Child protection system 'fails older children'

The report, which is based on the findings of a year-long inquiry, found older young people are frequently treated as "less vulnerable" by professionals, while trafficked and asylum-seeking teenagers are often regarded as criminals, rather than children in need of support.

The report argues that Ofsted should increase scrutiny of local authority provision for this group, and urges practitioners to show greater willingness to look beyond children’s behavioural problems to recognise signs of neglect and abuse.

It meanwhile suggests that the Department for Education be given “explicit overall responsibility for the welfare of all children, including those that have been trafficked or who are seeking asylum,” and calls on government to hold a review into the impact of immigration policy upon child protection.

The report examined three key themes: older children, neglect and thresholds for intervention. On neglect, it found evidence that children are left in harmful situations for too long.

It recommends improving training in the consequences of neglect for all frontline professionals, and says more needs to be done to raise awareness of abuse among children, to encourage self-referrals.

On thresholds, the report “strongly encourages moves towards multi-agency co-location and more integrated services, where all children receive help regardless of thresholds”. 

As an aside from the three main themes, the report warns that “strenuous efforts” to protect services from cuts may be difficult to maintain in the future. To tackle this, it says the government must monitor the impact of the economic situation and cuts in services on child protection.

The report also calls for clarity on how safeguarding and child protection accountabilities will work under the new health structures being set up as a result of the NHS reforms.

Graham Stuart, chair of the education select committee, said the recent revelations concerning the BBC and Welsh care homes underline how important it is to get child protection right.

“Care for older children is not good enough,” he said. “They are let down too often, frequently ignored or not listened to, can be pushed out of care too young and insufficiently prepared and supported. This has to change.

“We also have particular concerns over the plight of trafficked and asylum-seeking children. In all cases, these children must be treated as children first, and not just as either criminals or immigration cases. It would be outrageous if destitution were to be used as a weapon against children because of their immigration status.”

“Whatever your view on the cuts it is essential that the children in our society most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation are not the ones to pay the price. These children must be first and foremost in the minds of councillors and ministers so that the welcome improvements we have seen over recent years are maintained and built upon.”?

Nushra Mansuri, professional officer at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), called on ministers to “put their money where their mouth is”, by funding improved services for older young people.

“The report, released at a time of growing public concern about child sexual exploitation, rightfully recognises the need for better services for older children, and we support its findings,” she said.

"However, BASW has a very real concern that the plight of older children in need of protection will only worsen in the current economic climate, since the stark reality when children's services departments are forced to ration the care they are able to offer is that this section of harder to reach young people get overlooked.?

“Our members indicate that the situation facing a range of children, including older children, children at risk of trafficking and children subject to immigration control will only get worse as social workers struggle to provide adequate services with scant resources and rocketing demand.”