Boards: Refocus needed

Now, arguably, the opposite is true: so keen are children's services to show that every child matters, they often lose strategic sight of that small group of children most at risk of harm. For example, local safeguarding children's boards (LCSBs) have a vital, multi-agency role, but some are being blamed for paying too little attention to child protection.

Most LCSBs will have been keen to monitor implementation of the government's children's plan. But keeping children safe and sound, one of the plan's key objectives, goes well beyond traditional child protection into the broader well-being agenda.

Boards are often chaired by directors of children's services, who frequently have an education rather than social services background and are too close to the systems LCSBs are supposed to scrutinise.

Schools are centre stage in socially inclusive children's services, but there are still huge cultural barriers between them and effective child protection work. Matters will hardly improve if LCSBs fail to give child protection the time it deserves. They should not forget that they were to be a solution to the problems identifi ed by the biggest child protection inquiry this decade, that into the death of Victoria Climbié.

Further information

Safeguarding board review 'must renew focus on child protection'