Gove says social workers need support to overcome media fear…

21st October 2011

Education Secretary Michael Gove says it is part of his role to ensure social workers are supported and empowered, and to raise the esteem in which the social work profession is held.

At present, he said social workers may be failing to intervene in the lives of troubled children because they fear intense criticism from the public and the media.

The media portrayal of social workers in children and families services, and especially child protection has received a great deal of criticism in recent years. Appearing at the National Children and Adult Services conference, Gove said “sometimes social workers fail to act when they should because they fear media and public criticism”.

Crucially, he also highlighted the importance of overcoming this fear and ensuring social workers always have the best outcomes for children at heart, saying that this could be achieved by raising the profile and perceptions of social work.  Gove said: “we should be more supportive of social workers who do intervene early and trust their judgement.”

Earlier this year, Liquid Personnel released findings from our Social Work Survey, which showed that social work is poorly represented according to 85% of social workers.  We identified a need for positivity in the media and greater support for the profession.