Special guardianship orders: Are decisions being made for the child, or the local authority?

Community Care has asked leaders from the adoption, kinship care and fostering sectors for their views on how the rise in special guardianship orders has impacted permanency

Is permanency planning working in the best interests of children, or has recent case law prompted services to focus excessively on processes to the detriment of children and families?

Community Care has asked leaders from the adoption, kinship care and fostering sectors for their views on this increasingly controversial topic.

Special guardianship orders (SGOs) have been to the fore in the debate around permanence this past year.

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The Children’s Commissioner has published a study on the isolation of children in custody in England.

The Children’s Commissioner has published a study on the isolation of children in custody in England. It finds that about one third of children experience isolation and segregation with some spending up to 22 hours in isolation. It is prevalent in larger institutions and is used as a means to maintain order and safety in environments where violence is commonplace. The report makes recommendations for the radical reform of the youth custody system to create an environment which improves children’s outcomes and reduces reoffending.
Source: BBC News 22 October 2015
Further information:
Unlocking potential 
   Unlocking potential: supporting research

Source CASPARR

The Office for National Statistics has published a report on children’s well being

The Office for National Statistics has published a report on children’s well being. For the first time, it includes an analysis of the data for children’s mental health. This revealed that amongst those who were online for more than three hours, 27% reported high or very high scores for mental ill health.
Source: Office for National Statistics 20 October 2015
Further information:
Insights into children’s mental health and well-being

The female genital mutilation (FGM) mandatory reporting duty comes into force on 31 October 2015

The female genital mutilation (FGM) mandatory reporting duty comes into force on 31 October 2015. The Home Office has published procedural information on the duty to help health and social care professionals, teachers and the police prepare.
Source: Home Office 20 October 2015
Further information:
Mandatory reporting of female genital mutilation – procedural information (PDF)

The Minister of State for Community and Social Care has set out plans to improve children and young people’s mental health. These include: a national anti-stigma campaign for teenagers and parents which will launch next month; and the creation of a new section on the NHS Choices website providing information on mental health which is tailored for young people.
Source: Department of Health 22 October 2015
Further information:
NHS Choices: young people and mental health

 

The NSPCC has published a framework for national and local decision-makers and commissioners. It sets out actions across five levels of society – children, parents, communities, universal services and local government – to help stop child neglect. Informed by evidence from new NSPCC research on universal services, the framework focuses on taking action before the need for intervention from children’s social care at a Child in Need or Child Protection level.
Source: NSPCC website 20 October 2015
Further information:
Thriving communities: a framework for preventing and intervening early in child neglect (PDF)

Source: NSPCC

The government has launched a counter-extremism strategy

The government has launched a counter-extremism strategy which includes measures to automatically bar convicted terrorists from working with children; and enabling parents concerned their 16 and 17-year-old children are at risk of travelling abroad under the influence of extremists to apply to have their passports removed.
Source: Home Office 19 October 2015
Further information:
Counter-extremism strategy