DfE urged to focus on social work training and care placements

Continuity seems to be the order of the day at the Department for Education following the Conservative’s election win.

Nicky Morgan returns as Secretary of State, while four of the five DfE ministers are also reappointments – Caroline Dinenage, under secretary of state for women, equalities and family justice, being the one new face.

As well as little ministerial change, the department’s agenda over the coming years also looks familiar. Aside from the key pre-election pledge to double the free childcare entitlement (see box), the Tories’ election manifesto emphasised expansion of existing initiatives, such as the free schools programme, fast-track social work training courses and children’s mental health support.

With the DfE budget set to reduce further and school spending protected, the scope for developing ambitious plans looks limited.

It is the impact that austerity will have on demand for services – rather than a shortage of new initiatives – that most concerns Alison O’Sullivan, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).

“Year-on-year demand for child protection services continues to rise, yet our budgets are shrinking,” she says.

“The Treasury’s savings plans in the last parliament were based on the assumption that spending on children’s services would reduce, but this did not happen.

“It is vital that our future funding allocations are based upon the reality that demand will continue to grow – without this, we simply will not be able to provide vital frontline services to vulnerable children, young people and their families.”<