November 2010 Archives

The Guardian reports this morning that North London coroner Andrew Walker has ruled he will not hold an inquest into the death of Peter Connelly.

Police had submitted evidence there was no need for a further inquest, however Peter's father had said he wanted more answers.

Walker told the court: "On the material I have seen it seems to me that the evidence taken as part of the investigations has gone right to the heart of the circumstances of how Peter Connelly died and has led to significant criticism, changes in practices and procedures and many lessons have been learned. In my judgment the question of in what circumstances Baby Peter Connelly died has been answered."

Walker added: "It is not my belief, having regard to the material before me, that a resumed inquest is likely to unearth new and significant facts."

Early intervention is the new political buzzword. However, early intervention can denote early years intervention or early intervention after a problem is identified.

Scotland, it seems, is leaning more towards the early years as the model of choice. An evaluation has been published showing that investment in the early years interventions could save the Scottish purse £37,500 per year per child in care or with disabilities and £5,100 per year per child for children on the edge of care within five years. More impressively, by the time those children are 15 years of age the report estimates there could be an annual saving of £131m per annum.

Of course there are some serious caveats- namely that the report assumes that all the interventions will be 100% effective, which as we know is highly unlikely to be the case.

However, it seems the Scottish government is convinced as seen in its spending plans and draft budget for 2011/12 which set aside £45m for investment in early years and a £5m fund for the voluntary sector to get involved in this area with cuts to care and justice and workforce.

Interesting given the debate in England at the moment around whether funding can be taken from the budget for Sure Start children's centres to focus on other early intervention projects.

(Pic credit: D Sharon Pruitt)

There's been an evaluation of the SCIE serious case review (SCR) model being piloted in the north-west of England. The most interesting conclusions are :

a) using the systems model does not appear to be significantly less time intensive or cheaper compared to current practice but participants concluded that 'the time involved is time well spent'

b) while SCRs are often a very negative experience for staff, case group members found this approach very constructive and helpful to their professional development

c) it is potentially better at holding organisations to account as findings are more challenging,
identifying whether or not conditions exist that are conducive to good practice.

There are good indicators (not least that Prof Munro helped invent the model) that the Munro review will favour the SCIE model. But there are already rumblings that SCR's are too expensive and time-consuming and local safeguarding children boards don't have time to do anything else.

Yet in times of cost-cutting, which is highly likely to include training budgets, this new model of SCR could end up being the only "learning activity" staff will get.

Don't forget to tune into tonight's Dispatches: The Kids Britain Doesn't Want, Channel 4, 8pm. It will shine the spotlight on asylum seeking children - particularly timely given the government's rather slow progress on its pledge to end child detention.

Here's the official blurb: Every year thousands of children come to Britain seeking refuge from persecution, terrorism and war. But many arrive to find this country is not the place of safety they expected. Instead they are met by a culture of disbelief and an asylum system that in some cases causes them profound psychological and physical harm.

Through the stories of a 10-year-old Iranian boy, a 16-year-old Afghan and a young Ugandan woman, Dispatches explores the experiences of young people brutalized by the British Asylum system. This is the story of the kids Britain doesn't want.

I found a rare gem of an article hiding among my newspapers this weekend: A year in the life of a foster parent. Written entirely from the foster parent's perspective, it was honest, insightful and revealing.

Brilliant too to see the feature - as one CareSpace user pointed out - on the cover and not confined to the society pages. It may even encourage more people to consider fostering, as the care system so badly needs. 

Photo credit: jurvetson

 The case of two teenage girls in care in Derby who were victims of a gang of sexual predators has made me very depressed today. Perhaps because it comes on top of a week of depressing stories that all point to black clouds ahead for at-risk children in this country.

At-risk adolescents in general I think get a pretty poor deal and we know that sexual abuse and exploitation has slipped down council agendas since Baby P. Yet last week I was talking to an international expert on attachment, Dr Patricia Crittenden (watch for the full interview on the website and in next week's Community Care), and she was saying that between the ages of 16 and 26 there is a massive opportunity for social workers to make a difference with these young people- almost as big as the window of opportunity in children aged 0-3. But the prevailing attitude is that teenagers can look after themselves and the focus is increasingly shifting to the early years.

Detectives found that the offenders had been approaching girls in the street, parks and other public places and effectively grooming them and luring them into relationships before going on to abuse them.

Detective Superintendent Debbie Platt, who led the police enquiry said: "This was the most complex case of child abuse the Derbyshire Constabulary has ever faced.
 
"Without the close working relationship between partners and the bravery of the girls who were victims of this horrendous sexual exploitation, the case would never have come to court.
 
"Most of the girls who became victims were in their early teens and were from difficult backgrounds. These men preyed on their vulnerability. The girls were looking for love and support and they believed the perpetrators of these vile crimes would give them what they craved. Instead they were raped, abused and intimidated.
 
"Before and during the trial these girls have shown amazing courage and determination to see the men who subjected them to unbelievable cruelty brought to justice."


Assistant Chief Constable Alec Wood added: ""Officers who are specialists in dealing with child exploitation were shocked by the scale of the abuse they uncovered and the impact it had on the girls who were the victims of these callous men.
 
"There has been a lot of publicity about the dangers of internet grooming but I don't think the public are so aware of the dangers men like these pose to young people they meet face-to-face. Boys are at risk just as much as girls are.

One of the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "They first approached me during one afternoon and took me to a park. Even in the beginning I thought they were scary but I was insecure and lonely.
 
"My advice to other girls is don't take anyone at face-value. Question their motives and report anything you're not happy about. The police will take you seriously and they will know you are telling the truth. It is nothing to be ashamed of."

Video

The first part of the CCTV footage (above) shows Mohammed Romaan Liaqat buying vodka at a petrol station. Liaqat was found guilty of one rape, among other charges.
 
The second part is footage of Mohammed Romaan Liaqat and Abid Mohammed Saddique cruising the streets of Derby in a BMW. The girls in the CCTV are not victims. They walked away and were never traced by the police. Saddique was found guilty of four rapes.
 
Community Care will be following up this story in the course of today. This will include a detailed look at what the serious case review says and its lessons for professionals. Check back on www.communitycare.co.uk for updates.

The youth justice system is failing to recognise young offenders with learning difficulties and special educational needs, making these children disproportionately likely to end up in prison.

Published today, a major survey of youth offending team (YOT) staff, says youth justice agencies are not fulfilling their legal duty to prevent discrimination against the 25% of young offenders with special educational needs and the 23% with an IQ lower than 70.

The survey, published by the Prison Reform Trust and the Association of YOT managers, argues that more needs to be done to identify and help these children as part of the government's plans to "radically" overhaul youth justice.

It found only around half of YOT staff said they received any training to help identify when children might have particular learning difficulties and fewer than one in 10 staff said their YOT kept statistics on the number of children with disabilities serving court orders.

Diz Minnitt, speech and language lead at the Association of YOT Managers, said the report illustrates a "fundamental problem" with the youth justice system.

Photo credit: striatic 

If anyone was wondering what had happened to Gamu Nhengu (pictured) since her shock exit from this year's X Factor, here's your answer: the teenager, controversially eliminated from the ITV show last month, has been busy recording a Christmas single for Scottish charity Aberlour.

Stirling-based charity Aberlour, which provides support to over 6,000 of Scotland's most vulnerable children and families, is releasing "Where Will You Sleep This Christmas?", featuring Gamu and the Aberlour choir, in a bid to steal the coveted number 1 spot for Christmas.

Gamu, whose family is reported to be facing deportation, has supported Aberlour for several years. The single will be available for download on 13th December; listen to a preview here.

Interesting news that councils are to be given powers today to evict or transfer new tenants after two years if their financial situation improves.

Experts have said this change to 'secure tenancy' - where tenants can own their council house for life - will be significant, enabling local authorities to prioritise council tenants and offset the impact of Osborne's cuts to housing benefits. The cuts to local housing allowances were widely expected to force the most vulnerable families out of their homes.

So of course the Daily Mail, true to form, chose today to highlight this mother's story, which is bound to get its readers' blood boiling...

Photo credit: Boobooo

Welsh councils have paid out a record £14.6m in legal fees over the last three years, an investigation by the Western Mail has revealed - and most are putting it down to today's compensation culture and a boom in the number of children going into care.

According to reports, Swansea Council's legal bill has increased a massive 146% - from £372,150 three years ago to £917,053 last year. A council spokesperson told the Western Mail this was mainly due to increased legal cases associated with child protection, in the wake of the Baby Peter case.

Yet more evidence - if any more was needed - that local authorities are struggling under the impact of the post-Baby P referals spike. Great news for them then that they'll continue to pay hefty legal fees when making a care application.

An investigation by ITV1's breakfast show Daybreak has revealed that funding for Sure Start could be at serious risk, despite the £2bn early intervention grant outlined in the chancellor's comprehensive spending review last month.

Following a Freedom of Information request, which asked councils for a commitment to maintaining funding for Sure Start, 99 out of 152 local authorities were unable to give any commitment to maintaining funding.

Only 9 gave a commitment to maintain funding as a priority, while 5 confirmed cuts or closures were on the way. See Daybreak's site for details of individual councils' responses.

The investigation came as Community Care revealed that the £20m promised by the government to fund short breaks for disbled children may have to come out of the £2bn early intervention grant.

It was a remarkable thing to be in the auditorium at Community Care Live this week for children's minister Tim Loughton's speech. For starters it was standing room only- a fact which seemed to even surprise the minister. Secondly it was like sitting in on a date between a couple of teenagers.

Loughton said how much he liked social workers. How he always tried to speak to them without their directors of children's services or managers around. How he appreciated the disconnect between politicians (council politicians of course) and frontline social workers.

He promised the Munro review of child protection would be directed by the contributions of all frontline workers. He cleverly related the cost of the Contactpoint database to the 7,500 frontline social workers it could have recruited (although he didn't mention that there don't seem to be that many to recruit) and he waxed lyrical about how he personally had slashed 7000 words from the about-to-be published leaving care guidance because he knew they didn't want to be wading through pages of government guidance.

At the end he painted an idyllic picture of the social work profession he wanted to create- free from paperwork, full of high quality graduates and a profession confident to make decisions even if they were wrong, because he would not engage in any blame-game. Finally he thanked them all personally for the work they carried out every day.

It went down like a charm. The questions at the end did not even mention the massive cuts that councils will have to deliver by next March, the massive increase in the number of children coming into the care system and how many of them are without dobut going to get less services than they do currently. Instead they gently pushed him on family group conferences and inspection and then sent him on his way with a huge round of applause.

Don't get me wrong- I'm a big fan of Loughton. He strikes me as one of the few decent politicians who knows his area and is committed to it rather than always having one eye on promotion. I believe he really does want to improve social work and he's got a grip on how to go about doing it. What I'm not so sure about is whether he will be allowed to do it. He has a Secretary of State patently uninterested in children's services on the one hand and Eric Pickles demanding councils deliver front-loaded cuts on the other (meaning there can be no carefully thought-out transition to services based on early intervention to cut down numbers of children in care).

When asking him a few questions later he informed me that cutting services either to early intervention or prevention was a false economy as was cutting services to children in care. This is undoubtedly true but what is also undoubtedly true is that some of those services will be cut because councils have very few options open to them. And unfortunately I doubt if there's all that much he can do about that.

The bright lights and high octane entertainment at Blackpool's pleasure beach have always pulled in tourists, holiday makers and hen parties. (Even visitors of a more blue-blooded variety). 

But it seems they are now attracting troubled and vulnerable families hoping to move to the seaside. And not everyone is happy about it.

As children's services departments up and down the country struggle to balance budget cuts against service demands, Blackpool Council says their services are under more pressure than most.

Council leader Peter Callow told The Blackpool Gazette that vulnerable families were flocking to Blackpool, "because it has happy memories from childhood." "They come here because they see the bright lights and think there will be jobs and opportunities."

But instead many end up becoming involved with social services or the criminal justice system.

According to figures quoted by The Gazette, the number of looked-after children in Blackpool increased by almost 40% this year, as of last month.

And, in the last year, 30% of high risk domestic abuse referrals involved families who had lived in Blackpool for less than three months.

Callow said: "We are getting swamped and this is putting a massive strain on our services. We take our duties very seriously especially when it comes to caring for children. But we need extra resources from Government if we are to cope."

The council - which has to reduce its children and adults services budget by around £16m - is now urging the government to spare it from the worst of the cuts, given the extra pressure.

Photo credit: Paul Stevenson; tallpomlin 

Yesterday was the Community Care Live- Children and Families conference and for me chairing the last session of the day- Risk Factor Live was utterly fascinating.

It was run by the inimitable Perdeep Gill, child protection consultant and trainer, and it was on the topic of how social workers can identify triggers in a serious case.

She put up the details of a real case study- a 9-month old baby whose mum took him to a GP with a swelling on the head. The details of the case, what the mother said, who she said it to, what she told social workers and what happened subsequently. Along the way Perdeep asked delegates what they would do? What should they be thinking about in this case? What hypothesis could they form? Who should they be talking to and what questions should they be asking?

It was a long and complex case and there were spirited discussions and outrage from delegates about some of the decisions that were being taken by various professionals in the case. Others acknowledged that when overloaded with cases bad habits can form.

The session ran over time and despite my expectation that people would have to run for trains and tubes, nobody moved a muscle, waiting for the conclusion.

There was shock and stunned silence in the room when Perdeep revealed in her last slide that it was the case of Peter Connelly (Baby P).

Afterwards Perdeep was surrounded by people thanking her for such a valuable session. One student said that it had taught her more in one hour than any of her lectures at university had. Others said they had not realised exactly what had gone on in the Baby P case and it had horrified them. I have a long list of people who want Perdeep's presentation emailed to them.

This then is the real reason for full publication of a serious case review. If presented and used as a proper learning tool for social workers it can be incredibly valuable and it means their impression of a case isn't through the lens of defensiveness against a tabloid media frenzy.

The lessons are clear though. No busy social worker is going to have time to read and digest full serious case reviews. It is incumbent upon everybody else- educators, trainers, managers and people like ourselves to offer this. That is why Community Care has teamed up with Perdeep to do exactly that- as we have done so far in the Shannon Matthews case and Baby P. Yes we know the format needs a bit of improvement (we're working on it) but I honestly think it's one of the most valuable things we as a magazine can do for our readers. 

Last year saw superstar vocalist Mariah Carey dress down to play a Harlem social worker for her role in the internationally acclaimed film, Precious. Although Carey's social worker was variously interpreted the Hollywood star was praised for her performance.

Next year, another famous face will bring social work to the big screen, in director Jim Loach's first feature film, Oranges and Sunshine, the true story of Nottingham social worker Margaret Humphreys. It's based on Humphreys' own novel, Empty Cradles.

Humphreys - who uncovered the deportation of thousands of UK children to Australia - will be played by British actress Emily Watson (pictured), starring alongside The Matrix's Hugo Weaving and The Lord of the Rings' David Wenham.

The film's official synopsis reveals: "Almost single-handedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and drew worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. Children as young as four had been told that their parents were dead, and been sent to children's homes on the other side of the world. Many were subjected to appalling abuse. They were promised oranges and sunshine: they got hard labour and life in institutions."

It's already been described as, "full of depth, intelligence and grace" (Little White Lies) and, "an emotional bombshell of a film that will leave audiences shaken" (Screen International).

Oranges and Sunshine hits UK cinemas on April 1st, but Community Care will bring you reviews and views from early screenings. Click here for an interesting round up of social work on the big and small screens, put together by The Guardian.

Could childhood brain injuries lead to criminal behaviour? That was one of the questions researchers from the University of Exeter set out to answer when they began this study.

Their research - picked up by the BBC and Time Magazine - found young offenders are more likely to have suffered a traumatic brain injury than the rest of society. Of 197 young male offenders surveyed, around half were discovered to have had a childhood brain injury.

They found that, although a brain injury alone is unlikely to spark criminal behaviour, it could affect those already susceptible to crime, and may be a factor in reoffending...

Better assessment of injuries could help to identify young people at risk of offending, and prevent re-offending, the researchers said.

Huw Williams, associate professor of clinical neuropsychology at the University of Exeter, spoke to Radio 4's All in the Mind progamme this week. Interesting stuff.

Credit: Tim Pearce

Research out today pinpoints the triggers for young teenage girls falling pregnant- disrupted childhoods, not being breastfed, an absent father, moving house frequently and lack of involvement of parents in upbringing all contributed. Hardly a surprise I suspect but still interesting to know that research backs it up.

In other social care news coming our way Torbay children's services attempts to avoid an improvement notice while children's rights campaigners are lobbying the Lords to save the Children's Commissioner during the current review of the role.

(Pic credit: lovejanine on Flickr)

Settling in to watch Michael Gove (pictured)address delegates at the National Children's and Adults Services (NCAS) conference in Manchester, I was hopeful that the education secretary would make some big - or even small - announcements on children's services.

Unfortunately, he did not. (Even though rumours of announcements had been circulating).

Instead, we had half an hour of schools and only the briefest mention of children's social care needs. 

While a child's education is undeniably important, councils will also want to know how their children's services will be affected by cuts and shifting priorities. Despite having a key opportunity to directly address these issues, Gove did not which has led many delgates to question whether children's social care will slip down the political agenda.

Gove assured us it will not, but only after being challenged by the ever vocal Hilton Dawson, chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW).  

While the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) is determined to let prospective adopters know that smoking will not automatically disqualify them from being approved as an adopter, councils in Scotland seem to be doing the opposite.

Anyone else confused?

According to local reports, Scottish smokers could soon be banned from fostering or adopting children in Aberdeen.

City councillors have been asked to agree a new policy which would stop social workers recruiting prospective adopters and foster carers who light up.

Councillors admitted the change would be likely to affect the pool of available homes for children in care.

Children's minister Tim Loughton has been busy spreading the message that race should not be a barrier when it comes to adoption.

After Loughton told Community Care that social workers should not insist on waiting for a "dream ethnic match"- for the sake of political correctness - if another family could provide a stable home sooner, a DfE spokesperson confirmed that the message would be reiterated in updated statutory adoption guidance.

She said there was "no new guidance specifically on BME adoptions" or any "massive change" but said the updated guidance would contain a clear message to local authorities that race should not block adoptions.

A statement from the DfE, issued this morning, advised local authorities to make better use of the Adoption Register and the Adoption Research Initiative, which provides guidance to frontline practitioners on planning and decision making, family finding, adoption support and the costs of adoption.

It stated: "In addition, the Government will shortly be re-issuing updated statutory adoption guidance, including advice on matching for BME and mixed ethnicity children. The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) is also developing new practice guidance on promoting a child's ethnic identity in adoption and balancing this against unnecessary delay."

molly.garboden@rbi.co.uk

A survey of children in care has shown that the majority believe it was the right thing for them despite half not wanting to leave home at the time of the decision being taken.

A survey by the Children's Rights Director, Roger Morgan, of 50 children in care also showed that over half felt they had had sufficient support from social workers and their famiy had had enough support.

Despite this generally positive response to social workers, fewer than half of the children surveyed said they had been told how to contact a social worker themselves before coming into care.

Just over half - 26 - children said they had not wanted to leave home at the time of being taken into care. A majority of 36, however, said that at the moment, they believed being taken into care had been the right thing to do. Nine said they were not sure, while just six said it was probably or definitely not the right thing.

Children said care had been the right choice because they were now looked after well, were happier, and more settled. Some said it gave them a better life with more opportunities.

Children's minister Tim Loughton has hit out at the "hints of political correctness" that are hampering children's chances of being adopted.

Speaking to Community Care for National Adoption Week - which started today - Loughton accused social workers of insisting on waiting for a "dream ethnic match" before placing children with prospective adoptive families.

Although he admitted that, for many children, a close match was best, he said professionals ought to consider whether children might be waiting several years to find the supposed ideal ethnic match when somebody else could offer a good quality placement sooner.

"The most important thing is the quality of the placement and the family, but there are still too many hints of political correctness in the system," he said. "Unless there are very good reasons not to, we should get on with giving children stable placement opportunities."

But Loughton confirmed he will not be setting any adoption targets, adding that he was "absolutely opposed" to those introduced by Tony Blair 10 years ago.

A report from think-tank Demos, commissioned by Barnardo's, recently recommended that targets would improve falling adoption rates nationally. But Loughton said: "I am fundamentally opposed to many targets, but I am absolutely opposed to adoption targets.

"I don't want to force local authorities to have to search high and low for prospective adoptive families in order to meet some artificial - though well intentioned - target set by central government. It is the wrong way to go about things.

"I want the number of children going into good quality stable adoptions to rise because we've got a greater availability of high-quality adoptive families, and because it is in the best interests of children for whom it is appropriate."

Loughton criticised local authorities for failing to use voluntary adoption agencies to recruit more adopters. He said councils used the costs of paying an agency as an excuse, pointing out that comparative research has shown there was little difference in cost.

"I think [councils] are hiding behind this excuse because the mindset is 'we want to keep things in-house'. It is absolutely wrong and it is flying in the face of the Children Act.

"I would question why there is a monopoly on children in the care system being the responsibility of local authorities and adoption systems being the preserve of local authorities," he said.

Loughton claimed that too much "back and forth" communication between adoption panels and the court system was delaying the issuing of adoption orders.

"Adoptions still take far too long," he said. "For babies born to parents who are clearly never going to be capable of looking after children, courts can quickly judge that the child is going to have a life in care so an adoptive placement should be sorted out as soon as possible."

Loughton said he had spoken to Sir Nicholas Wall, the president of the family division of the High Court. Wall will ask judges "to speak to adoption panels and I will ask adoption panels to speak to judges".

The minister added: "With better communication and co-ordination, we could speed up the whole system. There are some fairly solvable practical problems within the system and bigger problems regarding the mindset which I am determined to challenge."

A survey of over 2,000 adults in the UK, carried out by BAAF, and published today at the beginning of National Adoption Week, has found children in care could be missing out on the chance to be adopted because persistent myths and legends surround adoption.

Around a third (32%) of people still believe over 40s can't adopt, while 36% think smokers are ruled out and 29% believe obesity would prevent someone from adopting a child. One in 10 (11%) believe gay and lesbian people can't adopt.

Even your choice of newspaper was thought to affect your chances of adopting by some people, but BAAF - concerned that prospective adopters may be needlessly disqualifying themselves - is trying to put an end to the myths.

David Holmes, chief executive of BAAF, said: "The key message is anyone over 21 can apply to adopt. However there is no right to adopt and everyone whose application is taken forward will be subject to a very thorough assessment. Every case is treated individually.

"The good news is that 94% of people who make it to an adoption panel get approved. So we strongly urge anyone interested in adoption to make an enquiry. Don't rule yourself out without at least finding out the facts."

Photo credit: Inju