A judge’s view on how family courts treat social workers
A judge and social worker respond to recent concerns about how professionals are treated in court
By HH Judge Lynn Roberts and Helen Bonnick
We were saddened by a recent piece in Community Care, which talked particularly about the status and treatment of social workers in the family courts.
The piece’s author, Sophie Ayers, made a number [...]
Record demand for care applications in July, figures show
The chief executive of Cafcass has said he will monitor to see if teams are at "tipping point"
The number of care applications reached a record high in July, with a total 1,305 applications made to Cafcass, new statistics have shown.
This was a 16% rise on the same month last year and the first time demand has [...]
National Autistic Society closes residential home following critical inspection
After CQC rates Mendip House inadequate, NAS takes decision to close the service
The National Autistic Society has apologised after the Care Quality Commission rated one of its residential homes as inadequate.
The CQC found Mendip House in Highbridge, Somerset was inadequate for being safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led.
Debbie Ivanova, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social [...]
Joint inspections will focus on domestic violence
The next set of Joint Targeted Area Inspections will focus on how agencies are responding to issues surrounding domestic abuse.
Many of the 320,000 children in need across England are living in families where domestic violence is a key problem. From September, the series of six joint targeted area inspections (JTAI) will be carried out by [...]
Surge in care applications a “major issue” for Cafcass
Cafcass chief executive warns of pressures on organisation given 14% rise in care applications during a year
The surge in the number of care applications during 2015-2016 has become a “major issue” for Cafcass, its chief executive has warned.
Cafcass received 12,741 care applications during 2015-2016, a 14.2 per cent rise from the same period during the [...]
Hotdesking can add to social workers stress, study finds
Researchers find lack of desks, noisy open plan offices, ineffective IT systems and a lack of parking are compounding an already stressful job
Hotdesking and poorly designed workplace environments can contribute to the stress on child and family social workers, according to a new study.
Researchers at the Centre for Research on Children and Families found the [...]
