TV: Protecting Our Children

Grace Blackman

Nothing about the documentary series Protecting Our Children is easy. The BBC three-parter, following Bristol social workers on the front line of child protection, took several painstaking years to research and film. With reality television being pumped out as cheaply and quickly as possible and cuts being made all over the board – recently, the Beeb stalled on its landmark Child Of Our Time series – it’s remarkable this programme was even commissioned.

In the first episode, newly qualified social worker Susanne is presented with Mike and Tiffany, a couple living in chaotic circumstances with three-year-old Toby, who has learning difficulties and unexplained bruises. Meanwhile, Shaun and Marva receive visits from a social worker who is to help decide if they can keep Marva’s unborn baby – her fourth. In the final film, Louise, a recovering addict, needs to prove her ability to parent if she is going to get her daughter Mercedes back, while a child is taken into care from a home with a registered sex offender.

The series highlights the moral complexities social workers face in protecting vulnerable children while trying to equip parents with the skills needed to care for their offspring. Mike reveals his distrust of social services stems from his own dysfunctional upbringing, a recurring theme in the series, while the social workers sometimes find it hard to not get emotional as difficult decisions are made. There are no simple or happy solutions. It’s hard to watch as Marva sobers up, ditches her volatile partner and appears to make every effort for her child, only to slip up later. It’s at least heartening to see the progress Toby makes when he’s taken into care, and the extent to which social workers do try and keep the families together.

There’s obviously a lot more going on behind the scenes than we’re ever shown. The film-making process must have been an ethical quagmire in itself, and considering anyone from family court judges to the parents could have withdrawn their consent at any point, it’s surprising only one full film was scrapped. There are undoubtedly good reasons why Mike and Tiffany keep their child for so long but no chances are taken with Marva’s baby and young Mercedes. The shift to different teams each episode means there’s no point of comparison, which might have enhanced understanding of the issues. Despite this, Protecting Our Children remains a fascinating insight into an often criticised but essential profession. It’s a shame there aren’t more TV documentaries like it.

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