Another ruling worth a mention. It involves a High Court ruling on a teenager 'C' who refused to live with her family 'because they were not strict enough Muslims'. Mr Justice Hayden ruled that the local children's services should have provided 'C', who had attempted to travel to Syria, with alternative accommodation. The Local Authority's decision making was … Continue reading High Court finds the local authority’s reasoning was “flawed”
Photo credit: Darwin Bell via Foter.com / CC BY-NC Case scenario PD is 16 years of age. He was previously known as HD, but formally changed his name by deed poll in August 2015. P's adoptive parents are SD and JD. P is placed with local authority foster carers pursuant to Section 20 of the Children Act … Continue reading Withholding information – balancing P’s Article 8 Rights
Photo credit: Mataparda via Foter.com / CC BY A 10-year-old boy has been awarded £5,000 after His Honour Judge Rundell ruled his human rights had been breached while in local authority care: I have found the local authority and the IRO service, both public authorities, on their own admissions, to be seriously at fault and … Continue reading IRO service & local authority Human Rights breach
Neil Allen of 39 Essex Chambers explains the limits of parental responsibility in deprivations of liberty. See useful summary of key issues below and read the full article via Community Care: here Other relevant publications Read The Law Society (2015) Deprivation of liberty: a practical guide. Chapter 9: Identifying a deprivation of liberty: a practical guide Under 18s … Continue reading Deprivation of liberty and young people – what social workers need to know
Photo credit: ubershibs via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND People have a right to make decisions, even unwise ones, if they have the capacity to do so The Mental Capacity Act asserts people’s right to make decisions, even unwise ones, if they have the capacity to do so. The Mental Capacity Act and the code of … Continue reading Call to Action on 15th March 2016 #unwisedecision #mca
NICE have produced guidelines to cover the period before, during and after a young person moves from children's to adults' services. The guidelines explain what care young people and their parents or carers should expect from children's and adults' services during transition. Download the guidelines: NICE (2016) Guidelines: Transition from children’s to adults’ services for young people using … Continue reading Transition from children’s to adults’ services
The new regulations on the assessment of Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs) are set to come into effect on 29 February 2016. Download the Reg's here: The Special Guardianship (Amendment) Regulations 2016 New guidance focuses on strengthening the assessment process. Professionals will now need to evidence the Special Guardian’s relationship with the child, as well as their parenting capacity … Continue reading The new Special Guardianship (Amendment) Regulations 2016
A number of consultations and inquiries on proposed reforms are seeking views from the sector on the future of the profession. Read more at source: Have your say on the future of children’s social work BASW Talking About the Future of Social Work #swfuture16 Link to storify: here
Entitlement to an Individual Savings Account Among the various entitlements that a child in care has are the requirement for the local authority children's services to provide arrangements for the child or young person to have an Individual Savings Account (ISA). Download the Statutory Guidance here: Junior individual saving accounts for looked-after children Information about Junior ISAs for … Continue reading Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs): Looked After Children
Following discussion of the issues raised in an oral evidence session with the Children’s Commissioner on 6 January 2016, the Education Committee has taken further evidence on the role of the Children’s Commissioner. Watch the meeting: here Read the oral evidence here: The Children’s Commissioner for England The deadline for receipt of written submissions is midday … Continue reading Children’s Commissioner for England: Committee re-opens inquiry
