Daily roundup: multi-agency inspections, safeguarding in Kingston and poverty target concerns
Neil Puffett
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Ofsted's multi-agency inspection plans, an apology from Kingston Council over safeguarding standards, and claims the child poverty target is unachievable, all make the headlines today.
Proposals for "radical" multi-agency child protection inspections involving health, police and probation inspectorates, have been published by Ofsted. Unannounced child protection inspections, carried out by Ofsted, can currently only examine the performance of local authorities, with the contribution of health, police, probation and other services outside the watchdog's remit.
Kingston Council has apologised to local residents after it's safeguarding services were rated inadequate by Ofsted. Richmond Council’s director of children’s services, Nick Whitfield, has been drafted in as joint director for Richmond and Kingston with immediate effect, to oversee an improvement action plan for the council. He replaces Duncan Clark who is stepping down.
Former Labour minister Alan Milburn has said the UK has no chance of meeting its target of ending child poverty by 2020, the BBC reports. Milburn, the government's adviser on social mobility, said officials should "come clean" and admit the goal will not be achieved.
Around 1,900 young people are to get the chance to learn construction and DIY skills while refurbishing their local youth centres, as part of a £1m project launched by London Youth today (11 July). The Volunteer It Yourself (VIY) scheme, backed by a Big Lottery Fund grant, will see young people renovating 47 youth clubs across England and Wales.
Nottingham Council has agreed to reconsider plans to introduce a five-term school year, thisisnottingham.co.uk reports. The move has been welcomed by the National Union of Teachers, which described the decision as a “step in the right direction”.
Tens of thousands of disabled adults and children will be much worse off as a result of welfare reform changes due to come into force next year, a new report from Citizens Advice, The Children’s Society and Disability Rights UK warns today.
The recent “baby boom” appears to be stalling after latest figures revealed a rise of just 0.1 per cent from 2010 to 2011, the Telegraph claims. In the last decade, the number of births increased by almost a quarter from just under 595,000 to around 724,000 last year.
Prime Minister David Cameron is struggling to fulfil his promise of making the UK the most family-friendly country in Europe, the Family and Parenting Institute has said. The charity has awarded the UK a D+ grade for its family friendly status in its annual Family Report Card.