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Murder inquiry launched after social worker and sister found dead following birthday party in London park   Police have launched a murder investigation after two sisters were found dead following the older sister’s birthday party in a London park. Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, were discovered on Sunday lunchtime at Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north-west London. Bibaa was a senior social worker who worked for the children’s services department within Buckinghamshire Council. She leaves behind a child. Her younger sister, Nicole,  was a Westminster University graduate ..read more

Social worker Karen Kersey-Smith has been jailed for stealing £90,000 from her vulnerable clients   A social worker who stole over £90,000 from three of her elderly vulnerable clients has been jailed. Karen Kersey-Smith, aged 47 and from Wrexham, had claimed in her defence that the money she had taken from her victims was given to charity. Instead, financial checks showed that she had lavished her stolen money on family holidays- including expensive trips for five people to Gran Canaria and Florida. After telling her manager that stealing over £90,000 from two women aged 92 and 88, and a ..read more

Government to start testing social workers for coronavirus   The Department of Health and Social Care has published new guidance which sets out part of their 5-pillar strategy for coronavirus testing. The latest guidance details how they are testing people who have coronavirus-like symptoms to see if they currently have the virus. Their aim is that anyone who needs such a test will be able to have one, but they accept that such a goal will take time to achieve. So, while they are building up their testing capacity at pace, they are offering testing to different groups in a phased approach ..read more

If you can’t show compassion for someone in hospital, maybe you shouldn’t be a social worker   A disclaimer before I begin: I’m a social worker and a member of the Labour party, which I first joined in 2005. I grew up dirt poor on a council estate in a single parent household and lived in home conditions that are worse than ones I’ve seen children removed from for neglect. My family were all coal miners and I was the first person in the family to go to university. I have never voted Conservative and see firsthand the impact that a decade of austerity policies have had on the people I go to wor ..read more

First social worker in UK dies after being infected with Coronavirus A social worker from London has died after being infected with coronavirus. They are the first reported social worker in the United Kingdom to have lost their life during the current pandemic. In a Tweet released yesterday by Peter John, the leader of Southwark Council, it was revealed that two council employees had lost their lives after contracting Coronavirus and developing Covid 19. In his Tweet, John said: “So sad to learn that we have now lost two @lb_southwark employees to #Covid19 – one of our dedicated street cleanin ..read more

Five steps social workers should take to prevent the spread of Coronavirus Covid 19 The news has been gradually getting worse over the past month and yesterday the World Health Organisation officially declared that the worlds is now in the grip of a Coronavirus pandemic. With at least 4,600 people having now died from Covid 19 and more than 126,000 infected globally (the true figures of infected could be as much as ten times higher), the pressure is mounting on our professional leaders to take decisive action in protecting both our clients and workers from this deadly virus. But sadly, as of t ..read more

The (alternative) Social Worker of the Year Awards 2019   The Social Worker of The Year Awards 2019 are being held in England tonight and showcase just what a vibrant, caring and committed bunch of people make up our workforce. In homage to our wonderfully diverse profession, here’s my own take on some people who missed out on those official awards but that I think deserve recognition as well…   Most messages built up on voicemail The opening award goes to Toni from Sutton Coldfield. Toni has not checked her voicemail since July 2016 and has 1,647 messages to listen to.   Hours of the lectur ..read more

The only people to blame for the murders of Blake and Tristan are their ‘parents’, not social workers Over the past week you’ll very likely have heard the tragic news about Blake and Tristan Barrass, either on this website or in mainstream media outlets that have run with the story as headline news. One child murdered by their mother choking the life out of them with the cord of her dressing gown. Another child strangled to death by the father who he was conditioned to believe was his uncle. A surviving child who had to endure repeated efforts to drown them in the bath before their mother gave ..read more

Social workers were involved with Barrass family at the time Blake and Tristan were murdered Children’s services in Sheffield were involved with the Barrass family at the time of the murders of the two oldest children, and the attempted murder of four others, by incestuous parents Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin. The detail of children’s services involvement with the six children was revealed during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, where Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin were both handed down life sentences by Mr Justice Goss; to serve a minimum of 35 years apiece for the ..read more