Tag Archives | children in care

Social work diary: ‘Dear media, matching children with adopters is NOT like speed dating’

By Andy McNicoll on 30 April , 2013 in Adoption, fostering

Media sniping about adoption delays ignores the complex realities faced by social workers when finding the right placement for children in care, writes an anonymous social worker. Monday Newspapers carry stories of the lengthy time adoptions take, as if it were an easy process. This morning I visit the relatives of a baby in care. [...]

‘I leave thinking about how else to support them’: A day in the life of a children’s services manager

By Camilla Pemberton, journalist, on 22 January , 2013 in Adoption, Barnardo's, charity, children in care, councils, fostering

Sal Steeple works as a children’s servicesdevelopment manager for Barnardo’s south west. She oversees strategic and operational management for services across 16 rural and urban local authority areas, to recruit and provide fostercarers and adopters. Here she explains a typical day: I get up at 6am and fire up my laptop, hopingto do an hour’s [...]

Is Tim Loughton right to say the children’s agenda has been ‘greatly downgraded’ since the reshuffle?

By Camilla Pemberton, journalist, on 17 January , 2013 in Adoption, child abuse, children in care, department for education

Tim Loughton’s now notorious appearance before the education select committee makes for highly interesting, and amusing, viewing. As well as complaining that he’d had no formal exit interview when he was shuffled, and claiming there is an ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ mentality at the Department for Education, the ex-children’s minister likened former boss Michael Gove to a [...]

2012 recorded highest ever number of care referrals

By Camilla Pemberton, journalist, on 9 January , 2013 in family courts

As expected, the latest figures from Cafcass show the high rate of care referrals (which some have attributed to the ‘Baby P effect’) continued throughout 2012, with applications from April to December up 8% on the same period in 2011. Between April and December last year the family courts body received 8,135 referrals, while the [...]

‘Benefit cuts will not see more children taken into care; poverty does not equal neglect’

By Camilla Pemberton, journalist, on 8 January , 2013 in child abuse, child poverty, Child protection, children in care

Cafcass is wrong, benefit cuts will not necessarily see more children taken into care, writes child protection consultant Joanna Nicolas ‘There is a view being expressed in the media that because there are an increasing number of families living in poverty, more children are being taken into care because these families cannot provide for their children. [...]

Is it ever right to break the rules when working with children in care?

By Camilla Pemberton, journalist, on 17 December , 2012 in children in care, looked after children, residential care

Residential child care worker David Jones* discusses some professional dilemmas he’s faced, and explains why good relationships can actually make things harder I was driving a young person into townrecently when he said he’d arranged to meet his mother while we were out. Hismother had never posed any physical or emotional risk to the lad, [...]

‘He knocked on the door at 2:30am’: A Day in the Night of a Foster Carer

By Camilla Pemberton, journalist, on 29 November , 2012 in children in care, fostering

The secret foster carer shares her experiences of fostering through the night Foster carers, in my experience, don’texpect training to cover half the things that crop up when we’re looking afterchildren. We are at our desks 24 hours a day. Take my first looked-after child. You neverforget the first day, and night, with your first [...]