A HAMPSHIRE social worker has been struck off after a hearing heard she had lied about making visits to a string of vulnerable children.

Laura Boyce was employed as a locum social worker by Hampshire County Council in its Children’s Services Department from February 2017 until August 2017. She was then employed as an Assistant Team Manager in the Children’s Assessment Safeguarding Team from August 2017 to 18 September 2017.

The Health and Care Professions tribunal heard that Mrs Boyce had falsely claimed to have made visits to five children when these visits had not occurred. In all, more than ten children were affected.

"The Panel has found that the Registrant (Mrs Boyce) advised that she had visited Child A on two occasions when this was not the case," said the tribunal. "The Panel has also found that records were made by the Registrant of visits to Child A, Child B, Child E, Child F and Child I that did not take place."

One example given to the hearing was the case of Child K who, it heard, was subject to a child protection plan and who Mrs Boyce was required to visit every ten working days.

"WDB (a witness) explained that the entries in the six statutory visit forms between 27 June 2017 and 5 September 2017 were very similar in their terms," the tribunal heard. "It appeared that the majority of the contents had been cut and pasted from earlier records. This led the Panel to conclude that visits were not completed."

It said Mrs Boyce was 'aware that she had not visited children A, B, E, F and I when she made the relevant records and made the relevant statement'.

"The Panel finds that this amounts to deliberate deception on the part of the Registrant," it said. "These are not matters on which the Registrant could have been confused. Moreover, given the volume of erroneous records, the Panel does not accept that the false entries arose from oversight or mistake. She actively created false records and knowingly verbally conveyed inaccurate information to a colleague. The Panel finds that, viewed objectively by the standards of ordinary decent people, the conduct of the Registrant was dishonest."

Mrs Boyce chose not to attend the London hearing.

In an email to the tribunal she said: “I have read and absorbed the allegations and in the most accept full responsibility for my actions”.

She also acknowledged that she had made “poor choices and decision making”.