A social worker expresses concern over media coverage of the Sara Sharif tragedy

Another tragedy of the horrific abuse and killing of a child leads to extensive media coverage. It will probably last into next week when those who have been found guilty of little Sara Sharif's murder, or causing or allowing her to be killed, will be sentenced. 

It will likely get a further spate of media coverage when the case management review is published. It will then become another part of the folk memory of a child who was murdered but with media and public attention having faded and move on.  

And some of those who ought to know better are already making their media comments contributing to the blame and vilification of social workers who give their professional lives to helping and protecting children. In so doing they are setting unrealistic expectations dooming us to failure that a child must never die of abuse again. 

Take these two quotes from today's Sky News report: 

In a statement, Ms de Souza [the Children's Commissioner in England] said the case highlights "profound weaknesses in our child protection system" ... "We can have no more reviews, no more strategies, no more debate. When we say, 'never again', we have to mean it - let that be Sara's legacy," she said. 

And "Mr Bailey, a former National Police Chiefs' Council lead for child protection, blamed "not enough professional curiosity" among social workers.

Similar comments that lessons have to be learnt have been heard from the NSPCC. And the police in the media yesterday took the high ground for their part in the successful prosecution of the father, stepmother and father's brother, but without challenge that there had been no previous action or criminal prosecution of the father with regard to what is reported to have been his long-standing abuse of women and of children.  

So here we are again. A child is horrifically killed and the attention very quickly moves away from those who were the murderers and lands on social workers. The police deflect attention from themselves, and the politicians join the chorus of concern with the Prime Minister now saying: “Obviously, there’s going to be questions that need to be answered in relation to this case.”

I, amongst a few others, have had numerous contacts from the media asking to give interviews. So far in the past 24 hours I have done Sky News, Talk Radio (with the haranguing Jeremy Kyle), BBC Radio Five Live (along with Gill Archer from Unison), and ITV London. Channel Four News, and Talk Radio again, are on the list for later. 

What am I saying in these interviews?  

Unlike the Prime Minister, Children's Commissioner, and the police chief I am giving the context of the impact of 14 years of cuts in public services which have impacted the capacity of children's social services, community health services such as health visitors and community paediatricians, and community and neighbourhood policing. All now have less and little time to stick with and be alongside children and know what is happening within communities.  

It takes time and perseverance find out what is happening behind closed doors and to be build the trust of children to talk about their experiences. The pressure now is to close work down quickly to take on the escalating new work coming in. It is partly due to increasing poverty impacting how overwhelmed parents care for their children, with the most dramatic rise in referrals because of neglect, with the consequence that dangerous parents - often men - don't get the attention they need to be given. 

It may always have been so to some extent, but it is more likely to happen within the current context.  

And within this context there is the churn and change in a more centralised workforce making it more difficult to develop trusting relationships with children, and also to have the time to communicate with colleagues in other agencies who are also rapidly changing. We then do not have the same feel and knowledge about the history of families. 

With regard to Sara's family, for example, with all the benefit of hindsight and having worked on this story for weeks, the media is reporting 15 events of concern spread between agencies over 11 years. It is very doubtful the same social workers or managers, or local police officers were around for much of those 11 years.  

The other comment I have been making is do not rush to knee jerk judgements with very little and partial information about the decisions and actions of social workers, teachers, police officers and others. More will be known from the case review. 

But within that case review, although often missing, there ought to be consideration and comment on the context within which those who work to help and protect children have been hindered by the political priorities of the past 14 years.  

Ray Jones is emeritus professor of social work at Kingston University and St George’s University of London. He led Northern Ireland’s Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services