Rt. Hon. Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division recently Key Note Address: “Crisis; What Crisis?”Association of Lawyers for Children Conference 2018 23 November 2018. This conference is meeting at a time when an unprecedented number of applications are being made each month by local authorities for care or supervision orders in relation to children. … Continue reading Keynote by Rt. Hon. Sir Andrew McFarlane “Crisis; What Crisis?”
The government must do more to divert families with ‘entrenched’ problems away from the courts, research by the chief children’s social worker has concluded. The ‘Case for clear blue water’ briefing by Isabelle Trowler found too many marginal cases involving children at risk of significant harm were entering the family justice system. The study argued … Continue reading Families must be diverted away from courts, Trowler report argues
Please listen to this BBC Radio 4 piece. It concerns 38 year old entrepreneur Simon who is fighting to become his teenage niece's legal guardian after she was placed in care. Until last year, Simon was a highly successful businessman with a city lifestyle to match. Then his business went under - and with it … Continue reading The Untold, Fighting for My Niece | BBC radio 4
How will the £84m funding announcement to expand Leeds, Hertfordshire and North Yorkshire's innovation projects make a difference to the sector as a whole? Read more at source: Zahawi announces plans to extend DfE innovation projects to more councils | Children & Young People Now
Every year the Department for Education publishes official statistics on children in care. These statistics tell us how many children live in foster care or in a children's home, what proportion moved placement and educational outcomes. What is missing from these numbers is the voice of children and young people living in care themselves. How … Continue reading Hearing the voices of children in care | LocalGov
How a care-leaver self-published his childhood story and was invited to European Parliament Please watch and share: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voFxd1BjqeE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0UUGfuvoFI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9rCSGKxyJo In less than a year debut-author, street musician and care-leaver Ben Westwood’s book Poems From a Runaway has gone from strength-to-strength as social workers, foster parents, missing children’s charities and safeguarding boards embrace his … Continue reading How a care-leaver self-published his childhood story and was invited to European Parliament | Ben Westwood
Featured article - 13 November 2018 via SCIE By Rachel Leslie, Project Implementation Manager, Break - Changing Young Lives Cambridgeshire and Norfolk are developing their arrangements for supporting young people as they leave residential care. Staying close and staying connected in East Anglia - definitely one to watch. Read more: Staying close and staying connected in … Continue reading Staying close and staying connected in East Anglia | SCIE #ECLCM
'It is not enough to hold a focus group or consult a few kids who have recently left care. We need to get the widest view based on the longest, most diverse and most experienced consultants available -the care experienced community of all ages, in all its glorious diversity. That is why I support a … Continue reading Given the paradox of the care system, how can we possibly know what is the best way to improve it? #careexpconf
'Local authorities are ambitious about improving outcomes for children but our ability to do this is being compromised by a 50% reduction in our budgets since 2010 ... Read the full piece at source: Budgeting for the long-term | ADCS President, Stuart Gallimore Pressures in the safeguarding system Next month, ADCS publishes the latest phase of … Continue reading Budgeting for the long-term | ADCS
This new report is the first legal study in England and Wales to focus on sibling relationships. It offers insights into current thinking about siblings and fills a knowledge gap. By identifying the impact of the shifting legal framework and practitioner and expert assumptions about siblings underpinning current legal decision-making, it addresses an overlooked issue. … Continue reading Siblings, Contact and the Law: An overlooked relationship? | Nuffield Foundation
