More than a third of people think social workers are interfering, ineffective and bureaucratic, according to a new survey.

Less than one in four adults have ever considered working in social services and more than half say they do not understand exactly what social workers do.

The NOP survey among 1,001 people across the UK for Community Care was published as the social care magazine joined forces with the Local Government Association to launch a national poster campaign to improve the image of social work.

The aim is to help tackle a national crisis in staff recruitment and retention and encourage a better public understanding of what social care staff actually do.

A series of recent high-profile scandals have left the image of social work at an all-time low with two thirds of local authorities are struggling to attract new recruits and have a job vacancy rate running at an average of about 16 per cent in social services. There has also been a 13 per cent drop in people being trained in social work since 1996.

The Community Care survey found that 46 per cent of people in the UK believe social workers are politically correct. Four out of 10 say they are bureaucratic and use jargon that ordinary people do not understand. And 37 per cent said that social workers were ineffective and interfering.

The poll was conducted after highly-publicised child abuse court cases including that of two-year-old Chelsea Brown.

Her father, Robert, was last week convicted of murdering her after months of physical abuse and despite the intervention of social workers on at least 27 occasions and their knowledge of Brown's history of violence.

In January Marie-Therese Kouao and her boyfriend Carl Manning were convicted of murdering Kouao's eight-year-old great-niece Anna Climbie who had been repeatedly beaten, tied up, and forced to sleep in a bin liner in a bath.

At the time of her death she had 128 separate injuries on her body. She also had suffered months of abuse despite the intervention of police, doctors and social workers.

However, despite the negative public image of social workers, two-thirds of people recognise that they are often overworked and three out of four people feel they do help vulnerable people.

The new You can make a difference campaign features eight posters and a leaflet distributed across England and Wales and a new website designed to remind people that social workers are undervalued and deserve more recognition.

The posters depict scenarios where social workers help different people in need, such as parents with a disabled child, elderly people, young people leaving care, people with mental health problems, refugee children, young people misusing drugs and children in danger of abuse.

Community Care and the Local Government Association has launched a joint campaign to raise awareness about the effective work performed by social care staff.

Health minister John Hutton backed the campaign entitled 'You can make a difference', speaking at the launch to voice his support for the new drive.

The campaign began as an NOP survey revealed that most people would not consider a career in social work. The poll of a thousand people found that 72 per cent of rejected social work as a career choice, with only 24 per cent saying they would consider it.

A series of eight posters, leaflets and a new website will all feature in the national campaign designed to remind people that social workers are undervalued and deserve more recognition.

Each local authority has been also been asked to nominate a 'champion' among its staff to ensure all the advertising material is well displayed.

And a helpline has been set up by training organisation CCETSW which can handle enquiries from people interested in a career in social work.

Mr Hutton, launching the campaign yesterday, said: "There is a great deal to do, but I think this is a very positive beginning. It will take an on-going commitment over the next few years to turn things around."

Terry Philpot, editor in chief, Community Care said: "Whilst other professions in the public sector are also facing recruitment problems, social services faces the added problem of an often inaccurate and negative image.

"Social workers try to help the most vulnerable people in society to live more fulfilling lives. There are few jobs that are more challenging and more rewarding in society.

"We hope our campaign will help to rectify current misperceptions, and encourage more people, both young and old, into social work."

Kevin Wilson, Chair of the LGA Task Group on Workforce planning, added: "Our research has clearly shown that there is a real and desperate need to address the manpower shortage in social services.

"This campaign demonstrates that social work is rewarding and satisfying - a profession where you really can make a difference to other peoples' lives."