Local authority spending on training for childcare staff was cut by at least 40 per cent during the last financial year, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The figures, obtained by the Labour Party, show that total spending on training for childcare staff was reduced by £37m from £93m 2010/11 to £56m in 2011/12 across 136 local authorities.

Four local authorities – Redcar and Cleveland, Enfield, Solihull and Lewisham – now have no budget for training childcare staff.

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Health service abuse database must be comprehensive, urges ADCS

A new alert system to help doctors and nurses spot signs of child abuse must be closely monitored to ensure it is safe to use, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has warned.

Under the proposed system doctors and nurses will be able to check whether children they are treating are subject to a child protection plan or are looked after by a local authority.

Although the ADCS has welcomed the concept, it has warned that glitches or a lack of compatibility with existing local authority systems could lead to problems such as information not updating properly.

“This system is designed to pull information from existing systems so I hope they evaluate it to make sure it is always up to date,” ADCS vice president Andrew Webb said.

“If you get a false sense of security as a result of out of date information it could be potentially very dangerous.”

If a child is subject to a child protection plan or is looked after, the system logs details of times they attend accident and emergency departments or urgent care services.

The hope is that it will help services to identify neglect or abuse much earlier as abusers will sometimes take children to different areas for treatment to avoid raising suspicion.

If medical staff have concerns about a child’s welfare, they will be able to contact the relevant local authority.

Calls have also been made for government to improve child protection training for health staff alongside the introduction of the new system.

The NSPCC has warned that “people not processes” make the difference, and the Victoria Climbié Foundation (VCF) has said staff training should be a priority.

“Above all, those who are managing this important system must be equipped with relevant knowledge and training to ensure that appropriate steps are taken until the child is deemed to be safe,” VCF director Mor Dioum said.

“If used effectively, the system provides a good source for information sharing and communication.

“Where a child’s record has been ‘flagged’ it is important for the welfare of the child concerned that any action taken is proportionate to ensure that we do not lose the existing trust between communities and health professionals.”

Work on the database, called Child Protection – Information System, will begin early this year. It is earmarked to be introduced in hospitals by 2015.

Health minister Dan Poulter said: “Up until now, it has been hard for frontline healthcare professionals to know if a child is already listed as being at risk or if children have been repeatedly seen in different emergency departments or urgent care centres with suspicious injuries or complaints, which may indicate abuse.

“Providing instant access to that information means vulnerable and abused children will be identified much more quickly – which will save lives.”

Source cypnow

Government urged to develop national child sexual abuse strategy

England must develop a government-led national strategy to prevent child sexual abuse, a consortium of charities has urged.

Four members of the Stop it Now! UK Advisory Council made the call in a letter  to the Prime Minister.

Signed by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Children England, the National Association for People Abused as Children (NAPAC) and Action for Children, the letter says the Jimmy Savile scandal has demonstrated that local strategies to prevent abuse are not working, and that the government needs to adopt a co-ordinated approach to the issue.

“We need a comprehensive strategy and action plan which can identify and address the gaps in prevention to stop children being abused and support children and young people after abuse has happened,” the letter said.

The signatories criticised the government’s record on preventing all forms of child abuse, and called for a cross-departmental approach to dealing with the problem.

“Successive government departments have developed strategies to tackle sexual abuse, but these have consistently failed to impact effectively on the magnitude of this problem,” the letter said. “There needs to be co-ordinated action across a range of departments.”

Kathy Evans, deputy chief executive of Children England, said the government must do more to prevent child abuse, as opposed to the current system that focuses on investigating and responding to the issue.

“That means actively equipping and supporting the vital roles of neighbours, friends and communities in keeping children safe, as well as taking seriously the effective identification, prevention and treatment of perpetrators,” said Evans.

A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister had received the letter and would respond in due course.

“The government is currently implementing a major programme of reform of the child protection system in England to ensure that effective action is taken to address all forms of child abuse, including sexual abuse,” he said.

“This includes action to improve frontline practice including assessment and early help, a strong approach to learning lessons where things go wrong and new rigorous inspection arrangements.

“There is more work that we need to do, but the fact that more and more abusers are now going to court, being found guilty and locked away for years sends out a strong message that abusers will be punished harshly.”

The signatories are all members of the Stop it Now! UK Advisory Council, which campaigns to prevent sexual abuse and was founded by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

The council’s helpline reported a record number of calls yesterday, which comes amid a 43 per cent increase in the number of calls over the past two years, from 3,513 in 2009/10 to 5,034 in 2011/12.

“This helpline data, coupled with the current unprecedented public debate about child sexual abuse, reminds us all that abused children do not typically report abuse,” said Donald Findlater, director of Stop it Now! UK and Ireland.

“It is surely for all adults to play their part in keeping children safe – knowing the signs to look out for, talking through any concerns they have and, crucially, taking action to help protect a child.”

Source: CYPNow