Ministers broaden green paper’s scope

The looked-after children green paper could be more wide-ranging than expected.

Officials drafting the paper are keen to investigate how the lookedafter system could be made more child-centred, reveal documents circulated ahead of a Local Government Association meeting this week.

Government officials hope to use the paper to address placement instability, lack of aspiration in the system and lack of early intervention services, according to the discussion documents for the LGA’s children and young people board.

It was expected that the green paper, which may yet turn out to be a strategy paper or white paper, would concentrate on improving the educational attainment of lookedafter children. But it appears the Department for Education and Skills plans to tackle the issue of improved outcomes more generally.

Ideas under discussion include guaranteed admission to particular schools, more pre-school assistance, and further help in making the transition to further education. Concrete entitlements for looked-after children and improving the skills of carers are also being mooted.

The LGA supports the broadening of the green paper beyond educational attainment and suggests a commissioning model based on personalised budgets.