Writing is recognised as critical to effective professional practice and as an essential social work skill. It represents a significant aspect of professional social work practice, most obviously through written assessment, inter-agency communication and case recording. Many workers in all areas of social work feel apprehension at the prospect of writing a formal report. Recent reviews and inquiries have highlighted the need for clear reports, recording and written communication between professionals. But the writing skills of qualifying social service workers have been of concern to the regulatory bodies, Inquiries and Reviews, and to the Courts, for some time. Sheriff Foulis (Perth) launched a withering attack on social workers in 2012, accusing them of being incompetent and trying to do his job for him, and criticised the quality of reports being supplied to the Court. The same year, in the High Court, Lord Uist told a social worker that she had "taking leave of her senses" after reading her report. This manual, written to complement a training course, is now available to download. |