We blogged about the Integrated Children’s System last month. Now, the head of prevention and safeguarding for learning and children’s services at Kingston-upon-Thames (no, I didn’t just make that up) has been singing its praises:
“We are not asking staff to be IT bods, we are asking them to learn to use a tool to enhance practice. Very skilled workers capture data in a distinct way. It should not be seen as a distraction,” he said.
“Any distraction caused will be short-lived. If staff are still stuck at their desks because they are not adapting, they are probably doing less harm there than in the field, because that is not a good-quality social worker.”
Which begs the question of why they employed social workers who can do harm in the first place.
Just for a bit of context, Kingston has a child population of 33,000 and its Joint Area Review (pdf) describes it as the second least deprived borough in London:
The borough is socio-economically advantaged, with very low unemployment and the eligibility for free school meals is well below average. The population is relatively healthy, well educated and affluent
The ARCH Blog 