Social Care News
Social workers in Haringey are working with police officers and NHS child protection workers on all initial screening of cases.
The move is one of many by councils to change the way social work teams are structured in the light of increasing referrals to children's services.
The child protection specialists from each sector will be based in the same building and will look at all cases together when they come in.
Director of Children's Services at the Council, Peter Lewis, called the move "ground-breaking" and added that "uniquely" the council had also managed to get each team's IT system installed in the same room.
"We now have a comprehensive suite of systems which provide vital information to help us safeguard vulnerable children," he said.
"Good communication between partner agencies is so important and we have been working hard to improve this. We already work closely together, and this seemed the natural step forward. "By creating a joint team, physical and structural barriers are broken and all agencies can truly work together to protect our most vulnerable children," Lewis said.
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Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow has been appointed as the minister for care services. He said he was "delighted" to have an opportunity to shape social care policy and had already met with the Department of Health's director general of social care, David Behan, "to start the ball rolling".
He added that his top priority would be building a sustainable funding system for long-term care. He said: "Coalition government offers probably the best chance in a generation to start fixing the system so it serves the interests of people who need care and support." Burstow, formerly the Liberal Democrats' chief whip, has a long record of interest in issues including adult protection, dementia and social care funding. He has previously been a member of the all-party parliamentary group on dementia and the health select committee and has held the post of Lib Dem shadow health secretary.
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Can a coalition government make Britain Great again?
"It's a very tough task, as immediate solutions are required to secure our fiscal stability, financial status and to stimulate economic growth. Unemployment is at it highest level for over 15 years, our industrial engines are just about surviving due to our self imposed devaluing of sterling and the Labour governments years of public sector hubris has created a fractious giant that now needs to be aligned to create efficiencies. The Con-Lib alliance may be a contrarian one, but it is one that must be embraced for the 'mix to work'. A scrapping of the 2011 NI increase, with the addition of a new £10k tax free threshold for those less well paid, is a good thing for both jobs and the economy.
A 'pupil premium' plus funding for 'reduced class sizes' with the added mix of 'free schools' should deliver a good future for our children, education sector and subsequently the economy. However, the mooted increase in CGT and increased bank taxes, may harm investment within start-ups and SME's. Which would seriously slow any recovery, as these are the only real areas to offer a chance of accelerated growth, wealth generation and a serious increase in job creation. All are an obvious requirement when strong tax revenues are required to secure Britain's public sector and our future as an economic power.
The public sector faces austere times and this is not a bad thing, as much of the private sector has benefited from stricter controls. However, the government must not make rash efficiency decisions, as anything that has a detrimental effect on Britain's frontline workers will add to social breakdown, increase the burden on society and eventually costs the tax payer many times more to correct than was ever initially counted as an blanket saving. The right people in the right jobs, is the only true efficiency they need, and for that they require professional recruitment assistance, not a glossy 'Top four' accountancy report.
Conclusion: The only way out of this economic black hole is to prime for growth, cut tax, incentivise wealth generators and prepare well for austere times. It looks much better than before, but it's still very fragile."
Dean Kelly, Synarbor CEO
Jes Ladva comments - Synarbor Business Development Director
"The hiatus is over and it's now time to face the realities of tackling the deficit. Inaction is not an option but the dilemma that continues to face the Social Care Workforce whether this is via Local Authorities, Third, Independent and Private sectors is that how can reductions be made when there is so much still to do?
The answer lies in something that we have been advocating for some time. Namely, to ensure the Social Care Workforce is optimised through ensuring the right person is in the right role. In so doing the organisation is enabled to consistently make correct decisions first time round.
In order to achieve this key questions need to be answered in terms of organistional self analysis include:
-Thorough analysis of spend mapped against priority areas.
-Quick consensus on priority areas. -Stakeholder engagement.
-Assessment in to the capacity and capability of the Social Care Workforce.
-Identification of optimum Workforce and skills required.
-Aligned Talent and Performance Management strategy.
-Competence based Recruitment and Retention.
-Early redundancy planning with early deployment of outplacement and retraining services.
And all of this will need to be centrally controlled and managed to ensure core objectives are not blown off-course.
The outsourcing debate will gather new intensity. Outsourcing should lead to lower costs and better quality but this requires effective commissioning. This is an area of concern given the numbers of examples of how procurement initiatives have saved money in certain areas only to reduce quality and subsequently create costs in other areas. Something that must be avoided this time round."
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"When they're knocking on the door, social workers don't know what the risks are to themselves as well as the children inside," she said. "In terms of health and safety, it's a very good idea.
"It would also be good in terms of assessing the situation. When you assess risk you have to do it as an objective activity, but when it's just one person it becomes subjective. If there are two people there, they could challenge each other's views and gain a much better understanding overall."
Mansuri added, however, that pressure on resources would prevent many departments taking up the idea. Colin Green, safeguarding spokesman for the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said although some cases would be easier to handle with multiple social workers, this was not the case for all. Paul Fallon, consultant and independent safeguarding board chair, said the idea was unrealistic given the increase in referrals and tough economic times.
"It would be just lovely if two people could go out, particularly for newly qualified workers," he said. "But given the increase in demand that started before the baby P case and then accelerated because of the government's reaction to it, it's just not that realistic."
He said departments should focus on the quality of supervision. Workers who felt supported were more confident in their work, more able to challenge parents, and good management could result in the same assurance as working in pairs.
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The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has highlighted the crucial role currently being played by temporary workers who have stepped up to the mark to keep essential services such as schools, hospitals and care homes working.
Recruitment agencies have also risen to the challenge by ensuring that suitably qualified and properly vetted supply teachers, care workers and other temporary staff are placed at very short notice to cope with the enforced absences.
Commenting on the effects the volcanic ash cloud is having on classrooms, John Dunn, Chair of REC Education, said: “Continuity of education is crucial. It is particularly important for students who are at a critical stage of their studies, GCSE students for instance.
“This is where specialised agencies are an invaluable asset as they are in a position to place supply teachers who are not only fully qualified and vetted but are also, whenever possible, subject specialists. This provides real added value compared to unqualified and generalist cover supervisors who can only offer a generic teaching experience for children.”
An example of how recruiters have responded to the crisis and have helped to provide emergency cover is provided by Jes Ladva, the REC’s London regional director and a director of Synabor Education.
Following the snow related disruptions at the start of the year, contingency strategies were developed in order to cope with future scenarios.
In the current situation, schools started contacting the agency as early as last Saturday and Sunday which enabled a weekend resource team to be convened and ensured that a pool of properly vetted supply teachers and support staff was in place for the start of the new term.
Commenting on the role that agencies have played, Jes Ladva said:
“The resourcing challenge was amplified by the fact that the situation happened at the end of the Easter holiday. The early intervention efforts went some way to allaying the disruption and helped us manage the 150 per cent increase in requests for temporary staff on the Monday morning.
“Clients appreciate the extra effort and the safety net that the effective supply of temporary staff provides in challenging circumstances such as those of the last week.”
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