- Independent review of children’s social care publishes 'The
Case for Change'
- Sets out problems in children's social care system in England
and opens up debate around solutions
The first report from the Independent Review of Children’s Social
Care led by Josh MacAlister finds that the children’s social care
system in England investigates too readily whilst not doing
enough to support families, protect teenagers or care for
children who are looked after by the state. The report argues
that the system is under significant strain with support for
families being cut back as money is increasingly spent on crisis
intervention.
The report, a rapid analysis of the problems facing the system,
finds:
-
We are not doing enough to help families raise their
children. Not enough practical help is available to
families with spending on these services having decreased by 35
percent in real terms as money has shifted to crisis
intervention. Attitudes to risk mean that investigation has
dominated over support with 135,000 investigations (section 47
enquiries) last year resulting in no child protection plan.
This is creating an increasingly adversarial system that is
both less able to support parents or protect children.
-
Better decision making and more support and decisive
action is needed to keep children safe from harm. This
is particularly relevant for teenagers who are the fastest
growing group in both child protection and care. Professionals
and parents trying to keep teenagers safe from harm outside of
the home, are being failed by a system that was not designed
for the task.
-
Taking children into care too often weakens rather than
strengthens the most important relationships that children
have. Children in care should grow up and grow old
with a strong loving group of people around them and we are
currently not meeting this most basic obligation. The state
needs to become a pushy parent for children in care so that
they get the homes and support they need.
Cutting across these issues, the report highlights the need for a
programme of investment and reform, greater cross government and
agency collaboration and shift in social worker time spent with
children and families. The review will now move into a phase of
developing recommendations to address these issues.
Josh MacAlister said:
“Our children’s social care system is a 30-year-old tower of
Jenga held together with Sellotape: simultaneously rigid and yet
shaky. There are many professionals and services doing excellent
work but this report sets out the scale of the problems we face
and the urgent need for a new approach.
“Improving children’s social care will take us a long way to
solving some of the knottiest problems facing society - improving
children’s quality of life, tackling inequalities, improving the
productivity of the economy, and truly levelling up.”
In three months the review team have directly heard from more
than 700 people with lived experience of children’s social care
and have also spoken with around 300 people working with children
and families. The Case for Change builds on these conversations
as well as over 1,000 submissions to the Calls for Advice and
Evidence.
ENDS
ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW
- The independent review of children’s social care is a once in
a generation opportunity to transform the children’s social care
system and improve the lives of children and their families. This
review is a chance to look afresh at children’s social care and
ask how we can ensure that children grow up in loving, stable,
safe families and, where that is not possible, care provides the
same foundations.
- The review was announced on the 15th January and began its
work on the 1st March.
