CYP Now's top 10 stories of 2017
Kate Plummer
Friday, December 22, 2017
With a general election and the passing of the Children and Social Work Act, 2017 has been another busy year in the sector. Here is a run-down of the most-read stories published on the CYP Now website over the past 12 months.
1. Labour to scrap government's SEN reforms
Labour general election manifesto pledges to ditch the introduction of education, health and care plans for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and to replace it with a new system of support.
2. GCSE requirement for early years trainees to be scrapped
The controversial requirement for early years staff to need at least grade C in both GCSE English and Maths is scrapped in favour of "functional equivalent" tests.
3. Government set to drop controversial exemption clause
The government drops controversial plans to allow councils to apply for exemptions from the children's social care legislation in the face of huge opposition.
4. Ofsted considers scrapping overall ratings for children's services
Ofsted reveals it is considering dropping overall ratings for the quality of children's services in favour of only grading specific service areas.
5. Major National Citizen Service provider goes bust
A regional provider of the government's flagship National Citizen Service goes bust.
6. Children and Social Work Bill to become law within a week
Government reveals that Children and Social Work Bill will be made law prior to dissolution of parliament ahead of June's general election.
7. DfE commits to children's centres consultation
Department for Education commits to a consultation on children's centre going ahead, following news that the life chances strategy would be dropped.
8. Ofsted slams leadership at council rated ‘inadequate' for child protection failures
Ofsted judges children's services in Tower Hamlets as "inadequate" amid concerns that children had been left in abusive situations for too long.
9. University axes youth work course due to slump in job prospects
Manchester Metropolitian University (MMU) drops its youth and community work degree due decline in job opportunities within youth services sector.
10. More than 500,000 children to miss out on free 30 hours childcare
Government confirms that more than half of children claiming 15 hours of government-funded childcare a week will not qualify for the extended 30 hours offer.
