“Well supported social workers improve child outcomes” says Ofsted Report
2nd February 2012
Social workers whose senior managers support them in an “accessible” and “visible” way, are able to achieve better outcomes for the children they work with. This is the key finding of a recent report by Ofsted.
John Goldup, Ofsted’s deputy chief inspector, said social workers have “an incredibly difficult job, often in very stressful circumstances”, which emphasises the need for proper support.
The report, which is called ‘High expectations, high support and high challenge‘, was based on the cases of 38 children on child protection plans across 14 local authorities, and studied the support provided to frontline staff by their senior managers.
It found that when social workers were well-supported, the children were safer, healthier, happier, less anxious, and began to receive more effective support from their families. Strong support also meant that front-line staff could feel more confident about managing risks in their cases.
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