Poor use of Haringey Council's electronic recording system
played a part in the mismanagement of the Baby P case, according to
a review published today (1 December 2008).
The system did not have enough flexibility to support social
workers in managing their case load, the
Ofsted Joint Area Review said. It also said managers should
have devoted more energy to resolving this issue.
The report said, "The existing social care electronic recording
system operated by the council lacks sufficient flexibility and,
although this impedes effective practice by social workers, there
has been insufficient priority given to resolving this issue by
managers."
Every council is required to implement the
Integrated Children's System to help social workers manage
their case loads. Some authorities have struggled with the
implementation, however, and the system has weathered complaints
about inflexibility and a lack of user-friendliness.
The IT system was one of many problems the report identified
with Haringey Council's children's services department. Director of
children's services Sharon Shoesmith was removed from her post
after the report's publication. Council leader George Meehan and
cabinet member for children and young people Liz Santry have also
resigned.
Baby P was a 17-month old boy who was found dead in his cot nine
months after first being placed on the child protection register in
December 2006. Three adults, including his mother and step-father,
were convicted of causing his death.