The judgment in Re W (A child): national and international implications for contemporary child and family social work

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in the British Journal of Social Work following peer review. The version of record Martyn Higgins; The Judgment in Re W (A child): National and International Implications for Contemporary Child and Family Social Work, The British Journal of Social Work, , bcy018, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcy018is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/advance-article/doi/10.1093/bjsw/bcy018/4962466 This paper argues that contemporary child and family social work in England and some other states in Europe needs an ethical ‘turn’. This paper considers the facts in the Re W judgment and identifies certain features in the case that can be understood as products resulting from a particular paradigm of social work in contemporary practice. National and international implications are considered and hopeful ways forward are proffered: epistemic humility, inner dialogue, and cultivating our humanity The key message of this paper is that Re W indicates that contemporary child and family social work is dominated by an ‘automatic’ thinking which tends not to ‘hear’ the voices of actual human beings and a refocusing on ethics work is needed to put humane practice back at the heart of the social work profession. Keywords: Re W, ethics work, child and family social work, social work