Editorial: Inherent dangers lurk in staying safe plan
Ravi Chandiramani
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
With the publication of the Staying Safe Action Plan last week, the government has been at pains not to be seen to wrap children up in cotton wool. In presentation terms, the document's front cover depicts children happily participating in watersports, climbing and running. Meanwhile, the Department for Children, Schools and Families' press notice on the safety plan leads heavily on the proposal to encourage teachers to take pupils on outdoor school trips by providing advice and diminishing bureaucracy.
The message from government is clear: an element of risk-taking is good for learning and growth. There is an acknowledgement, as its accusers hold, that it has hitherto got the balance wrong in piling on measures to protect children without allowing them the freedom to develop. The plan states that for at-risk young people, a positive activities programme will run in 15 local authorities particularly affected by gang culture. More generally there will be a campaign to empower the public to understand and manage risks. It's clear that risk is back in fashion.
Nevertheless, much of the action plan justifiably contains safeguarding measures in the more traditional protection mould. There is a strong focus on safer recruitment procedures, specifically for the third sector, in advance of the new vetting and barring scheme the Independent Safeguarding Authority, and fresh guidance to aid joint working through local safeguarding children's boards.
Underpinning the action plan is a new public service agreement to improve children and young people's safety, which will be monitored on four indicators. They are: to reduce the percentage of children who have experienced bullying; reduce the percentage of children referred to social care who receive an initial assessment within seven working days; reduce hospital admissions caused by unintentional and deliberate injuries and reduce preventable child deaths, as recorded through the new child death review panels. Disappointingly, no specific targets are set, merely the wish to see "clear and significant improvements over the comprehensive spending review period".
Children and young people are said to regard staying safe as the most important of the Every Child Matters outcomes. The action plan strikes the right balance between protection and risk. But by declining to hold itself accountable to specific targets, it runs the risk of letting children down.
