Social Work Regulation independent review submission November 2025

What I Submitted to the Independent Review of Social Work Regulation

April 24, 2026•2 min read

On 19 November 2025, I submitted formal evidence to the Independent Review of Social Work Regulation, the Dame Annie Hudson review, a statutory independent review examining whether Social Work England is fit for purpose as a regulator.

The review asked four questions. I answered all four. My answer to each was the same: not at all.

What I Submitted to the Independent Review of Social Work Regulation

Is Social Work England protecting public safety?

The social workers in my son’s case approved a forced removal of Gabriel by armed police on 1 December 2023. Body-cam footage shows him screaming and shaking. Officers stated that neither Gabriel nor I had done anything wrong. Their reports continued to recommend no contact, despite Gabriel’s repeated disclosures, his clear wish to see his mother, my compliance with every 2019 Cafcass recommendation, and a consultant psychologist report affirming my fitness to parent.

My 40+ page standards complaint mapping specific breaches against SWE’s own published Professional Standards was submitted in early 2025. No investigation followed. SWE’s annual report shows 96% of complaints are rejected at triage.

Is Social Work England maintaining public confidence?

SWE’s own 2024 survey of social workers found only 40% view SWE as effective. The PSA documented a 23% complaint surge alongside a 96% triage rejection rate. The Children and Families Truth Commission drew on submissions from over 600 families, the pattern those families described was consistent and mirrors what happened in my son’s case.

Is Social Work England maintaining proper professional standards?

In my son’s case, the social workers accepted without question a false narrative about my mental fitness while refusing to engage with independent expert evidence that demolished it. They dismissed Gabriel’s repeated disclosures. They omitted critical exculpatory material I supplied. They misrepresented facts. They stood by while Gabriel was subjected to a violent, unnecessary forced removal. They ignored clear evidence of honour-based coercive control and DARVO tactics I explicitly raised.

These are documented in the proceedings, in the reports, and in the body-cam footage.

Is Social Work England delivering its Equalities Act responsibilities?

The social workers privileged the narrative of a senior male professional while dismissing twelve witness statements, independent expert psychological assessments, and my documented positive parenting. The honour-based coercive control I raised explicitly was ignored.

The data

96% of SWE complaints rejected at triage (SWE annual report). Only 40% of social workers view SWE as effective (SWE social worker survey, 2024). 23% complaint surge (PSA monitoring report, 2023/24). 600+ families reporting the same pattern (Children and Families Truth Commission, 2024). PAC HC 883 (September 2025), families going through harmful processes, no accountability mechanism.

My son and I should not have needed to build an international bestselling movement, endorsed on both sides of militarised borders, just to prove that a mother living one mile away is safe and loving.

Kate

Kate Markland is a former award-winning physiotherapist with twenty years of clinical experience, the founder of StoryQuest Global, and the co-author of the international bestselling Adventures of Gabriel children's book series. She developed the StoryQuest methodology from clinical listening principles built across two decades of practice. Taken into schools across the UK, it achieved 100% engagement across 465 children in nine schools with zero behavioural incidents, including children with SEND, EAL learners, and reluctant writers. The research was conducted using Classic Grounded Theory across 318 children, identifying seven self-leadership transformations. It has been presented to the British Psychological Society, accepted by UK Parliament, and submitted to UNICEF. The methodology was built during the hardest period of Kate's life. One hour a week on FaceTime with her son. No desk. No classroom. No permission. What came out of that constraint became an Amazon number one bestseller, a validated research framework, and a movement now reaching schools and families across the UK, India, Pakistan, Canada, the United States, Nigeria, and Australia. Kate has been featured on BBC News, Times Radio, and in international publications across multiple countries. She has submitted evidence to the Justice Committee, the Independent Review of Social Work Regulation, and the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. She was awarded the PhysioTimes Women in Leadership Award. She was told she was the danger. She built the proof that she was the answer.

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