Call for halt to social work colleges’ feud

Ongoing row between rival bodies causing embarrassment for social work sector

Leading figures in the social care sector today called for an immediate end to the bitter feud that has led to the creation of two rival colleges of social work.

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has gone ahead with its threat to turn itself into a college in direct competition with the organisation being set up with government funding in the wake of the Baby Peter scandal.

In angry exchanges, BASW has accused the interim board of the “official” college of breach of faith in agreeing a partnership deal with Unison, the public services union. The board has declared itself “dismayed” by the association’s action.

The row will be seen as hugely embarrassing for social work, suggesting that the profession is unable to mount a united front even on a well-funded plan to enhance its credibility and public standing.

Moira Gibb, who chaired the social work task force that proposed the setting-up of a college, is leading calls for the feuding to stop. She said: “The best interests of the social work profession require a single, strong, independent college of social work.”

Allan Bowman, chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence, which has been overseeing the £5m development of the official College of Social Work, said: “Social workers need a strong, united voice to support them through the massive change in public services – not a potentially divisive and distracting public squabble.”

Penny Thompson, chief executive of the General Social Care Council, social work’s present regulatory body, said: “BASW’s announcement jeopardises the hard work that has gone into establishing the college. We would urge BASW and the college to re-establish talks to create a single college for social work for the sake of the social workers who for so long have needed a voice.”

Creation of a college to boost the image and professionalism of social work is one of the few concrete measures to have come out of the inquiries and reviews following the death of Peter Connelly in Haringey, north London, in 2007.

The row has exploded into the open after the official college announced it was opening its doors to prospective founder members who could sign up free of charge until its expected official launch in spring 2012. Several hundred are said to have done so within hours.

BASW, which has more than 13,000 members and walked out of negotiations on establishing a single college, has retaliated by announcing that it is changing its name to BASW – the College of Social Work and that it will set up a trade union arm in direct competition with Unison.

Hilton Dawson, BASW’s chief executive, said: “The development of a college that is run by the profession and independent of government funds is the only way to save social work.”

The association thinks it has a trump card in the dispute because, it has disclosed, it has set up a company registration in the name of the College of Social Work. In a letter to the rival organisation, BASW has said: “Given that you do not have a right to use the name … we must request that you cease to use this title forthwith.”

But in a statement, the interim board of the official college said it would “not be pushed off course by BASW’s behaviour” and expressed the hope that the association would resume discussions.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education, which is responsible for children’s social services, said: “For the college to be a success, it will need the support and good will of the whole profession. We hope that the college and BASW can resolve their differences and resume discussions on convergence.”