Balls reveals 58m social work transformation plan

The Social Work Transformation Fund will "increase the capacity of the system to train and support social workers and implement change in the immediate term."

It includes:

* Sponsoring 200 university places from September so the brightest graduates can sign up to conversion courses to become social workers

* A new recruitment campaign targeting social workers who have left the profession. The campaign will start from July and the government's aim is to have 500 social workers back in the profession as early as this autumn

The government has also pledged to reform the Integrated Children's System (ICS) in response to recommendations made by the first report of the Social Work Taskforce. The Taskforce said the electronic case management system should be reformed so it is less prescriptive and offers more scope for professional social workers to use their judgement.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls said: "The national requirement to have this formulaic way of doing things can be taken away very quickly and left to the professional judgement of social workers and their managers."

The government will also introduce a new set of national safeguarding indicators by the end of 2009 to form the basis of targets set by children's trusts. It will also amend the Apprentices, Skills, Children and Learning Bill to require two members of the public from the local community to sit on a Local Safeguarding Children Board.

The school inspection framework is to be strengthened with grades of one to four for safeguarding arrangements.

Ed Balls said: "The package of measures introduced today add up to a step change in child protection in our country."