On the 2 February, the government published its response to the Independent Review into Children’s Social Care chaired by Josh MacCallister.
You can find a link to the government response, Stable Homes, Built on Love here: Children’s social care stable homes built on love consulation (publishing.service.gov.uk)
You can read our submission here: https://nnpcf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Social-Care-consulation-response.pdf
Alongside the strategy, the government are launching three consultations:
- A consultation on the strategy that invites views on our proposals for reform here
- A consultation on a new National Framework and dashboard for children’s social care which asks for views on our proposed outcomes and indicators here
- A consultation on a set of national rules on the engagement of agency social worker resource here
The NNPCF will be compiling responses to the relevant consultations over the coming months. Details of how to help shape the NNPCF response will be included in the March consultation briefing available on our website, social media and distributed to forums through their regional representative.
The strategy responds to the three independent reviews that were published last year – the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel report into the tragic deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and the Competition and Markets Authority Children’s Social Care market study.
The strategy aims to create a vision of how to help families to overcome challenges at the earliest stage, keep children safe from significant harm, and make sure children in care have stable loving homes, long-term loving relationships and opportunities for a good life.
The strategy is laid out across six pillars:
- Family Help provides the right support at the right time so that children can thrive with their families
- A decisive multi-agency child protection system
- Unlocking the potential of family networks
- Putting love, relationships and a stable home at the heart of being a child in care
- A valued, supported and highly-skilled social worker for every child who needs one
- A system that continuously learns and improves, and makes better use of evidence and data
There is little detail or content in this paper about the SEND social care system – the Department for Education has indicated that the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement plan which they intend to publish shortly will aim to align the two systems. However, some of the key themes that the NNPCF raised are explicitly picked up in the strategy, namely:
- the call for a more joined us system across education health and care
- the need for earlier intervention
But, some of the more specific things that we asked for in the independent review are not picked up:
- a call for a “support not safeguarding” for the majority of SEND families
- the quality of social care input into EHCPs and a recognition that too often this is non-existent.
- a huge variation in consistency and standards across the country
Nevertheless, question 8 in the consultation does explicitly ask:
What more can be done by government, local authorities and service providers to make sure that disabled children and young people can access the right type of help and support?
The NNPCF had considerable engagement and input into the review, most notably when Josh MacCallister launched his case for change with parent carer forums Josh MacAlister makes “The Case for Change” at joint NNPCF / Contact webinar – National Network of Parent Carer Forums C.I.C
You can find an article on earlier NNPCF input here: NNPCF input into children’s social care review – National Network of Parent Carer Forums C.I.C
Independent review of children’s social care – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
National review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Children’s social care market study final report – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)