Cambridgeshire Council has proposed a higher risk care strategy for its vulnerable children Public services in Cambridgeshire are facing cuts of £120m over the next five years. Cambridgeshire County Council has said the cuts are needed because the authority will be getting less money from central government. The biggest reduction is expected to fall on the council's … Continue reading Care strategy for vulnerable children
Important messages here from young people: For today’s #carematters young people talk to us about social workers. — The Who Cares? Trust (@WhoCaresTrust) October 27, 2015 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js “When I was 4-6 I remember lots of people in a room all talking about me. I didn’t know what was going on.” YP #Carematters — The Who … Continue reading Young people talk to Who Cares Trust about social workers
Government statistics reveal that the child in care population is now higher than at any point since 1985 Care application statistics also show that the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has received 6,031 care applications in England in the six months to September 2015, an average of 1,005 a month. More headlines: Upward trend: If … Continue reading Population of children in care in England reaches 30-year high
Fewer children’s social care referrals are passing ‘child in need’ thresholds Article by Luke Stevenson on October 22, 2015 in Community Care The proportion of children assessed as meeting ‘child in need’ thresholds by social services fell last year, government figures show. The Department for Education statistics show 23% of social services assessments in 2014-15 led to a decision that a child was ‘not in … Continue reading ‘Child in need’ stats fell last year – why?
Research conducted jointly between the UK children’s charity Coram and the University of Bristol shows that the quality of children's life story books varies considerably. The research has helped to address an absence in the academic literature of adopters’ perspectives on their children’s life storybooks. Forty adopters from England and Wales participated in either focus … Continue reading Life story work
Multi-agency Training and Tool "Charlie" In response to the nationally recognised poor educational outcomes for Children Looked After, Somerset Children’s services have developed a multi-agency training tool called “Charlie”. Charlie is a fictional character, a looked-after child. He has finished his year 11 studies and disappointingly has not achieved his expected targets. Background We know … Continue reading Promoting the education of looked-after children
A report by the Children's Commissioner for England has considered the safeguarding needs of young people in custody. Read the report of the Children's Commissioner here: Unlocking Potential Recommendations set out by the Children's Commissioner: Young people should only be placed in isolation as a last resort not very often not for a long time. Every time a young person is … Continue reading Unlocking Potential
New powers extend a measure introduced by the Prime Minister in July, following a successful trial, which enables parents to apply directly to HM Passport Office to have the passports of children under 16 years old cancelled to prevent them travelling to join terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. Powers have already been applied via a series of … Continue reading Counter-Extremism Strategy
Relevant reading for all IROs The Family Rights Group has carried out research into the contact that children being raised in family and friends care have with their parents and others. Read at source via the links below: Chapter 1: Introduction and acknowledgements Chapter 2: Legal framework Chapter 3: Key messages from international literature Chapter 4: … Continue reading Family Rights Group: Children’s Contact
Research funded by the Department of Health 'What Happened Next' (2014) has examined decision-making for children in care proceedings and has found that: Decisions made in care proceedings can contribute to reducing the odds of poor developmental outcomes for 'maltreated' (sic) children. Substitute families and apparent changes in birth families were associated with improvements in the children’s relationships and adaptation. … Continue reading Care Proceedings: Outcomes for children
