Every family has its own Scrabble rules.
Who starts: what can be done with blank letters: How letters can be exchanged: player time limits: whether you can change some(rather than all) of your letters: the consequences when the word is challenged; how a game ends: and so on.
When you were first invited to play Scrabble and admitted not knowing the rules, someone would have said. “Don't worry, I'll show you how.”
Sadly, that's how many social services officers acquired their understanding of their department’s legal responsibilities. Public bodies do not generally invest much (if anything) in training their staff about the law.
Bureaucracy, is there for a game with its own in-house rules. And for every organisation, the rules are different, even if they conflict with the law or central government guidance.
Frequently, people seeking support will be told ‘our council doesn't provide that’ or ‘you can't complain about this in our authority or ‘our trust doesn't consider reports of that kind’ and so on and so on.
Often people who say these things., honestly believe that they're following the process. Why should they doubt it? It's how they've always played the game.''
This ode-ious goes only so far, however.
At least when someone objects in Scrabble, the rule book comes out.
With Social Services - sadly, the law books don't -bureaucracy is not a game played among equals.
Who starts: what can be done with blank letters: How letters can be exchanged: player time limits: whether you can change some(rather than all) of your letters: the consequences when the word is challenged; how a game ends: and so on.
When you were first invited to play Scrabble and admitted not knowing the rules, someone would have said. “Don't worry, I'll show you how.”
Sadly, that's how many social services officers acquired their understanding of their department’s legal responsibilities. Public bodies do not generally invest much (if anything) in training their staff about the law.
Bureaucracy, is there for a game with its own in-house rules. And for every organisation, the rules are different, even if they conflict with the law or central government guidance.
Frequently, people seeking support will be told ‘our council doesn't provide that’ or ‘you can't complain about this in our authority or ‘our trust doesn't consider reports of that kind’ and so on and so on.
Often people who say these things., honestly believe that they're following the process. Why should they doubt it? It's how they've always played the game.''
This ode-ious goes only so far, however.
At least when someone objects in Scrabble, the rule book comes out.
With Social Services - sadly, the law books don't -bureaucracy is not a game played among equals.