MacAlister today (23 May) published more than 70 recommendations for the government with a focus on early help, youth advocacy, improved training for social workers and plans to reduce profit-making in the children’s residential care market.
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Care Review: Early help central to plans for 'radical reform' of children's social care in England
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Care Review: DfE announces plans for National Implementation Board to oversee reforms
Sector leaders have welcomed some of the recommendations, including creating a new “opt-out” advocacy system for young people.
Advocacy
Rita Waters, group chief executive for the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS), said the organisation “is delighted that children in England who enter care, or at other key moments in their care journey, will be automatically connected with an independent advocate”.
However, Waters is among experts to raise concerns over the review’s proposals to scrap the role of independent reviewing officers (IROs).
“On one hand, it will reinforce the role of independent advocates who support young people. However, it also presents the danger of diluting opportunities for safeguarding children and young people,” she added.
Carolyne Willow, director of children’s rights charity Article 39, described the proposed removal of IROs as “a drastic and dangerous move”.
“IROs are experienced social workers who scrutinise local authorities’ care and decision-making in respect of individual children. They were introduced to make sure there is an experienced social worker not connected to the child’s care who holds the local authority to account,” she said.
Early help
MacAlister also recommends a series of measures for a “fundamental shift” from crisis intervention to early help including the creation of multi-agency early help teams working from community buildings such as school and family hubs.
Anna Feutchwang, chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), said: “Keeping families together is the right thing to do, but also makes financial sense.
“To deliver this new approach, the review recommends a temporary injection of around £2bn over the next five years by the Treasury, helping up to half a million children who require extra support.
“This may seem a big ask of the public purse at a time when so many in our country are facing hardship. But if not now, when?”
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has not shied away from the challenge.
— National Children's Bureau (@ncbtweets) May 23, 2022
Now we have to seize the moment.
A 🧵 on our thoughts 👇
Full statement: https://t.co/DXqYVZjwSs#CareReview @reviewCSC pic.twitter.com/IA1v4PCACE
Mark Russell, chief executive of the Children’s Society, added that “there is much to welcome” in the review “especially the emphasis on boosting early help to prevent children reaching crisis point”.
However, others have questioned a recommendation to pilot not-for-profit family help practices which have “their own budget, delegated decision making and the freedom to work with communities from the ground up to design and build services”.
Willow warned that the removal of responsibilities from local authorities could lead the review to be “remembered for the structural reorganisation of children’s social care, moving people, services, power and funding away from local authorities”.
“At any time, this kind of major structural upheaval would be questionable,” she said.
Commissioning reforms
Sector leaders have also raised fears over proposals to introduce regional commissioning co-operatives (RCCs), which would take on “responsibility for the creation and running of all new public sector fostering, residential and secure care in a region, as well as commissioning all not-for-profit and private sector provided care for children as necessary”.
Peter Sandiford, chief executive of the Independent Children’s Homes Association (ICHA), said the recommendation “demonstrates MacAlister's lack of understanding of the residential children’s care sector”.
“Whilst not specifically termed co-operatives, regional commissioning groups already exist. ICHA works with several regional commissioning groups who are doing excellent work but acknowledge for many this is an area for improvement.”
Katherine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become, added that the charity “is worried this could move decision making further away from children and young people and the people that know them best”.
Today's final report from @reviewCSC is incredibly important, and we welcome the recognition that the current care system is not working for too many children and young people.
— Become (@Become1992) May 23, 2022
Our initial response is available in full on our website.https://t.co/ceEMsaO1nO
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Sack-Jones also raised concerns about plans to scrap Regulation 44 for children’s homes, which requires an independent person to visit at least once a month to make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care.
“Whilst the current system could undoubtedly be improved, checks and balances are necessary and play an important role in keeping children safe. They should not be abandoned lightly,” she said.
Steve Crocker, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, added: “Whilst there is much to support, we do need further detail to fully understand how some of the reforms would work in practice, such as a national advocacy service for children in care and regional care co-operatives. Careful trialling and evaluation may be needed before wider implementation of some aspects of the recommendations to ensure children’s best interests are not lost despite best intentions.”
Government urged to act
Sector leaders have issued calls to the government to implement an “urgent action plan” for reform to be met.
The Family Rights Group warned that MacAlister’s £2.6bn five-year plan “depends on the government committing to the aims set out in the review and, as crucially, to investing, as a minimum, the financial resources recommended by the review”.
A joint statement from children’s charities NCB, Barnardo’s, Action for Children, NSPCC and the Children’s Society, said: “The Independent Review of Children's Social Care must be a turning point.
“Such an opportunity needs to be met with an urgent action plan from government to implement the reforms and a commitment for ambitious, long-term investment. The voices of children and young people must also be heard loud and clear throughout this process.”
Our response to the care review, from @annelongfield :
— Commission on Young Lives (@coyl2022) May 23, 2022
“The independent review of children’s social care provides the Government with an ambitious and affordable plan to improve a system that is broken, financially unsustainable, and failing far too many vulnerable children.
Anne Longfield, chair of the Commission on Young Lives and former children’s commissioner for England, added that the review “provides the government with an ambitious and affordable plan to improve a system that is broken, financially unsustainable, and failing far too many vulnerable children”.
“The years of papering over the cracks and hoping for the best cannot continue. This is a once in a generation chance to build a better children’s social care system that provides protection to every child at risk from harm, and every child in care the support they need to thrive and succeed.
I welcome today’s report, which will be central in our ambition to ensure every child has a loving home 👧🏽👦🏻🏡
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) May 23, 2022
This is the start of a journey to change the culture and dramatically reform the children’s social care system. https://t.co/7uu6qZKXN5
“I hope the Secretary of State for Education will embrace these proposals and set out quickly how the government plans to deliver this vital public sector reform.
“Failing to do so is no longer a financial or moral option.”
The Department for Education has issued an initial response to the review laying out plans to create a National Implementation Board to oversee reforms.
