Updates
VKPP launch National Analysis of Police-Recorded Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) Crimes Report 2022
On 9 January the National Policing Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) published National Analysis of Police-Recorded Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) Crimes Report 2022
Details
Data from 42 police forces found: there were around 107,000 offences reported in 2022; around 75% of CSAE offences related to sexual offences committed against children, and around 25% relate to online offences involving indecent images of children. The report recommends wider data and information sharing to get a more complete picture of CSAE.
Improving the mental health of babies, children and young people
On 8 January DHSC published A framework of modifiable factors to guide promotion of good mental health in babies, children and young people
Details
The guidance highlights factors influencing the mental health of children and young people and sets these out in a framework to guide promotion and prevention. The guidance is aimed at public health professionals; commissioners and providers in the NHS and local authorities; and voluntary and community sector organisations.
Join a network to influence social work practice conditions and workload
On 12 January Research in Practice invited local authorities to join a network for the National Workload Action Group (NWAG) and Valuing Social Work Project.
Details
Research in Practice, in partnership with Essex County Council and King’s College London, is working with the National Workload Action Group (NWAG) and other partners to develop resources to support recruitment, retention, and workforce development, and to provide recommendations to the Department of Education (DfE) about reducing social worker workload. The work will help enhance safe and effective practice and promote the value and diversity of the social work role.
Understanding Attendance
On 18 January ImpactEd published Understanding Attendance
Findings on the drivers of pupil
absence from over 30,000
young people in England
Discover the barriers to school attendance and the strategies you can put in place to improve outcomes for all your children.
Details
In the 2022-23 academic year, 22.3% of all pupils were persistently absent.
To address this, ImpactEd Evaluation launched Understanding Attendance, a national project helping schools and Trusts to identify the underlying drivers of pupil absence in their settings, and supporting them to assess the impact of their interventions.
Report 1 of Understanding Attendance provides insights on Phase One of the project, looking at attendance rates of over 200,000 pupils and surveys from 30,000 young people during the Autumn term 2023.
Implementing changes to Working Together to Safeguard Children
Tuesday 30 January 2024
Hosted by DfE, a general engagement opportunity to discuss working together to safeguard children and understand what the revisions mean for practice.
Details
Online, 11.00- 12.30 on Tuesday 30 January 2024, open to senior leaders of all statutory safeguarding partners and relevant agencies, including education settings. Please register using your workplace email address.
Introduction to the Children’s Social Care National Framework and Dashboard
Thursday 1 February 2024
Hosted by DfE, and members of the Children’s Social Care National Practice Group, a general engagement opportunity for all safeguarding partners and relevant agencies, including education settings.
Details
Online, 13.00- 14.30 on Thursday 1 February 2024, open to senior leaders of all statutory safeguarding partners and relevant agencies, including education settings. Please register using your workplace email address.
Reminders From Previous Weeks
Safeguarding children with disabilities in residential settings: government response
On 18 December DfE published the government’s response to the review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
Headlines
It sets out steps the government is taking around five key focus areas:
- keeping disabled children in residential settings safe;
- continuing to reform safeguarding;
- improving support in the community;
- commissioning places to live for disabled children; and
- developing a stable and well-trained workforce.
The NSPCC Learning CASPAR briefing on this review has been updated to include the government’s response.
Four ways to improve youth diversion
On 11 December NCB published four recommendations for change for youth diversion
These recommendations are based on:
An evidence review on youth diversion programmes
and
Systems guidance: Arrested Children: How to keep children safe and reduce reoffending
Recommendations
- Empower children and young people’s voices and nurture their aspirations throughout the diversion process.
- Address ethnic disparity in diversion practices, improve understanding of and ways to best support disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs, and care-experienced children and young people.
- Improve inter-agency and multi-agency collaboration.
- Strengthen and expand the evidence base on youth diversion.
Podcast: Racism in social work
On 2 January Community Care released a podcast Racism in social work.
We speak to Nana and Ash, both children and family social workers, about their experiences of racism. There is discussion about racism from families they have worked with but also from within the organisations they have worked for.
You can read the transcription here.
The podcast is available on most podcast platforms. You can find it by putting ‘the social work community podcast’ into your search engine.
Racism in social work
Links to more Community Care stories on racism in social work:
My role as England’s first anti-racist lead practitioner
Conference calls on senior leaders to take action to embed antiracist practice
Tools & Templates
We have produced a Regional Improvement Plan (July 2023)
On 18 January ImpactEd published Understanding Attendance
Findings on the drivers of pupil absence from over 30,000 young people in England
On 12 January Research in Practice invited local authorities to join a network for the National Workload Action Group (NWAG) and Valuing Social Work Project. On 2 January Community Care released a podcast Racism in social work.
On 9 January the National Policing Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) published National Analysis of Police-Recorded Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) Crimes Report 2022
On 8 January DHSC published A framework of modifiable factors to guide promotion of good mental health in babies, children and young people
On 2 January Community Care released a podcast Racism in social work.
On 19 December DfE launched a Consultation on Guidance for Schools and Colleges on Gender Questioning Children which closes on 12 March 2024
On 19 December Heidi Connor, Senior Coroner for Berkshire published a Prevention of Future Deaths report following the Ruth Perry inquest. Ofsted’s response is here. The DfE response is here
On 18 December DfE published the government’s response to the review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
On 15 December the DfE published Children’s Social Care National Framework and Revised Working Together
On 15 December the DfE published Championing Kinship Care – The National Kinship Care Strategy
On 15 December the DfE published Children’s social care: data and digital strategy and Children’s social care: dashboard and indicators update
On 14 December, HMCTS publsihed, at section 8 of the bulletin Annual Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Statistics for 2022-2023
On 14 December, DfE published statistics for 2022-23 on Parental responsibility measures
On 11 December NCB published four recommendations for change for youth diversion
On 28 November the Mr Justice Chamberlain handed down a judgement [2023] EWHC 3030 (Admin) in a Judicial Review case brought by Kent, Brighton and Hove and East Sussex Councils about the operation of the National Transfer Scheme for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children
On 24 November the LGA published its Top 10 Tips for DCSs for building an effective system of SEND and alternative provision
On 21 November the Marie Collins Foundation launched a survey to help develop a free intervention tool that can be used by professionals with children who have been harmed through Technology Assisted Child Sexual Abuse (TACSA)
On 19 November the Public Accounts Committee published The condition of school buildings
On 16 November the Children’s Commissioner published Homeless 16- and 17-yearolds in need of care
On 16 November DfE published Children looked after in England including adoptions annual statistics for 2022-2023
On 14 November Cerebra published The prevalence and impact of allegations of
Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII)
On 6 November NYA published The social cost of youth work cuts: Preventing youth offending through youth work
The presentations from the 2 November Care Leavers Conference in Winchetser are now available
On 2 November the Children’s Commissioner published Missing Children, Missing Grades