Review of child protection bureaucracy vital in the face of rising demand

10 June 2010

An estimated 61,000 children will come into the care system in England in the next two years, pushing the systems that look after vulnerable children to breaking point and making a reduction in back office bureaucracy more urgent than ever council leaders warned today, as the government launched a review of child protection practices.

New statistical analysis carried out for the Local Government Association by the National Foundation for the Educational Research (NFER) has shown that the recent increase in child protection referrals could lead to an increase of nearly 35 per cent in the number of children starting to be looked after in 2011/12 compared to 2007/8.

The numbers of children coming into the care system had been declining since 2005 but shot up in the wake of the baby Peter Connelly case and are expected to settle at a higher rate. The latest figures from court advisory service Cafcass show March 2010 was a record month for care proceedings, as 832 care applications were dealt with.

The LGA has previously argued that a reduction in bureaucracy is needed to allow social workers to spend more time with the children they are working to protect. On average, only 13 per cent of the time taken to complete an initial assessment is spent with the child or family but 87 per cent is spent on paperwork and process. An initial assessment is just one formal procedure which makes up the child protection process.

Essential time could be saved by having all professionals, such as health workers and teachers, record information about at-risk children in the same way, using the Common Assessment Framework. This would reduce the effort needed to cross-reference information.

Cllr Shireen Ritchie, chair of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said:

"Social workers on the front line of child protection are already feeling the pressure of more and more cases coming through the door. Every right minded person wants to know everything is being done to keep children safe from harm. Doing that as well as is humanly possible means making sure resources are being wisely used.

"Children who are at risk, and families which are struggling, will benefit more from additional time with experienced social workers than they will from an increase in the number of forms filled in about them. Some paperwork is essential to doing the best possible job, but it is right to try to reduce bureaucracy where it can ease the pressure on social workers and increase the quality of care offered to children.

"It is time to show more trust in our social workers to do the right thing for children. It is time for professionals like the police and health service workers to step up to the mark and show they understand the part they have to play in helping social workers reach the most vulnerable children first.

"The aim must be to find the right way forward, to make services that protect children the best they’ve ever been while properly supporting the people who do this vital work."

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