'I don't know why I go back to it'
There's no such thing as a typical day in the office for a social worker.
When the phone rings it could be anything from a concerned aunt worried about her niece's latest rock band tattoo to the partner of an abusive parent.
Jean, whose name we've changed, is a social worker for Portsmouth City Council's child protection team. As part of the on-duty team she is the first point of call for anyone concerned about the welfare of a child.
'It's never dull,' she says. 'When the phone rings you have no idea what is going to be said.'
For a few weeks at a time a team of around six social workers, with three senior practitioners and a manager, are responsible for dealing with hundreds of contacts a week.
These can be police reports, hospital referrals, phone calls from teachers or doctors, or even neighbours worried about a child in their street.
At any time the team will have around 250 children on their radar as potentially needing protection.
For each phone call Jean answers or report that lands on her desk, she needs to find out as much as possible about what is going on.
Then, with the support of managers, it is her job to decide on a course of action.
Sometimes it is clear that it's not a case for the child protection team.
Jean can point people in the direction of other people that can help – counsellors, the housing service or even community support groups.
But sometimes she could be faced with an emergency situation.
'The first decision is whether we need to assess this further,' she says.
'That involves talking to as many people as possible to find out as much as possible, such as teachers or health care workers.
'A lot of it is done over the phone, but we also do a lot of home visits.
'When you stand on the doorstep you don't know what you are going to face.
'You know what your opening line will be, but you don't know what is going to come next.'
Jean adds: 'Sometimes you are greeted with aggression, sometimes with horrendous living conditions. But a lot of the time, surprisingly, the parents are relieved.
'Often people whose worst fear is the social coming round are relieved when it happens and they realise you're not there to take their children away.
'These are sometimes people in a real mess and they might not want to be in a mess anymore.'
At times Jean, who has been in the profession for more than 20 years, may be faced with an onslaught of high-priority cases at once.
She says: 'The thing you have to remind yourself of is that you are not alone.
'You are never making these decisions alone, there is a team around you.
'You have to take a step back and breathe and have thinking time.
'But when you are short-staffed it becomes harder to find that breathing space.'
After a few weeks of dealing with initial contacts, the team swaps with another set of staff so they can have a few weeks to deal with the case load they have built up.
Some cases are referred to other teams within the department – social workers whose job it is to help children with disabilities, or older children.
Others are dealt with by Jean and her colleagues.
Then it's back to the front line again.
'I don't know why I keep going back to it,' Jean says.
'I think it is because the rewards far outweigh the stresses.
'You are making sure that children are safe.
'The one thing I would like people to realise is that child protection can't deal with everything.
'There is so much community support out there, and so many other agencies providing services to help people cope with difficulties.
'Social workers have a very small remit – to keep children safe.'
DAY IN THE LIFE
8.30am: Arrive in office and check what's happened overnight. Find 38 police reports that need reading and assessing, the vast majority of which are about domestic abuse incidents.
One report from hospital staff that they have a baby with a broken bone that needs assessing because it is unclear how the injury occurred.
9.30am: Receive a phone call from a midwife that has concerns about the safety of an unborn child.
The mother is in labour and the midwife is not sure whether it is safe for the baby to go home with the mother once it is born.
Try to gather as much information as possible and decide what course of action to before sending a social worker to the hospital. This becomes high priority as the baby could be born within three hours.
10.30am: Receive a call from a grandmother concerned about their grandchild not getting on with their mum. After a few minutes of conversation it becomes clear that it is not a case for the child protection team, but still spend time offering support and pointing the grandmother in the direction of other agencies that might be able to help.
10.50am: Finish call with grandmother. Continue assessing police reports, looking up histories and making phone calls. Further interaction with the hospital regarding the baby's broken bone.
2pm: Receive word that the midwife delivering a baby they are concerned about has had a productive conversation with the mother. The baby is born and the mother has a safe place to go to.
2.50pm: Receive a call from a teacher concerned about a pupil who said an injury had been inflicted by their parent. This becomes priority as it is almost home time and it is unclear whether the child has a safe place to go to. Begin the process of gathering as much information as possible in order to decide on a course of action.
3.45pm: Receive a call from the port saying there are four child asylum seekers with no adults, no identification and who are unable to speak the language. Dispatch a social worker to the port to begin the process of working out who they are, how old they are and what the best course of action is.
4.30pm: Trying to resolve any outstanding issues from the day and write up all case notes of every phone call taken and decision made.
6.40pm: Leave for home.
Baby P case put workers in the spotlight
Baby P was subjected to months of horrific neglect and abuse before he died in August 2007.
Two men and his mother, living in Haringey, north London, were convicted of causing or allowing his death.
Baby P – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was on Haringey council's at-risk register and had been seen 60 times by social workers and health professionals in eight months.
The final doctor to see him missed that his spine had been broken.
Children's secretary Ed Balls ordered the removal of Sharon Shoesmith, the head of children's services at Haringey, after an independent report delivered a damning verdict on the case.
The 'repeated failures' of Haringey council identified in the report included failure to identify children and young people at risk of harm, and inconsistent management oversight.
Council leader George Meehan and cabinet member for children Liz Santry resigned in December and Sharon Shoesmith was fired.
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