Comment on OCC report: Children’s Social Care – putting...

Commenting on the Children’s Commissioner’s report, ADCS Vice President Steve Crocker said:

“This latest report by the Children’s Commissioner raises a number of important issues such as the importance of consistent, strong relationships for children and young people, the need for greater a focus on children in the health system, and formalising the role of schools in safeguarding arrangements to name just a few.

“It includes recommendations for both local and national government around placement sufficiency and stability. Ensuring that children in care have a secure, consistent and caring home to stay in is one of the highest priorities for all local authorities. In some cases, moving homes can be positive, necessary and in the best interests of the child in question, or for other children in the same place. Unfortunately, finding the right placement, at the right time and in the best location for a growing number of children in our care is becoming increasingly difficult because we face a national shortage of placements of all types. The work being carried out by the Care Review and the Competition and Markets Authority will be crucial in the enabling local authorities to meet their sufficiency duties in future. The DfE’s recent announcement of new investment in both open and secure children’s homes as well as registration changes by Ofsted will also help ease these challenges down the line.

“Regulatory reform, greater access to mental health provision, investment in the workforce, and moves to address profit making is needed in both the short and longer term. We also need an urgent discussion about the right response to children and young people with very complex and overlapping health, education and social care needs, we believe a wholly new and much more therapeutic approach is needed. We also support the Commissioner’s calls for the DfE to play a greater role in securing sufficiency in secure children’s homes.”

ENDS

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