An East Ayrshire Council social worker has been sanctioned by the industry regulator for failing to ‘engage appropriately’ with a distressed child.
Laura MacKinnon took the child, who was said to have displayed distressed behaviour, off the kitchen floor and placed them on a couch in the living room – when they wanted to be left alone.
The incident took place during a home visit on or around October 10, 2023. The child at the centre of the case is known only as ‘AA’ for confidentiality reasons.
The regulator, The Scottish Social Services Council, (SSSC) claimed MacKinnon, on more than one occasion, said to the child: “You need to use your words,” or words to that effect.
MacKinnon, whose town of employment was Kilmarnock, also said: “You can’t do this, you have to tell me what’s going on,” or words to that effect.
MacKinnon also told the child: “If AA isn’t using their words, I am going to move closer,” or words to that effect.
She moved closer to ‘AA’ when the child failed to engage with her, before MacKinnon lifted the child off the kitchen floor and put them on a couch in the living room.
According to the SSSC, by her actions, MacKinnon had caused ‘distress’ to the child – and to her parent.
In their investigation report the SSSC said MacKinnon’s fitness to practise was “impaired” due to “misconduct.”
They said: “Social service workers are trusted to work with some of the most vulnerable people in society. They are expected to respect and, where appropriate, promote the views and wishes of people who use services.
“They should recognise and use responsibly the power and authority they have when working with people who use services.
“Following a distressed child who had attempted to withdraw to their safe space, asking the child to come out of their safe space, moving closer to the child as a consequence of failing to engage with you (MacKinnon), lifting the child off the floor and putting them on a couch when they wanted to be left alone, showed a lack of respect for the child’s views and wishes which escalated the situation and caused the child further emotional distress.”
The report goes on: “You (MacKinnon) decided to lift a child, who was not at risk of harm, against their wishes and bring them back into a discussion that they did not want to be a part of. Your actions were reckless and inappropriate and occurred during an initial meeting with this child.
“You (MacKinnon) had opportunities to end the intervention, due to the impact it was having on the child, but you chose not to.
“The child’s parent was distressed by the response their child had in their interactions with you. Your actions demonstrated a lack of awareness around the impact your behaviour was having on the child and their parent. Your actions had the potential to cause damage to all professional relationships, and a distrust of professionals generally, particularly in the context of the family’s background.”
Although the SSSC conceded MacKinnon had acted in good faith, she had made a “poor judgement” in this instance.
Prior to the incident MacKinnon had been employed in the sector for 10 years, between adult social care and social work, and this was the first time her fitness to practise was called into question.
MacKinnon, it was revealed, engaged “meaningfully” with the SSSC throughout the investigation and she provided a “detailed personal statement” for consideration.
And her behaviour was considered “an isolated incident” as it occurred on the same day.
However, the SSSC said MacKinnon’s actions could be seen as an ‘abuse of the trust and confidence’ placed in her by users of services, their families, her employer and the SSSC. And her actions ‘fell below’ the accepted professional standards.
In placing a series of conditions on MacKinnon’s continued registration the SSSC added: “A reasonable person, in possession of all the information would consider the reputation of the profession to be damaged and would expect the SSSC as the professional regulator to take the appropriate action to uphold the proper standards of conduct and behaviour in this case.
“There is a clear need to reaffirm the standards of professional conduct expected of social service workers in this case.”
East Ayrshire Council has been contacted for a response.