Daily roundup: Shared parenting, speeding up adoption, and job passports for young people

The presumption of shared parenting is to be enshrined in legislation following a government consultation on separated families. Responses to the Department for Education consultation revealed widespread agreement that both parents should be involved in a child’s upbringing following family separation. The Children Act 1989 will now be amended to include a “presumption approach” clause. Former children’s minister Tim Loughton applauded the government’s decision on Twitter. He congratulated Edward Timpson, the current children’s minister, on securing the “long overdue” change.

Social workers believe efforts to speed up the adoption process will benefit children in care. A survey by The College of Social Work found almost nine in ten agreed the average time it takes for a child coming into care to be adopted - two years and seven months - is too long and damages children. However, more than 90 per cent suggested that increased emphasis should be placed on expanding the use of other permanent placements, such as special guardianship and long-term fostering. More than 300 social workers responded to the survey, which will be presented at a Lords select committee meeting today on adoption legislation.

Pupils in West London are to receive jobs passports when they leave education. The tri-borough councils of Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster also plan to teach employment skills to children from the age of 12. The local authorities hope their employability programme will reduce youth unemployment in the area. They intend to test the scheme with 3,500 pupils if the government approves the proposals. “Our plans would bridge the disconnect between what is taught in schools and what is required from employers,” said Nicholas Botterill, leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

The NSPCC has backed the government’s decision to hold an inquiry into child abuse in Welsh care homes. Prime Minister David Cameron announced yesterday that the Waterhouse Inquiry, held in the 1990s into allegations of abuse in the 1970s and 1980s, should be urgently reviewed. His decision followed concerns raised by the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. “We share the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ concern that the voices of those who suffered this terrible abuse should be at the forefront of any new inquiry and should be made a central point in the terms of reference,” said Des Mannion, head of NSPCC Wales.

Women who become prostitutes in childhood find it more difficult to leave and form a new way of life, research has found. An in-depth study of the lives of more than 100 women involved in prostitution – the largest of it’s kind in the UK – showed those who entered and sought help before the age of 18 faced barriers to accessing services. Interviews with 35 women who had entered prostitution in their early teens or younger, revealed they were often unable to remember life before prostitution. The research was conducted over three years by women’s charity Eaves and the London South Bank University, funded by the Big Lottery.

Local voluntary and community organisations should join together in consortia to support services for young people in the tough financial climate, a report has claimed. The study by Community Matters, FPM and the Confederation of Heads of Young People’s Services (CHYPS) argues that organisations must shift their focus from service contracts and pre-ordained national targets, to local priorities. “Local community groups often lack the size and capacity to succeed or even participate in competitive procurement processes, despite their ability to provide good quality services with social value,” said Kevin Ford, chief executive of FPM. “This report provides local authorities and policy makers with a guide to the drivers, benefits and barriers of consortium working.”