GSCC
29-05-09
The General Social Care Council
Social Care was for many years unregulated but under the Care Standards Act 2000 a whole set of regulatory bodies were set up, starting with The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) to inspect services such as children’s homes, fostering services and older people services – services which had hitherto been inspected in-house by local authority inspection teams.
The NCSC was quickly replaced by the CSCI (Commission for Social Care Inspection – same people, different name) and in April 2009 the CSCI ceased to exist with Ofsted taking on the regulatory responsibilities in respect to child care services.
It is widely accepted that the demise of the CSCI (and its mother NCSC) is the end of an error, as distinct from an era. They were not distinguished by a long list (if indeed any) success as a regulator. Now the regulation, in child care falls to Ofsted – those nice people who thought Haringey Council fit for purpose whilst Baby Peter was already dead.
I believe there needs to be regulation and indeed it needs to be independently operated, preferably via the private as distinct from the public sector. Public sector folk cost too much – take a look at sick pay costs. Indicative we think of a combination of outrageously generous service conditions, incompetent leadership (i.e. politicians) and indifference (that aint my job mate).
There were and remain several other organisations set up under the Care Standards Act 2000 with the brief to regulate social workers, one such being the General Social Care Council (GSCC). Regrettably they too have a bit of a history of incompetence, a single, very scary but indicative example I set out below – this is the complete Care Standards Tribunal (CST) finding on an appeal against the nice folk at the GSCC. Believe me, they aint that nice and the CST seem to think so too.
This CST finding is published and sourced in full from the CST website. Please note the GSCC have never published anything (publicly) on the case matter. Exposure of other GSCC failings will follow. See the uploaded document attached.
Wilt
May 2009