A Practice Framework for Assessments at Tower Hamlets Children's Social Care: Building on the Munro Review

The Munro review of child protection explains in depth the contemporary challenges in delivering statutory child protection services. It notes that complexity, uncertainty and emotional challenges inherent in social work are contemporary issues not resolved through new national guidance or more bureaucratic procedures. Rather, practice needs reforming at the local level. Tragedies in practice have tended to usher in more and more bureaucratic responses alongside an unabated blame culture for practitioners. There is no doubt that practice reforms are needed to address this; however these are neither straightforward nor easily achieved. Busy and overloaded offices of child welfare, managers and workers wedded to pre-existing frameworks, and an ever anxious political system and public can unwittingly act against the development and reforming of social work practice. While challenges exist that need overcoming, this paper describes one such initiative, the new practice framework for assessments, developed and...