A report is considering whether those in social care management jobs should have their roles split so staff can receive enough help for critical reflection on their cases.

According to Community Care, professor Eileen Munro said her second interim report is "considering whether the two roles of managerial oversight and professional supervision need to be separated so that both are done properly".

The report suggests that a division of the role would contribute to establishing a professional career pathway, which has been recommended by the Social Work Reform Board.

Munro said that Tower Hamlets' revised assessment forms could be a possible model for the rest of the country. Her report suggests that social work assessments of children who have been referred should be built on the original referral rather than starting an assessment from scratch.

"It is unrealistic to expect every social worker to have the time to search for research articles and the skill to appraise the research methods used in order to form a view of the reliability or validity of the findings," she added. "Similarly, a key element of professional development needs to include training in those methods of intervention that have evidence of some effectiveness. Currently, few social workers have detailed training in any evidenced method and this seriously limits their ability to help children stay safely with their birth family."