Let’s be honest. Risk is part of social work. It isn’t something we talk about once a year or tick off in a policy review; it’s always there, quietly shaping every visit, every conversation, even the instinctive pauses we feel as practitioners. If you’ve ever stood outside a front door and taken a breath or felt that quiet “What if?” on a complicated case, you know exactly what I mean.
That’s why stories like Jenny Morrison’s matter so much. They aren’t just for Social Work Week. They are why safety never slips to the bottom of our priorities. Jenny, and others like her, are why risk management stays at the heart of what we do. It isn’t a side note. It is our foundation.
This year, Social Work Week invites us to look at what keeps us strong as a profession. Organised by Social Work England with BASW, it coincides with World Social Work Day. The programme focuses on five vital areas:
- Data and insight
- Education and training
- Innovation
- Professional identity
- Safe and effective practice
Alongside that is the global IFSW theme: “Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society.” Harambee means “pulling together.” It recognises that we can’t face this work alone, we need each other, across teams, agencies, and communities, to build safer, kinder futures.
That’s exactly where Jenny’s story fits. Her life and legacy remind us that we need each other, not just to support others, but to look out for ourselves and our colleagues. Social Work Week gives us space to focus on these stories, recommit to safer practice, and reflect on what it truly means to pull together so no one carries risk alone.
Who Was Jenny Morrison?
Jenny was more than a social worker; she was a force of nature. She started as a secretary, but social work called to her heart. She began with playbuses for children, then supported adults with learning disabilities. After qualifying, she gave 21 years to Wandsworth Council, working in family care, child protection, and later mental health as an Approved Social Worker under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Colleagues remember her fierce empathy and unwavering professionalism. Long before “Making Safeguarding Personal” was a slogan, Jenny lived it, building trust, listening deeply, treating every person with genuine dignity. She was a grandmother of two and a much-loved part of the community, the kind of social worker who made people feel truly seen.
Her daughter Tanya said: “She lived for her job, and she died for her job and for all the people that she worked with.”
Her sister Sandra remembered: “She worked her whole life, morning, noon and night at this job.”
Those words capture the woman she was, utterly committed, deeply caring, irreplaceable.
A Day That Changed Everything
On 23 November 1998, Jenny went to visit a client, Anthony Joseph, at a mental health hostel in Balham. She went alone that day because of last-minute changes. There were serious gaps in care planning, risk assessment, and communication between agencies. During that visit, Jenny was fatally attacked.
A Legacy That Lives On
The independent inquiry that followed laid bare the failures: gaps in risk management, weak lone-working procedures, poor multi-agency information sharing. Jenny’s death was heartbreaking, but it became a turning point.
Her story helped drive real change: stricter lone-working protocols, better risk assessments, stronger data sharing, enhanced training in mental health and de-escalation, and renewed focus on supporting practitioners themselves.
These aren’t just words in a policy. They show up every day. When you complete a risk assessment before a visit, carry a personal alarm, work in pairs on a high-risk case, or receive vital background information before knocking on a door, you are walking in the path Jenny’s tragedy helped clear.
Honouring Progress, Recognising Reality
Things have improved since Jenny’s time, and that matters. But we all know the work isn’t finished. Serious incidents involving mental health and practitioner safety still happen. Reports from organisations like Hundred Families remind us that risks remain real and we must stay vigilant.
Every step forward makes a difference, every new policy, every training session, every open conversation about safety. Jenny’s legacy isn’t just history. It’s an ongoing call to keep improving, to look out for one another, and to hold fast to the belief that social work can be both compassionate and safe.
Your Call to Action
As Social Work Week gives us space to pause, take a quiet moment:
- How can you help create a safer, more supportive culture for yourself and your colleagues?
- What stories, like Jenny’s, remind you why this work matters so much?
- How will you champion innovation, safety, clear thinking, and hope in your everyday practice?
Jenny’s example, her empathy, her dedication, her quiet courage still lights the way. Let’s carry that light forward, together.
Further Reading and Resources
- Social Work England – Social Work Week 2026 programme
- BASW – World Social Work Month 2026
- Hundred Families archive (inquiry reports and practitioner safety resources)
- HSE guidance and new research on lone working
- Community Care – Less than zero
May we honour Jenny Morrison not only with remembrance, but with safer practice every single day.
Blog written by Maxine Marney.
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