" every child matters" not in th afternoons it seems! figginr social serivces

[FluffyMummy123]

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also social services is so depend as to where you live-

I live in manchester and the threshold for a child to get a ss is so ridiculously high, no social workers want to work here and go to all of the surrounding burroughs as they are not so bad (well some of them are!)

"there are so many flaws and problems with social services as it is currently set up."

And that is why they get such negative press/responses. Knowing that there are good SW out there is meaningless when I and no-one else locally can access them! My experience is that people are fairly honest about who is good and who isn't. So for example I spoke randomly last wek to another parent- he mentioned one name as being 'useless' which was my exact experience (my complaint was indirectly about him) and one name as being excellent. Which was also my experience.

However, I have been asked to get involved in SW training (some specialist sessions for a masters course). If there's anything I could be adding that would be useful for future SW to know/explore please let me know.

I have to say that nationwide I can think of only one or two people who have had positive experiences with SS. Countless numbers who have found it very difficult to access basic support from them. There is something wrong or rotten in the system given those numbers.

My DH and I were talking the other night about the training of SWs. Nopwadays you can do it at 18 and we both thought that wasn't right. When I qualified that wasn't poss. as you had to have relevant vol or paid work experience prior to training. I am not usre how you can deal with some of the cases we've seen at the age of 21 with little life and very little work experience. Our trianing was v. rigoourous and thoughtful. Not sure all of it is around the country. i did a masters and we did have current and ex-service users do some training. i think just making student SWs think about how they approach clients and the impact their behaviour, language, action or inaction can have and your own experiences is good for them to hear and consider.
SWs sometimes do just assess and assess and assess with little action and that frustrates the pants off DH who is now working in the NHS and liaises with SSDs. And he was a SW. As i think Nooki said this very high threshold for accepting clients is a big problem and the wrong approach. Money should be put into preventative services and further training for SWs so that they can effectively and confidently intervene at an early stage and offer support and intervention early on successfully. DH is now a therapist and offers training and consultation to Sws as part of his role to help SWs manage more complex cases successfully and this works. It is simple yet apparently SSds don't see the value of this and further training. At times DH has recommended training courses to team managers for their staff but the response is that they are too busy to allow staff time off to do them, despite the fact that it would ultimately improve service delivery and postive outcome rates.The NHS has a culture of training and develpoment which i benefitted from whilst working in a joint mental health service. I have never worked in a prure SW team like child and fams. but think that this prob. isn't the case.
I am now entering itno the debate DH and I reg. have about how inefficent SSd are etc and how limiting the training is and what could bwe done to improve both. We accept and recognise that and it infuriates us both bewcause we are also highly educated, trained and qualified professionals and it is depressing to be part of a profession that is so widely derided and slagged off, when you know that you personally work your socks off, offer a good service etc.

I would alkso add that if you want a response inc. the director od social services ib any orrespondance because she or hew wil seriously rock the boat idf need be and get some action. sorry about typing. trying to cook a casserole, manage 4 kids , apply for a parttime job and do this!

Yes the 'excellent' person is senior. I will perhaps copy in my direct payments complaint to her.

The complaint by the way is that I was promised 2 days playscheme for ds1 over the holidays but was told my dps would be cut by 12 hours to cover it. The 2 days playscheme did not materialise- the provider did not have enough places (it has 6 a day) to be able to give the amount the children's services team had promised to every child. Every child has had their hours reduced from the amount the SS panel promised (that's fairly incompetent in my book). So after finding that I wasn't receiving the hours I had been promised I phoned and wrote to SS requesting that they confirm how many hours of direct payments I have this holiday. They haven't replied yet. How am I meant to employ people if I don't know how much money I will be receiving to pay them.

My dealing with social services are that everything is like this, Apply for a DFG and we have to do the chasing; it is held up at every stage, apply for dp's and they're awarded totally randomly with little apparent attention paid to need, have dp's taken off you, but you're not told when or by how much, query this and you don't get a reply. I don't have time to deal with this sort of crap, and nor do most people in our situation. I only ask that they do their job professionally tbh but they don't.

I am hoping that my training experiences will be positive! (I don't think me moaning on about how crap SS are will be much use!) It's team teaching so I have someone I can get quite a bit of help from and I'm going to observe how she runs sessions first. I use a methodology that looks at interactions in fine detail so the bits you mention could be worked in amongst the other more theoretical and research based stuff, and also the bits about autism. Behaviour and language is an important one.

icod I wonder what you expect SS to do in this case????

Setting SS on a parent is a big deal. Can you imagine if they knocked on your door and started interrogating you, cos some stranger had seen a glimpse of your parenting on a bad day, and assumed the worse. Scary.

There are truly awful things going on out there that SS should deal with. Like any govnt body they are underfunded and swearing at a child must come below a long long list of more serious encounters.

So we should all do nothing if we see a child being verbally and physically abused, because there are worse things happening out there?

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teachersaysso if this was just a one off incicdent the mother will be interviewed possibly hv and gp's interviewed and then nothing more will become of it. scary and intimadating yes, but not the end of the world. and if cod doesnt phone and its not a one off what if the mother goes a step too far one day?

at risk children need more people like cod who are willing to take a stand for them, imo, anyway.

Good luck, give 'em hell.

Don't leave it!!! It will be afternoon and they will have alunch break

Cod why didn't you phone the Police in the first place ?

'I am so and so JP I am witnessing the verbal and physical abuse of a child right now ' .

they would have blue ligts on and come to you direct . likely to be there when adult was there , get details , may takle action but anyway the details would be passed on to SS via them and Police Child Protection Unit. .

I really dont see what SS will do now . They may know of the family or assume who the famioly is but now yoou have no real evidence, except your word , what happened.

Should have dialled 999 .

But hindsight is a great gift , hope you do get somewher with SS , have found them very slow when use to dela with them on a professional basis .

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agree- why did you not phone the police straight away.

The thing with suspected abuse is that it is in the eye of the beholder.

I spoke to my midwife recently about a situation where dp was working in someones council house (fitting gas boiler)and he witnessed, children running aroun with shitty nappies, mothers pissed and swearing at them- he reported this to his boss and refused to work their again.
Whilst the midwife agreed it was appaling and totally not a suitable way to raise children, it is all about expectations and peoples perception. What is unacceptable to us- is normal to others. and whilst you would NEVER swear and grab a child and you find it abhorrant as do I, it was a snap shot of their lifes and maybe not reflective of their circumstances.

I know I am not explaining myself very well.

a silly example.......

letting your baby have her ears pierced? to me its abuse...................to others its normal practice

Not a great example I know but can you see what I mean?

calling a small child a bitch and a fucker is abuse by anyone's standards, surely

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calling a small child a fucker is verbal abude and thee should be no question about that

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Every 'little' thing like this should be reported (if you can get through - I'm speechless at the morning calls only thing). If its a one off bad parenting day - fair enough (well not really, but I can't change the world) If the mother does this on a regular basis and people are constantly reporting her then SS have a history to work on. Although I am most likely very naive.
I always remember a time I thought I was going to be reported to social services. DD1 threw a mahoosive tantrum in a supermarket. She was in danger of knocking a dislay on top of her self so I took her by the hand to calmly lead her away and was then just going to leave her to calm herself down. Unfortunately as I turned around holding her hand to walk away she threw herself to the floor again thus leaving me with a hanging child. I was horrified so let go of her hand leaving me with a child thudding to the floor. I was soooo upset at how it must have looked. I couldn't work out whether to comfort her/tell her off/ignore the tantrum still. I was nearly in tears. Luckily a lovely old dear came over to the rescue and put her hand on my shoulder. She basically told me to ignore the tutters and she thought I was doing the best under the circumstances and I was certainly not cruel. What I'm trying to say is it is usually fairly obvious what is regular abuse and what is circumstancial.
FWIW Cod - I think you have tried your best and hope you continue to badger SS.

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