Munro: 'accelerate the pace of child protection reforms'

“It is just over a year since I published the final report of my review. During that time I have travelled around the country and heard how well implementation of these recommendations is progressing, and how the child protection landscape as a whole is changing.

"My overall assessment is that progress is being made, but the pace of reform now needs to be faster. The groundwork has been done but these changes now need to come together and create the momentum to shift from a compliance culture to one focused on helping children and on learning how to do better.

"There are promising signs that reforms are encouraging new ways of thinking and working and so improving services for children and families.

"Also, there are many other reforms taking place in parallel to those in child protection, most notably in health and policing. Because these new working environments are still evolving, it is extremely important to stress the importance of working together to help children, young people, and their families.

"Revisions to statutory guidance will soon be proposed by government, which will be published for consultation. I believe this will offer an opportunity for radical change at local level.

"During my review, a number of local authorities were granted exemptions from some aspects of statutory guidance, so they could test more flexible approaches to assessment. The experience of these authorities provides good evidence of the positive effects of increasing local autonomy.

"I welcome Ofsted’s revised child protection inspection framework, which focuses on the impact and effectiveness of help and protection for children, young people and their families, in addition to a more rigorous examination of the quality of professional practice.

"Progress is also evident of sector-led activity to support reform. For example, the Children’s Improvement Board is playing a key role in driving improvement, and the College of Social Work is now in operation and developing services that support professionals’ development.

"We must all remember that, however difficult it may be to initiate and embed change, from the individual child’s point of view the need to create a more child-centred system is urgent.

"To achieve the whole-system reform I outlined in my report, we need all of those involved in child protection – from front-line professionals to the government – to grasp this opportunity for change.

"Finally, one fundamental change that is needed is for all to have realistic expectations of how well professionals can protect children and young people. The work involves uncertainty: we cannot know for sure what is going on in the privacy of family life, nor can we predict with certainty what will happen.

"Having realistic expectations of professionals will make it easier for them to have the confidence to use judgment instead of applying rules that do not match a specific child’s needs, and the humility to reflect on weaknesses in their practice so they can learn."

Read the full report here.