Social Work Now: Professionals must do better on looked-after children's education
Ravi Chandiramani
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
There are few bigger prizes worth securing in a child's life than success in education. And there are few bigger scandals than the gaping disparity between the educational attainment of looked-after children and the population in general.
The numbers speak for themselves: 12 per cent of children in the care system in England gain five high-grade GCSEs compared with 69 per cent of all children. Year upon year, the figures hardly budge. Our main feature this month examines the role of social workers in being the "pushy parent" alongside carers to fight a child's corner.
Measures such as personal education plans and support from virtual head teachers can help, but social workers themselves have a vital role to play. One area bucking the national trend is Ealing in west London, where 18 per cent of care leavers went on to university last year. Its achievement is thanks in no small part to the Horizons Centre, a one-stop shop for looked-after children that should be an inspiration to others across the land.
There is much to commend family group conferencing, in which social workers actively involve family members in making decisions about the care of children deemed to be at risk. It will only be an appropriate avenue of resolution in certain cases, of course, with the child's welfare paramount. North Somerset's programme has saved more than £500,000 in less than two years by avoiding legal proceedings and preventing children going into care. The focus on mediation and working with whole families also resonates with current government thinking on the best way to solve social problems. More councils should grasp the nettle and use family conferences if they want to avoid greater social and monetary costs later.
Elsewhere, we have two insightful contributions on issues that have slipped under the radar. Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Adolescent and Children's Trust, calls for a strategy to deal with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder; and Alys Young, professor of social work at Manchester University, highlights how the needs of deaf children are overlooked in social work teams. Meanwhile, our multi-agency panel considers the case of a private fostering arrangement of an overseas child.
Finally, providing a clear indication that social work is managing to attract recruits from all walks of life, this month's newly qualified social worker Faye Lucas tells us about the switch from her former job as a casino pit boss. What are the odds on there being others like her?
Ravi Chandiramani, editor-in-chief, Social Work Now
