REGARDING your headline article (LET, September 10) about the quality of supervision of children by the social services department, why, oh why, does the Lancashire Evening Telegraph jump on the tabloid bandwagon of appearing to criticise the efforts made by social services to look after and attempt to guide these children with marked difficulties?

The fact that they are in the care of the local authority would indicate that their families are unable to cope with them for whatever reason.

Ideally, the best people to both supervise and monitor these children would be their own parents or other family members. However, to produce headlines without full access to the facts does nothing but reproduce stereotypical perceptions of social workers and other care workers.

While there is good and bad in all professions, social services staff have a very difficult job, which they try to do to the best of their ability and within their available resources. Unfortunately, they are not in a position to defend themselves through the media as they have to respect confidentiality.

There is no doubt that effective supervision is essential -- particularly when dealing with complex family issues, but the process is not helped by emotionally-charged headlines.

These children cannot be confined or 'locked up' even for their own good. They are not criminals and even if they were, secure accommodation is not readily available. And, no -- I'm not a social worker!

CELIA SMITH, Countess Road, Lower Darwen, Blackburn.

Footnote: Two children have died, another has become pregnant and has fallen into a life of prostitution. All three were under the care of Blackburn with Darwen Council. Whether any of these tragedies could have been avoided is hard to say at this moment in time, given the paucity of information coming out of the council.

What IS clear is that the Telegraph has had little choice but to centre its attention on an extremely worrying situation. As for running 'tabloid' headlines without all of the facts, all of our headlines reflect accurately what is occurring.

If there is an absence of information that is down to the council who hitherto are hiding behind the cloak of professional confidentiality after failing to protect a child who -- aged 12 -- is now pregnant.

Social workers frequently operate in very difficult circumstances, but they, the council and the system, cannot expect an amnesty where they are never challenged for answers and explanations -- Editor.