NCB reacts to plans for children's social care announced by DfE, which will implement findings from the Independent Review of Children's Social Care.
If the true measure of a society is the care it gives to its most vulnerable members, we have been coming up far too short, for far too long.
No one is more vulnerable than a child living in an unloving and unsafe home, yet too many children live in conditions no one should have to tolerate.
We have seen an unequivocal political commitment to begin putting this right. Today must mark the start of a new chapter, where we can begin to repair social care for children, strengthen the workforce that provides support, and look towards a brighter future.
Our research has repeatedly shown how overburdened and underfunded children’s services increasingly only provide help to children and families in the gravest circumstances.
Anna Feuchtwang
CEO
Our research has repeatedly shown how overburdened and underfunded children’s services increasingly only provide help to children and families in the gravest circumstances. So, the National Children’s Bureau welcomes plans to fundamentally reform children’s social care, and to rebalance the system towards early support for families so they can overcome problems like mental health, domestic violence and addiction, and provide stable and supportive environments for their children to grow up in.
The record number of children who are now looked after by the state, the horrific killings of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, and the abuse of disabled children recently uncovered in residential settings in Doncaster, are powerful reminders of the urgent need for sustained reform.
The government is right to trial major changes to the system, but we must keep building the momentum with further funding allocated at the next spending review and pledges from all parties to support this work beyond the General Election. Strengthening multi-agency work must be a priority alongside co-production with children and families, evaluating change through robust measurements of impact and outcomes as we progress.
While today’s announcements give us hope for a better future, we cannot underestimate the challenges. The cost-of-living crisis is pushing more families into hopeless situations, while inflation eats away at hard-pressed local authority budgets. Social workers are on their knees, as the recruitment and retention crisis spreads across the entire children’s workforce. Alongside today’s strategy, the government must introduce an emergency package of measures to stabilise the current system otherwise they risk these plans becoming empty promises.
About NCB’s work on social care
The National Children’s Bureau is a leading campaigner for improvements to children’s social care. Our recent work includes:
• Research with other leading charities and Pro Bono Economics showing how cuts to children’s services funding over the last decade have led to a shift away from spending on early intervention.
• A rapid review of evidence that confirmed how early help improves outcomes and saves money.
• Providing the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care with policy ideas and research evidence to help drive its recommendations, and convening groups of care-experienced young people to share their ideas through our Living Assessments programme.
• Our Strategic Director, Dame Christine Lenehan, is lead reviewer of the investigation by the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel into abuse within three children’s homes in Doncaster.