ADCS president accuses universities of turning out ‘crap social workers’... Shocked academics and social workers call comments 'very disappointing'
Leading children’s director Alan Wood has launched a shock attack on social work educators, accusing prominent universities of turning out “crap social workers”.
In an interview with the Guardian about outsourcing child protection, the president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), told the newspaper he took issue with “all these academics turning out crap social workers writing to the Guardian”.
Wood was referring to a letter, published in May and signed by around 40 leading academics, that raised concerns about the government’s consultation on outsourcing children’s services functions. The academics represented institutions including King’s College, London, Edinburgh University, Nottingham University and the University of East Anglia.
Today, academics and social workers expressed their surprise and dismay over the Hackney boss and ADCS president’s verdict on the state of social work education.
Professor Ray Jones, who co-ordinated the letter, said: “It is really unfortunate that we have comments made dismissing the competence and expertise of social work academics who have significant experience of working in child protection services.
“As the co-ordinator of the letter, which raised our concerns about government intentions for children’s services, I am a social worker who has undertaken and managed frontline child protection and spent 14 years as a director of social services.”
He continued: “I currently oversee child protection improvements for two days every week in three different areas of England. In all these areas, the directors of children’s services comment on the high quality of their recently qualified social workers and recognise them as the stars of the future. It is a shame that this perception is not shared in Hackney.”
Full story courtesy of Community Care
