As I said when I discussed this idea before I think this type of scheme misses the point. It is not just a matter of giving
people more support and status. The problems with recruitment, and particularly
retention, in children’s social work are very deep seated.
People do not fail to stay in child protection social work
because of lack of status, advancement or money. Largely they leave because of
the unremitting pressure of trying to do a very difficult, and sometimes
dangerous, job that is made more treacherous by poor support, bureaucratic obstacles
and a continuing blame culture.
Munro has reported and her recommendations have been
endorsed. But I still see little evidence of widespread cultural change, either
in the higher echelons of the civil service and senior management or at the
front-line.
The first step, Mr. Gove, should be to make the working
environment less toxic. And don’t deceive yourself into thinking that a few
young people from Russell Group universities will somehow prove to be more resilient than
the run of the mill social work graduate. They won’t.
