Care Review: DfE announces plans for National Implementation Board to oversee reforms

Care Review chair Josh MacAlister today (23 May) published the final recommendations from his Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

Key elements include plans to boost early help in a “fundamental shift” from crisis intervention, changes to social work training including the introduction of pay scales and mandatory family-facing hours for all social workers as well as increased support for kinship carers and a windfall tax on the biggest children’s homes providers.

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Responding to the review, the Department for Education has vowed that “vulnerable children and families in England will be better supported by a fundamental shift in how children’s social care services are delivered”.

Initial measures set out by ministers, in response to the review, include the introduction of a new National Implementation Board made up of “sector experts and people with experience of leading transformational change and the care system” to oversee reforms.

The development of a National Children’s Social Care Framework, which is among MacAlister’s recommendations, will also be pushed forward by the government, the DfE has announced.

Further measures to be taken forward by ministers include plans to work with local authorities to boost foster carer recruitment, “reframing and refocusing” the support social workers receive in the early part of their careers, “particularly to enhance their skills and knowledge in child protection” and “joining up data from across the public sector to increase transparency – both between safeguarding partners and to the wider public”.

I welcome today’s report, which will be central in our ambition to ensure every child has a loving home 👧🏽👦🏻🏡

This is the start of a journey to change the culture and dramatically reform the children’s social care system. https://t.co/7uu6qZKXN5

— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) May 23, 2022

Further information on reforms will be set out “later this year”, according to DfE.

It has also reiterated plans for Family Hubs laid out in Andrea Leadsom’s Start for Life offer, including funding for seven more local authority areas to set up centres.

The extension of funding for existing initiatives including Social Workers in Schools and Designated Safeguarding Lead Supervision programmes for the upcoming academic year has also been announced.

In its response, the DfE notes that the review’s recommendations “build on measures the government has taken to address the most urgent issues facing vulnerable young people, following a generous settlement for children’s social care at last autumn’s Spending Review”.

.@reviewCSC is an important first step in ensuring that every child has an equal chance to fulfil their potential.

It’s vital that we better support families and children with experiences of care. I will be saying more on the Government's response in Parliament later today. https://t.co/sBVwJqXAwn

— Will Quince MP 🇬🇧 (@willquince) May 23, 2022

“This includes banning under-16s from unregulated accommodation, bringing in improved standards of care, providing the largest package of children’s social care placements since 2010, investing millions in programmes that support families in crisis and young people leaving the care system and working with experts to tackle the barriers to children’s school attendance,” it adds.

However, in his review, MacAlister questions the government’s refusal to ban the use of unregulated accommodation for all children up to the age of 18.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, said: “This is the start of a journey to change the culture and dramatically reform the children’s social care system. 

“Everything we do to raise the outcomes for children and families must be backed by evidence. This report will be central in taking forward our ambition to ensure every child has a loving and stable home and we will continue working with experts and people who have experienced care to deliver change on the ground.

“I am grateful to Josh MacAlister for his work, as well as to the families, young people, and professionals who shared their experiences. 

“We are ready to meet the challenge set by this review and I will set out my plans for bold and ambitious change in the coming months.”  

Delivering a statement on the publication of the review in the House of Commons, children’s minister Will Quince said: "I look forward to working with the sector and with colleagues across both sides of this house to form a bold and ambitious response and implementation strategy to be published before the end of 2022."

Quince laid out his "three priorities" for implementing reforms, saying: "The first is to improve the child protection system, so that it keeps children safe from harm as effectively as possible, the second is to support families to care for their children so they can have safe, loving and happy childhoods which set them up for fulfilling lives, and the third is to ensure that there are the right placements for children in the right places, so that those who cannot stay with their parents grow up in safe, stable and loving homes."

He committed to delivering an update to MPs on the progress of implementing reform by the 23 May next year, however, when pushed by Labour's shadow children's minister Helen Hayes, was unable to give a detailed timeframe for putting changes in place. 

Hayes said: "I welcome the review’s conclusion that a total reset of children’s social care is needed. This conclusion is a terrible indictment of the extent to which this government has been failing children for more than a decade."

Responding to the review, children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said: “We must grasp this unique moment to deliver ambitious reform, designed around children and families. A system that delivers so we can properly shift the dial on their experiences and outcomes.

“Whilst the publication of reviews is only ever the first stage in a process, and the ideas held in them only as good as their implementation, we must not underestimate the need to act – so many children’s lives and futures are at stake. Too many tell me they feel let down by the services designed to protect and support them, so let’s seize this chance to do better. We need everywhere to be as good as the best and we must have no tolerance for anything less than excellent.

“I look forward to doing whatever I can to make this much needed reform a reality. We owe it to England’s children.”

Steve Crocker, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Social Work, added that the organisation is “looking forward to working with government to develop an implementation plan that delivers for children and families to realise the ambitions articulated here”.

“A clear vision for children and a plan for childhood to draw together these important pieces of work backed by cross-government commitment and bold investment by the Treasury is needed so all children and young people can thrive,” he added.