A social worker found guilty of assaulting a 12-year-old boy he was helping return to school can continue to work with children.

At a conduct hearing on Wednesday, the General Social Care council stopped short of striking Stephen Dent off the social care register and instead decided to formally admonish him for his actions.

This means he can continue to work with vulnerable people but future employers will be aware of his actions and the caution will remain on his file for five years.

Stephen Dent, from Warlingham, was given a 24-month conditional discharge at Croydon Magistrates Court in January 2009 for the assault.

He also lost his job with Croydon Council in March 2009 having been suspended from work pending an investigation.

Mr Dent, who was 54 at the time of the incident, had been assigned to help the boy return to school in July 2008 as he had refused to go back after a bout of meningitis.

The boy suffered bruises and scratches to his arms during the assault. The boy’s mother told Croydon Magistrates court Mr Dent intimidated her son and made him hysterical.

After the incident the boy was diagnosed with autism, although the social worker did not know this at the time.

George Davies, the Chair of the council committee said at the hearing Mr Dent was a “decent man”.

He said the committee took his "stainless character and reputation” into account in making their decision.

He added Mr Dent had worked in social care since 1979 and held senior management positions.

Mr Davies said: “It is unlikely the registrant will act in this way again."

He added Mr Dent had misjudged matters on the day and allowed his relationship with the boy to “become a battle of wills”.

The decision reads: “The Committee noted this was a single incident on one individual. It accepted the evidence that the Registrant’s intentions all along were to act in the boy’s best interests. The assault was unplanned and had lasted a short period of time. The service user was described as a complex child, insecure, difficult, prone to outbursts of anger, withdrawn, sickly having been diagnosed with meningitis in February 2008 and recently diagnosed with autism.”