Ofsted finds serious child protection failings in Slough

Children’s services in Slough have been rated as inadequate after Ofsted inspectors found serious weaknesses in its child protection work.

An inspection report published today finds that although the council had taken action to improve leadership since similarly critical findings in 2011, the impact had been “too limited”.

“There are widespread and serious weaknesses in Slough’s child protection service,” the report states.

“As a result, children do not always receive the protection they need when they require it. Many children who are looked after by Slough do not do as well as they could in their education.

“In addition, services to help care leavers are seriously inadequate.”

Slough is the first authority to be given a rating of inadequate under Ofsted’s tougher new inspection framework.

Source: CYPNow

UK child sex abuse trafficking doubles – National Crime Agency

The number of UK-born children thought to have been trafficked for sexual exploitation more than doubled last year, the National Crime Agency said.

Fifty-six minors from the UK were flagged up as potential victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation in 2013 – a rise of 155% on 2012.

It is unclear whether they were being taken out of the country or moved within the UK, the NCA said.

The government said it was unlikely the data reflected the scale of the issue.

The NCA data suggested the number of foreign children identified as potential victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation in the UK also rose by 11%, to 88.

The most common nationality or country of origin for child victims of trafficking (not just for sexual abuse) was Vietnam, followed by the UK and then Albania.

‘Human misery’

The figures come from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a government safeguarding framework which authorities and charities refer potential trafficking victims to.

The NCA said a total of 1,746 people from 112 different countries were highlighted as potential victims of trafficking in 2013 – up 47% on the previous year.

People were thought to have been trafficked for various reasons, including sexual exploitation and labour.

Nearly two thirds of those referred were female (1,122) and around a quarter (450) were children.

In total, the number of cases involving UK-born victims in 2013 rose 173% to 90; of those, 63 were children, an increase of 186% on 2012.

Liam Vernon, head of the NCA’s UK human trafficking centre, said: “Increased awareness, both of human trafficking in its various forms and the obligation of first responders to use the National Referral Mechanism, is a likely contributor to the increased number of referrals in 2013.

“We know that this is a crime which affects some of society’s most vulnerable people, and some victims will remain undetected. Equally, some of those referred to the NRM may not ultimately be classified as victims of human trafficking.

“The NCA is committed to relentlessly disrupting what is a criminal trade in human misery.”

‘Disgusting trade’

Home Office minister Karen Bradley said the figures were “unlikely to show the full scale of modern slavery nor the human suffering behind each statistic”.

“The National Crime Agency is leading an enhanced and co-ordinated response to targeting trafficking gangs, we are increasing protection for victims, and we are strengthening legislation through a modern slavery bill,” she added.

“The bill will send the strongest possible message to criminals that if you are involved in this disgusting trade in human beings, you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted and you will be locked up.”

The NCA figures suggested there had also been a rise in the number of UK-born adults who were thought to have been victims of trafficking.

The 27 adults flagged up in 2013 represent a 145% increase compared with the previous year.

Albania was the most common nationality or country of origin for all referrals, followed by Nigeria and Vietnam.

There was a 53% rise (to 581 people) in potential trafficking for sexual exploitation for all the adult referrals.

Source: BBC News

£30m to fund innovative reforms to children’s social care

The government is to make £30m available over the next year to help children’s professionals develop innovative ideas for reforming how children’s social care is delivered.

Bids for a slice of the £30m children’s service innovation fund opened today, with the government indicating that its priority areas for the first year of the programme will be developing new models of social work practice and rethinking support for vulnerable adolescents in or on the edge of care. First announced by children’s minister Edward Timpson at last October’s National Children and Adults Services conference, the innovation programme aims to harvest and test “adventurous” ideas that professionals have to improve services for vulnerable children. As well as the £30m in 2014/15, Timpson said there would be “much more to follow” in 2015/16 “if the ideas are there to merit it”. “We’re looking for your boldest and most adventurous ideas to rise to the huge challenges we face; to drive better outcomes and better value for money. Ideas that have the potential to spark and spread innovation across the system,” he added. Timpson added that encouraging innovative models of working among local authorities is a priority because traditional working arrangements, where the least skilled or experienced social workers have the biggest responsibilities, are an “outdated practice model that also sees precious time squeezed out by bureaucracy, insufficient supervision and not enough professional development”. The £1bn invested in children’s residential care is also not delivering the results it should be, Timpson added. “Even with that huge outlay, we often don’t achieve good outcomes for these children. I’m sure we can do much better than this.” Grants of up to £10,000 will be available to develop pilot models of working or create a change programme. The Department for Education is also advertising for a delivery partner to work with throughout the programme. Timpson added: “Whether you’re a local authority, a company, a social enterprise or a not for profit organisation, we recognise the important role you have to play and we want to hear from you. Let us know what support you need to get your proposals off the ground and we will tailor help accordingly, whether by brokering partnerships, addressing regulatory barriers, providing evaluations or almost anything else.”

Source: CYPNow

Tougher Ofsted inspection finds Hillingdon ‘requires improvement’

The London Borough of Hillingdon has become the first council to be told that its child protection and care services must be improved under Ofsted’s tougher new inspection framework.

An inspection report published today found that although there were no “widespread or serious failures” that leave children at risk of harm, services were not of a “good” standard.

Two other inspection reports published today – for Derbyshire and Hartlepool – gave each authority an overall judgment of “good”.

The three reports are the first to be published under Ofsted’s new single inspection framework, which came into effect in November.

The new inspections assess the quality of services for all vulnerable children, with an overall department judgment based on performance in three key areas – services for children who need protection; looked-after children (including adopted children and care leavers); and leadership, management and governance.

A rating is also provided for the effectiveness of the local safeguarding children board.

Controversially, in the new framework, the “adequate” grade has been replaced with a grade of “requires improvement”.

Hillingdon’s inspection report listed 10 reasons for why it could not be rated as “good”.

These included:

• Social workers and managers sometimes ceasing provision of help too soon
• Important information not always being included in child assessments
• Written care plans not always being strong enough
• The views of looked after children are not always being recorded well

However the report did highlight a number of strengths, including the adoption service, therapeutic support for children in care, and efforts to ensure placement stability for children in care.

Sector leaders have previously raised fears that the new “requires improvement” rating will sap morale and result in more councils appearing to be underperforming on child protection.

The first set single inspection reports are to be reviewed by Professor Eileen Munro of the London School of Economics.

The single inspection framework is due to be replaced by multi-agency inspections from April 2015.

Source: CYPNow

New research shows that 83 per cent of 11- to 15-year-olds are struggling to deal with issues such as school, bullying and future employment. The Express reports findings of a study, carried out by the National Children’s Bureau and Channel 5 News, which also shows that body image is an issue, with 65 per cent of children feeling judged on their appearance.

More than 130 jobs will be lost at Leicester’s children’s centres after the council decided to scale back services. According to the Leicester Mercury, 133 posts, including management and administration positions, will be axed as part of council plans to save £3.4m.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has told the Independent that he wants children to be taught “attentiveness” skills to help them concentrate better in schools. He said the impact of social media is affecting their ability to concentrate for long periods of time and wants an intervention to protect their wellbeing.

Today MPs will vote on whether to ban smoking in cars carrying children. The BBC reports that a vote in favour of the amendment to the Children and Families Bill will give Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt the power to make the act illegal.

More than half of teachers (55 per cent) would be willing to teach the dangers of pornography in schools if they received specific training. The Telegraph reports findings of a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, which also found that 70 per cent of teachers think the topic should be taught to pupils between the ages of 11 and 16. – See more at: http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1142079/daily-roundup-pornography-dangers-smoking-cars-attentiveness-skills#sthash.vn4WHE7g.dpuf

NCVYS calls for National Safeguarding Day

A new campaign calling on youth organisations to review their safeguarding policies and to listen to the needs of young service users has been launched

The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) wants the sector to place special significance on 28 February and make it National Safeguarding Day.

Susanne Rauprich, NCVYS chief executive, said the charity wants all organisations working with children and young people to mark the occasion by stopping what they are doing, look at their safeguarding processes and listen to service users, empowering them to take ownership of their own safety.

The aim of the campaign is to improve safeguarding policies and standards across the sector.

Rauprich hopes organisations working with children and young people will pledge to support the campaign.

She said: “All of us in positions of trust need to do what we can to ensure our safeguarding policy and practice is current and effective – that is why we want to encourage and support organisations to stop, look and listen.

“The National Safeguarding Day adds a focus and gives us an opportunity to place safeguarding higher on our agendas.

“We’ve chosen 28 February so that every four years organisations also take the opportunity to make a leap ahead with their safeguarding practice.”

NCYVS will celebrate the first National Safeguarding Day by re-launching the Keeping it Safe guidance, which takes a young person-centred approach to safeguarding.

Source: CYPNow