I provide training on a wide range of topics and enjoy the variety, but sometimes patterns emerge as a particular topic becomes falvour of the month. Recently 'record keeping and report writing' has been a popular request from training commissioners. I am pleased about this, as my experience as an expert witness over the past 13 or so years has left me feeling concerned at how problematic much of the record keeping can be. A point I emphasise in my training is that we need to see report writing and record keeping as important aspects of our work, as forms of professional communication and not as a bureaucratic chore that can wait and then perhaps be done skimpily. A recurring theme across those situations where social work has been seen to be falling below an acceptable standard is that of poor or non-existent professional communication, so the skills needed for effective report writing and record keeping should be high on our agenda.