Working together and confidentiality
Barrister Grahame Richardson of Trinity Chambers on working together in the family justice system and the issue of confidentiality.
Professionals working within the Family Justice system should be aware, in general terms at least, of confidentiality issues. However, they should also be mindful of their duty, and the duty of other agencies in this field, [...]
Social work practice at Birmingham has improved, says Ofsted
The quality of social work practice at Birmingham children’s services has improved since the last inspection, Ofsted has said.
The authority has demonstrated that it has made improvements in the quality of social work practice since the last inspection, however, further work remains to be done to ensure that practice is consistently good [...]
Practice remains too variable in permanence arrangements at Wandsworth
Practice remains too variable in permanence arrangements for children at Wandsworth Council, according to a monitoring visit by inspectors.
The fifth monitoring visit since the authority was graded inadequate for overall effectiveness in December 2015, stated that while some strengths were noted, a lack of timeliness in providing permanent alternative homes were found.
“Senior leaders accept that [...]
Pace of change at Tameside ‘too slow’
The pace of change and improvement remains too slow at Tameside, Ofsted has warned.
In the third monitoring visit since the local authority was judged inadequate in December 2016, inspectors saw that priorities had been translated into a 12-week plan.
“This has not led to strong coordination of service improvement or consistent frontline practice. As a result, [...]
Weaknesses remain in children who go missing from care in Worcestershire
Significant weaknesses remain in the quality of services to children who go missing in Worcestershire children’s services, Ofsted has found.
There are weaknesses in the electronic systems to support managers in the Family Front Door Service which was being focused on within the monitoring assessment by Ofsted and in the consistent focus within assessments and plans [...]
ChildLine has 15% increase in calls from suicidal young people
Calls to ChildLine from children feeling suicidal have risen by 15% in a year, the helpline has revealed.
The review found 22,456 counselling sessions were delivered to young people dealing with thoughts of ending their own lives - a rise of 15% compared to the previous year. This equates to 62 counselling issues a day on suicide alone.
Children [...]
