Despite clamours from inside the sector that children’s services are perfectly adequate, the growing body of data being collected by think tanks and monitoring bodies tell a very different story.
An evidence review produced by leading think tank, The Education Policy Institute has concluded that unless the government spends more money on children’s services, the child welfare sector is likely to buckle completely under the weight of existing, and upcoming pressures it faces.
The report focuses on a lack of resources inside the sector, which is in part responsible for the poor levels of support families experience when they engage with their local authorities. The review also touches on some of Researching Reform’s own bug bears like proper data gathering. No system can function properly without dedicated people meticulously gathering important information in order to better understand what families need. At the moment, it’s almost impossible to find even the most basic data about these services and the families who come into contact with them.
Here are some of the key stats from the Institute’s report:
- 64% of local authorities were rated Requires improvement or Inadequate on overall effectiveness, with 34% judged to be Good and 2% rated Outstanding
- Beyond educational outcomes, evidence shows that children in contact with social services experience worse outcomes through life
- Children in need experience more educational instability, including more moves between schools and a much higher rate of fixed-period and permanent exclusions
- A fifth of all LAC, and half of those placed in children’s homes, secure units or other semi-independent living accommodation (up from 40 per cent in 2015/16), were placed more than 20 miles from their home in 2017
- 71% of all LAC in 2016 experienced a change in their placement, social worker or school over a 12-month period, and a third of LAC in school had experienced ‘high instability’ in the last year – defined as multiple placement moves, multiple social worker changes and/or a mid-year school move.
- There are currently 389,430 children in need (CIN) in England. These children are considered to be unlikely to achieve reasonable health and development without support services.
- For at least the last 8 years, there has been a rise in the numbers of children issued with Child Protection Plans and council care orders. The report partially attributes to a deliberate response by social services to high-profile serious case reviews into child deaths resulting from abuse.
- The report also highlights other factors, like cuts to early intervention (EI) services and deprivation, as contributing factors to a rise in acute need.
- The report notes that an increase in these more acute forms of monitoring and intervention is happening despite staff-reported increases in thresholds for access to services.
- Better data is needed in order to be able to support vulnerable children better.
What do you think?
These figures show that neglect and emotional abuse of children are “flourishing” in the UK but sexual abuse and physical abuse are not !
I suggest that there are two reasons for these statistics:-
1:-You have to have proof of sexual abuse or physical abuse whilst neglect and emotional abuse are simply matters of opinion and easy to establish by so caled “professionals pronouncing their conclusions to compliant judges in the family courts.
If more kids are needed much easier to claim neglect or emotional abuse and much more difficult for parents to deny it
2:-The fostering and adoption industry naturally favours children who have not suffered sex abuse or physical abuse ie children who are in effect “damaged goods”
How many times have desperate mother heard social workers describe their perfect blue eyed blonde children as “ideal for adoption” Shades of Hitler’s Lebensborn”……….
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Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
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Reblogged this on | truthaholics and commented:
“Here are some of the key stats from the Institute’s report:
64% of local authorities were rated Requires improvement or Inadequate on overall effectiveness, with 34% judged to be Good and 2% rated Outstanding
Beyond educational outcomes, evidence shows that children in contact with social services experience worse outcomes through life
Children in need experience more educational instability, including more moves between schools and a much higher rate of fixed-period and permanent exclusions
A fifth of all LAC, and half of those placed in children’s homes, secure units or other semi-independent living accommodation (up from 40 per cent in 2015/16), were placed more than 20 miles from their home in 2017
71% of all LAC in 2016 experienced a change in their placement, social worker or school over a 12-month period, and a third of LAC in school had experienced ‘high instability’ in the last year – defined as multiple placement moves, multiple social worker changes and/or a mid-year school move.
There are currently 389,430 children in need (CIN) in England. These children are considered to be unlikely to achieve reasonable health and development without support services.
For at least the last 8 years, there has been a rise in the numbers of children issued with Child Protection Plans and council care orders. The report partially attributes to a deliberate response by social services to high-profile serious case reviews into child deaths resulting from abuse.
The report also highlights other factors, like cuts to early intervention (EI) services and deprivation, as contributing factors to a rise in acute need.
The report notes that an increase in these more acute forms of monitoring and intervention is happening despite staff-reported increases in thresholds for access to services.
Better data is needed in order to be able to support vulnerable children better.”
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Reports, studies, Surveys have been around for many years. all of that means nothing if the Govt wont act on it.
Many failures have been highlighted and many campaign groups have spoken out for years yet the SS and family courts are still doing the same old thing.even Sir James Munby has tried to bring change for around 4yrs but to no avail. So where does that leave us.
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We need a seismic change of attitude at all levels of bureaucracy and among all bureaucrats.
The Establishment is bogged down in a mire of pecuniary clap-trap that leads nowhere, while the victims continue to suffer most because they are caught up in circumstances beyond their control.
Talk is cheap; deeds take longer and cost more in time and effort – as well as in hard currency. Above all, there has to be the will to effect change; until that becomes manifest among those who control the purse strings and are responsible for the law-making processes- there can be no improvement.
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