Care Review announced by government with Frontline’s Josh MacAlister named as chair

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will launch the “wholesale” review at an online event later today, naming Frontline social care founder Josh MacAlistair as chair.

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• Blog: Examining how the Care Review should work

MacAlistair will step down from Frontline to chair the review.

Delighted to share that I will be leading the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England. It’s a once in a generation opportunity to transform a system that is needed to give the most vulnerable children safety, stability and love https://t.co/8EcFsx6loM

— Josh MacAlister (@JoshMacAlister) January 15, 2021

According to Williamson, the review, promised in the Conservative’s 2019 general election manifesto, “aims to raise the bar for vulnerable children across the country”.

It is set to cover the process from referral through to children becoming looked after and will address major challenges such as the increase in numbers of looked-after children, the inconsistencies in children’s social care practice, outcomes across the country, and the failure of the system to provide enough stable homes for children, DfE has said.

A terms of reference for the review, published today, sets out the themes and questions that will be addressed and how it will respond to the changing needs of children in care or at risk of going into care, especially given the impact of the pandemic.

These will include how to improve accountability for those responsible for children’s outcomes, how to ensure children have a positive experience of care, and how to support and strengthen families – helping children stay safely with their families where possible.

The government lists key themes and questions as:

1. Support: what support is needed to meet the needs of children who are referred to or involved with social care, in order to improve outcomes and make a long-term positive difference to individuals and to society? 

2. Strengthening families: what can be done so that children are supported to stay safely and thrive with their families, to ensure the exceptional powers that are granted to the state to support and intervene in families are consistently used responsibly, balancing the need to protect children with the right to family life, avoiding the need to enter care? 

3. Safety: what can be done so that children who need to be in care get there quickly, and to ensure those children feel safe and are not at risk of significant harm? 

4. Care: what is needed for children to have a positive experience of care that prioritises stability, providing an alternative long-term family for children who need it and support for others to return home safely?

5. Delivery: what are the key enablers to implement the review and raise standards across England, such as a strong, stable and resilient workforce, system leadership and partnerships, and what is needed so that this change can be delivered?

6. Sustainability: what is the most sustainable and cost-effective way of delivering services, including high-cost services, who is best placed to deliver them, and how could this be improved so that they are fit for the future? 

7. Accountability: what accountability arrangements are necessary to ensure that the state can act appropriately, balancing the need to protect and promote the welfare of children with the importance of parental responsibility, and what is needed to ensure proper oversight of how local areas discharge those responsibilities consistently? 

DfE has also pledged to seek the views of care-experienced children and adults, stating: “The review will prioritise hearing the voices of children, young people, and adults that have received the help or support of a social worker, or who have been looked after.”

MacAlister will lead an “experts by experience” group seeking input from a handful of applicants who have had interaction with a social worker as a child or personal experience in care.

Family members of a child who has interacted with a social worker or have a child who has been placed in care are also invited to apply to take part in the group.

The chair will also launch a “call for advice” from others with experience of the children’s social care system.

Williamson will tell the launch event: “We have known for some time that despite the best efforts of hardworking and dedicated social workers, the children’s social care system is not delivering a better quality of life and improved outcomes for those it is designed to help.  

“This review will be bold, wide-ranging and will not shy away from exposing problems where they exist. Under Josh MacAlister’s leadership, it will benefit from his understanding of the challenges facing the system and his experience of improving outcomes for children and young people.

“It is part of the golden thread that runs through everything we are doing to level up society, especially for those who are too often forgotten or marginalised. It is going to help us raise the bar for these vulnerable children, it’s going to help us improve their life prospects and most importantly, it’s going to help give them the chance to achieve their potential and not be held back from the futures they deserve.”

MacAlister will add:“If 2020 showed us the grit, commitment and creativity of social workers, teachers and other professionals, then 2021 is our chance to think afresh about how we support children without the safety, stability and love that many of us take for granted.  

“This review will listen deeply and think boldly. That is why I am recruiting for an ‘Experts by Experience’ Group that will direct an ambitious effort to hear the diverse experiences of children and families who have had social workers. I also need advice and challenge as we start this review, which is why I’m launching a Call for Advice.

“Deep down I think many of those working in the children’s social care system and certainly many of those who have experience of it, know that radical change is needed. My commitment is that this review will deliver a wide-ranging plan to extend the joy, growth and safety of childhood and the esteem, love and security of family life to all children.”