John Carvel
Tuesday September 9, 2003
The Guardian
The biggest reorganisation
of children's services in England for 30 years, launched in a government
consultation paper yesterday, responded to the Laming inquiry into the murder
of Victoria Climbié.
The paper, Every Child Matters, set the aim
of ensuring "that every child has the chance to fulfil their potential by
reducing levels of educational failure, ill health, substance misuse, teenage
pregnancy, abuse and neglect, crime and anti-social behaviour among children
and young people".
In the paper's introduction, Tony Blair
said the names of abused children whose deaths triggered previous inquiries
"echoing down the years, are a standing shame to us all".
The green paper said: "From past
inquiries into the deaths of Maria Colwell and Jasmine Beckford to recent cases
such as Lauren Wright and Ainlee Walker, there are striking similarities which
show some of the problems are of long standing. The common threads which led in
each case to a failure to intervene early enough were poor coordination; a
failure to share information; the absence of anyone with a strong sense of
accountability; and frontline workers trying to cope with staff vacancies, poor
management and a lack of effective training.
To prevent a recurrence, it proposed four
areas of reform:
Early intervention
The paper said: "The key is to ensure
children receive services at the first onset of problems, and to prevent any
children slipping through the net." To achieve this the government
proposes:
· Improving information sharing between agencies to ensure all local
authorities have a list of all children in their area. Work will be done to
remove legal and technical barriers to information sharing so that every child
can be given an identity number and electronic file of key information.
· Children known to more than one specialist agency should have a single
named professional to take charge of their case and be responsible for ensuring
a coherent package of services to meet the individual child's needs.
· Professionals will be encouraged to work in multi-disciplinary teams
based in and around schools and children's centres.
Accountability and integration
The paper said: "The government's aim
is that there should be one person in charge locally and nationally with the
responsibility for improving children's lives. Key services for children should
be integrated within a single organisational focus at both levels." The government
would:
· Create the post of director of children's services, accountable for
local authority education and children's social services.
· Legislate to create a lead council member for children.
· Establish children's trusts to integrate the work done by local
authorities, the NHS, Connexions and other services such as youth offending
teams.
Workforce reform
To make difficult work with children an
attractive career, the government wants:
· A reform strategy to improve skills and review pay, with incentives
for good practitioners to stay on the front line. The green paper was silent on
how big pay increases might be.
· A high profile recruitment campaign for entry into the children's
workforce.
· A comprehensive workload survey to identify ways of freeing up time
for face to face work with families.
· A leadership development programme to foster high calibre leadership.
Supporting parents and carers
The government has included a number of
measures on parenting and family support, which include:
· Using schools, health and social services to provide information and
advice.
· Targeted and specialist support to parents of children requiring
additional support.
· Compulsory action through parenting orders as a last resort where
parents are condoning a child's truancy, anti-social behaviour, or offending.
The government said it would consult on the
proposals until December 1, and legislation is expected in the next
parliamentary session.