DWP urged to improve support for care leavers
The Department for Work and Pensions has been urged to improve support for care leavers. A report by the Social Security Advisory Committee found that one in five care leavers…
Ofsted reports of children’s services published in May
A round-up of the Ofsted inspections of children’s services published during May. Improvement plan at Croydon ‘progressing well’ Senior leaders in Croydon are progressing well in implementing their improvement plan,…
Transgender issue poorly understood by social workers
Childhood gender dysphoria remains poorly understood by social workers, resulting in transgender people experiencing discrimination, a study has found. There is a significant lack of transgender-specific social work research, the…
Bursary boost for care leavers
A new government funded bursary scheme has been announced to support care leavers to join an apprenticeship. Care leavers aged 16-24 choosing to do an apprenticeship from August 2018 will…
Appropriate pace of change at Barnet
There is an appropriate pace of change at Barnet, a monitoring visit of the authority by Ofsted has found. Inspectors noted that the local authority is consolidating the recent improvements…
Reduced resources impacts negatively on social work in Oxfordshire
A reduction in resources in Oxfordshire children’s services combined with increased demand for services has resulted in a decline in the quality of some services, Ofsted has found. Oxfordshire children’s…
Funding to improve services to children of alcohol dependent parents
Local authorities have been invited to bid for funding to improve support services for children of alcohol dependent parent and dependent drinkers. The Department for Health and Social Care and…
Expert’s Corner: Mary Cullen
Clare Jerrom speaks to Independent Social Worker, Mary Cullen about the importance of attachment theory in social work practice. Attachment theory can be under-rated in social work practice, an expert…
Darlington requires improvement to be good
Darlington children’s services requires improvement to be good, Ofsted has said. While adoption and experiences of care leavers were rated as ‘good,’ Ofsted deemed that leadership, management and governance, children…
Inspectors find ‘significant weaknesses’ in responses to children at Swindon
The quality of decision-making when children are first referred for help or protection has declined at Swindon children’s services since the last inspection in 2014, Ofsted has found. In a…
