Press Release

Green Paper depends on getting it right first time, says Dame Denise

12 October 2006

The Green Paper on children in care contains welcome proposals but its effectiveness will depend on all those involved “getting it right first time,” says Dame Denise Platt, Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

“Getting it right first time was less expensive in the long run than getting it wrong, she told delegates to the Care & Health/NCB conference today (12 October). “Less expensive in both cash and personal terms for the people concerned.”

Dame Denise said there had been improvements in services, particularly in child protection, and the Green Paper paid tribute to this.

“Children don’t live their lives in boxes, and the Government rightly broadened its policy perspective to reflect the breadth and complexity of children’s lives.”

But it was tempting to conclude that successes so far in improving children’s experiences of care had been the easy ones, she went on. Some problems - particularly educational attainment and better health - were proving difficult to tackle, despite the efforts of some very committed social workers and councillors.

“We now have to confront the real and persistent challenge of some of the most needy children. We have to look at how the care system can be more effective in challenging and changing some deep-rooted patterns and levels of emotional distress.”

Dame Denise said she would like to see more importance placed on child and adolescent mental health services, as well as child health services generally.

She questioned the “underlying antipathy” to residential care, saying research suggested that some youngsters found it very difficult to live in family situations such as foster placements, and instead preferred going into a residential home.

Getting it right first time meant social workers finding out more about what different environments could offer and whether they would suit the child, she said.

If children’s homes delivered poor quality, councils needed to rethink their commissioning and contracting strategies, Dame Denise went on. She asked why special measures should be applied only to children’s homes rather than other services such as fostering.

Dame Denise welcomed the Green Paper’s proposal that children should be able to remain in foster care until they were 21, but wondered what support would be put in place for those leaving residential care, especially if they went on to further or higher education.

Getting it right first time meant providing the stability of having the same social worker and giving them time to develop good relationships with the child, she said.

“Time is the social worker’s most precious commodity and the commodity in shortest supply - but getting it right first time means workers having the time to develop the relationships, which children value.” 

Dame Denise called for children’s and adult services to work closely together, saying: “Let us share information, have the adult services talk with the parents and the young people, to plan now for their support and for their children’s future in a way which is considering the range of resources that can be developed - rather than as a way of placing children in what currently exists.

“Preventative help for many families relies on the same level of commitment to continuity and consistency both within and between adult and children’s services.  And it requires social care and health services for adults of all ages to develop at the same rate as children’s services.”

She said she was confident that the Directors of Children’s Services and their newly formed association would meet the challenges outlined in the Green Paper, but warned they would need to “raise their game” in commissioning services.

“They will need to explore and evaluate what works for their local communities; they will need to confront a ‘one size fits all culture’. Most importantly, they will need to engage, involve and support their frontline staff and children and young people in tackling the barriers that the Green Paper outlines.”

Dame Denise said: “There have been real improvements in educational achievement for all children - they have responded to the

mainstream improvements in our education system - and in many ways the majority of children will make it with the support and

encouragement of their family and friends. What is very clear is that children in care cannot and will not make it without us and our

 best efforts on their behalf. And that is the challenge of this Green Paper.”