Hemmings's posts. This is not the case. In the company of 3 colleagues this morning we have gone through every post of his on this thread and can produce evidence that he is posting grossly inaccurate information about SSDs and the courts and in this way is seriously misleading people which we consider to be a cause for concern.

dittany · 01/10/2009 14:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dilemma456 · 01/10/2009 15:07

Message withdrawn

johnhemming · 01/10/2009 15:50

I am not worried about them writing a letter about me. I am more worried that they think this more important than their caseload.

Kathyis12feethighandbites · 01/10/2009 15:52

Well to be fair they might work part-time and be doing it in their own time.

dittany · 01/10/2009 16:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NanaNina · 01/10/2009 20:01

Dittany - you still haven't evidenced your allegation about me, and I strongly suspect that you are unable to do so. You mention removal of posts - I have asked how these get removed, by who and on what basis but no one has explained. Please don't worry about my behaviour towards the families with whom I work - I have never done any of the things you suggest I might do. On the contrary I treat all service users with respect and am honest and open in my dealings with them.

No one need be concerned that either myself or any of my colleagues are using MN in work time. The colleagues to whom I refer like myself are all independent social workers and are self employed so we organise our own time and don't in any event have caseloads. So fear not John Hemmings we are not prioritising this matter over caseloads. Social workers who are employed by a local authority would not in any event be able to complain about an MP as this could result in disciplinary action. I don't have a line manager as I am self employed so it wouldn't be possible to write to one I'm afraid.

Dilemma 456 - I take your point but it isn't really feasible to point out all of JH's inaccurate comments on here as it would take too long and the issues are complex. It is interesting to note that the only people who have taken issue with him about his posts have been social workers. At the risk of all sorts of insults being heaped upon me dare I say that unless you are a sw you would not realise that he is giving misleading information and distorting matters. I shall probably be accused of saying only sws can post on here etc but it is not what I mean. If a doctor or solicitor or teacher were posting inaccurate information I would not know as I am not part of any of those professions. This is my point really - I think for an MP to be doing this when he is in public life and in a position to influence people is very worrying.

Having said that I will try to give one example. JH recently made a comment about "the probabilities of someone becoming an abuser are contained in the crystal ball of S.31 of the Children Act 1989 in terms of risk of significant harm" (not his exact words but I don't know how to paste text) Wah wah did take him up on this and say that what he had said did not make sense, and she or he was quite right, it doesn't make any sense at all. What he calls the "crystal ball of "S.31 of the Children Act 89" is a comprehensive piece of government legisltation that is in force and which underpins all childrens services social work. Government make the law and JH is an MP so how on earth can he equate legislation with a "crystal ball" effect. Quite apart from this his comment makes no sense as S.31 is related to Care and Supervision Orders and is absolutely nothing to do with whether people who have been abused go on to become abusers. The words "risk of significant harm" is related to a child and the test in court is to decide whether in fact a child is at risk of significant harm when the case is presented to the court. Those words have nothing to do with any experiences a parent may have had in relation to their own upbringing.

A lot of JHs comments don't make any sense at all in our view - they are random and not quoted in any sort of context. He is adamant that independent social workers are known to local authorities and therefore they aren't independent. This is totally untrue. Independent social workers in court cases are appointed by the court and there has to be agreement between all parties for a specific sw to be appointed. I work mainly in the courts and have been working independently for 7 years and have done well over 150 cases. There has not been a single occasion when I have been known to the la concerned in the case. This is just another example of JH getting his facts wrong.

I could go on but this post is already very lengthy.

And incidentally Dilemma and with respect I think what I choose to do with my time is my business.

Interestingly I have noticed on this thread that the very few sws and a sw from a res unit who made very good points have long since disappeared from the thread and I can see why. There appear to be a lot of people on here who want to think the worst of sws and I just think that is sad. The vast majority of sws do a very good job that is very very stressful within very limited resources. But what the heck many of the posters on here are not going to believe that and have a great deal invested in thinking the worst of sws.

dittany · 01/10/2009 20:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

staggerlee · 01/10/2009 20:14

I think in the main 'social workers' (as if we are one homogenous group!!)can and do take criticisms and challenges to their profession

I wrote a very lengthy complaint letter to the child protection team who undertook a Section 47 investigation on my child for what I considered to be very dubious local policy. The result was a review of their policies and proceedures in relation to domestic violence.

I could also distinguish between the policy and the social worker who had to undertake the investigation.

To say in blanket terms that social workers think they are 'all knowing', 'twist the truth', are 'manipulative' etc etc is almost as nonsensical and insulting as saying 'all feminists are hairy legged man haters'

dittany · 01/10/2009 20:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

EldonAve · 01/10/2009 20:19

NanaNina - are you saying that in 150 cases over 7 years have always been to a different LA?

atlantis · 01/10/2009 20:20

Until social workers stand up and speak out against the wrong doing they see, like the whistleblowers of the past, they are one big group, disenfranchised from individualism by their corporate actions and their inactions in holding the system to account.

staggerlee · 01/10/2009 20:40

I'm a social worker posting on this thread dittany, have I 'behaved badly'? Because if I did I wasn't aware of it.

Atlantis I agree with your last comment to an extent. There can be a lot of tension in my experience between the policy makers and the practitioners.We are also required to work within legislation that we may disagree with. We don't have much control over that.

Social work exists within a much larger system some of which we can influence and some which is driven politically. Its a very hard job as you always have to balance rights and risks, inevitably sometimes we get it very wrong. More often I go home and feel that I've made a positive difference. I wonder how people whose contribution to the debate is blanket criticism would perceive that-or maybe its my 'all knowing' nature getting the better of me

dilemma456 · 01/10/2009 21:05

Message withdrawn

johnhemming · 01/10/2009 22:30

Dilemma has dealt with the Crystal Ball point.

I am really unclear as to how disciplinary proceedings would be taken out against an LA social worker for complaining about an MP. There have been a small number who have complained about me. I am not aware of any being disciplined.

nananina accepts that the LA has to agree the appointment of an ISW. I would be surprised if she had worked for 150 different LAs as she appers to claim.

My point about expert evidence is that it has the tendency to allow the LA control over expert's income. This does not always have the effect of influencing the expert opinion, but sometimes it does.

However, there is merit in having an ISW although I would prefer that the LA had no ability to control the appointment.