Children and Social Work Act 2017

Children and Social Work Act 2017

The Children and Social Work Bill received Royal Assent on 27th April 2017 hours before the previous Parliament came to a close. The Bill has had a difficult passage and not all proposals survived the process. In particular, the controversial plan to allow local authorities to opt out of certain child protection regulations was removed long before Royal Assent.

The majority of the new Act relates to social work and will setup a new independent regulator to be called ‘Social Work England’. Other sections of the Children and Social Work Act 2017 cover:

  • promotion of the educational achievement of previously Looked After Children;
  • the introduction of compulsory relationships education in primary schools;
  • the introduction of relationships and sex education in secondary schools, which may take into account the ‘religious background’ of pupils

The content of the relationships and sex education programme is yet to be set, but will cover safety in forming and maintaining relationships, the characteristics of healthy relationships, and how relationships may affect physical and mental health and well-being.

Maintained schools and academies will need to ensure that there is a designated staff member for previously Looked After Children, which includes those who were cared for under a special guardianship order, and young people who have been adopted.

Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) will be abolished under the regulations in the new Act, and ‘safeguarding partners’ will instead make local arrangements for safeguarding and promoting welfare of children. Safeguarding Partners are the local authority, health commissioning groups and the police; and although the local authority might also include ‘relevant agencies’, education is not specifically mentioned.

The Act creates a national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (CSPRP) to look into serious child safeguarding cases in England which raise issues that are complex or of national importance.

Consultation on Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls

Consultation on Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls

The Scottish Government is consulting on the draft Delivery Plan for Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls. The deadline for response is 30 June 2017.

Source: Scottish Government  Date: 19 May 2017

Health and well being of children and young people

Health and well being of children and young people

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has published a report following a review of sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) – the proposals put together by the NHS and local councils to meet the health needs of the local population. The review of 44 STPs in England found that: the majority contain little mention of the health and wellbeing needs of children, except in relation to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS); and the majority do not demonstrate appreciation of the life-long impact of poor health in childhood.

Source: RCPCH  Date: 16 May 2017

Further information: State of child health short report: sustainability & transformation partnerships (PDF)

Children affected by domestic abuse

Children affected by domestic abuse

Children & Young People Now reports that Buttle UK has released figures following analysis of grant-giving which shows that: it received 9,909 referrals about children affected by domestic abuse during 2016, an increase in referrals of 33% on the previous year; 3,384 of these referrals related to children aged four or under.

Source: Children & Young People Now  Date: 15 May 2017

Further information: Buttle UK

Care applications

Care applications

Cafcass has published its monthly care application statistics for England. In April 2017 Cafcass received a total of 1,029 care applications. This figure represents a 16% decrease compared with those received in April 2016.

Source: Cafcass  Date: 16 May 2017