The Education Committee launched an inquiry into the children's social care workforce in July 2019. The inquiry planned to look into what is needed from social work and by social workers in 2019, their capacity to support and protect children and their families and work with other professionals who play a role in the care of children within the education and health systems, and how social work training has impacted on the social work workforce.
The Fostering Network welcomes the Education Select Committee’s inquiry into the children’s social care workforce in England. Children’s social workers are pivotal throughout the fostering journey from matching a child with their foster carer to dealing with issues around contact with birth family, delegated decision making, allegations, care and pathway planning and placement support.
We have submitted our own response to this inquiry focused on changing practice and the prevailing culture of the children's social care workforce. Our response therefore highlights issues relating to:
- the relationship between foster carers and children's social workers
- the workload put upon children's social workers and how this effects relationships for children in care
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the training of children's social workers.
