Building back better post Covid should be focused around children
The government’s pledge to ‘build back better’ and ‘level up’ after the Coronavirus pandemic is just a slogan unless it focuses on children, the children’s commissioner has warned.
The prime minister and all political parties should set a clear goal that’s about children’s lives, not the institutions they attend, Anne Longfield said in her final [...]
BASW England highlights concerns over independent care review
The British Association of Social Workers has raised concerns about the independent review of children’s social care and questioned whether the outcomes have already been agreed and the reform footprint developed.
BASW England said the proposed timeframe of 12-15 months for the review to take place, in the context of a global pandemic, suggests a [...]
Gang exploitation shows ‘no sign of abating’
A lack of coordination between different agencies responsible for helping to keep vulnerable children safe is leaving them at risk of exploitation, a report by the children’s commissioner for England has found.
In her report assessing how effectively existing infrastructure within local authorities is being used [...]
Failing to intervene early in children’s mental health could be ‘catastrophic’
The four governments in the UK must take steps to protect the mental health of vulnerable young people, Adoption UK has warned.
Children who experience trauma in their earliest years are likely to experience mental health problems and failing to intervene with these children could be “catastrophic” in adolescence and beyond, the charity states.
Adoption UK’s [...]
NSPCC raises fears over rise in domestic abuse during lockdown
The NSPCC has raised concerns about an increase in domestic abuse as the average monthly contacts to the children’s charity has soared since last March when the first lockdown began.
The children’s charity helpline is receiving an average of over 30 contacts a day from adults worried about children living with domestic abuse. The monthly [...]
Barnardo’s calls for foster carers as pandemic exacerbates need for stable foster homes
The number of children urgently requiring foster care from Barnardo’s has risen by over a half, the children’s charity has reported.
Between April and December 2020, the number of children referred to Barnardo’s fostering services in England rose by 57% compared to the same period in 2019. The number of referrals to the children’s charity’s [...]
