Uncovering abuse of children in the hands of agencies that are expected to protect them.
Local Authorities’ Handling Of Neglected Children To Be Investigated.
The government has just announced that it will carry out
a series of inspections on public bodies working with neglected children.
The inspections which will start in May this year, aim to assess how
effectively organisations like local authorities, police and probation
services work together to help and protect children aged between 7 and
15, the age group considered to be most at risk of neglect, abuse and
exploitation.
There
will be 6 inspections, which from May until December will focus on
children’s experiences at the hands of these organisations. Findings highlighting what works and what needs to be improved will be published when all six inspections are complete.
A further overview report will then be published to offer guidance on good practice in this area.
An initial series of inspections were carried out in January 2016 which looked at children at risk of sexual exploitation, and those who went missing from school or care.
We hope the latest round of inspections reveal the deep dysfunction
amongst these organisations who continue to work against, rather than
with, each other. There is still an enormous amount of mistrust between
agencies like the police and the local authority, which often has
serious consequences for the children in their care.
We’ll keep you up to date with any developments.
Thank you to Nick for alerting us to this item.
A new set of inspections will examine how local partner agencies -
including local authorities, health and probation services and the
police - are working together to protect children living with, or at
risk of, neglect.
The series of 6 joint targeted area inspections (JTAI) involving
Ofsted, Care Quality Commission (CQC), HMI Constabulary and HMI
Probation will begin in May this year.
JTAI assess how effectively agencies are working together in their
local area to help and protect children. Each set of joint inspections
also evaluates the multi-agency response to a particular issue or theme.
Following feedback from key stakeholders, the four inspectorates
decided that the latest series of JTAI should look at local support
services for children living with neglect. In particular, the
inspections will focus on the experiences of children aged between 7 and
15 years old, who may be at higher risk of going missing or being
exploited, or who exhibit challenging behaviours in adolescence.
Guidance published today sets out how the inspections will work in practice.
Uniquely for this JTAI, inspectors will also speak with school
leaders and staff to get a wider picture of how neglect is identified
and referred.
HM Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said:
Identifying signs of neglect in middle childhood and adolescence
can be very complex, as children at this age experience and respond to
neglect differently from younger children. However, at any age, the
impact of childhood neglect can be lifelong.
It’s crucial that local partner agencies understand the long-term
effects of neglect and recognise the need for early and appropriate
intervention.
These inspections will provide valuable insight
into the local area response to neglect. And importantly, they will
highlight good practice that others can learn from.
Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice at the Care Quality Commission, said:
Neglect is a terrible and far-reaching problem that can present
itself in many aspects of a child’s life. We all have a responsibility
to safeguard those children who find themselves at risk of neglect, and
that means understanding where these risks might be and also where
services are doing great work to support children in their area.
By focusing on individual children’s experiences
and tracking them across services, these inspections will provide an
invaluable chance to see how agencies are working together and the
impact this has on the welfare of young people.
HM Inspector of Constabulary, Wendy Williams, said:
It is important that all police officers have the correct knowledge
to fully understand the signs of neglect. As HMIC has said previously,
although the protection of the vulnerable is not just the responsibility
of the police, police officers will often be the first point of contact
for vulnerable victims.
These inspections aim to provide an
understanding of how the police works with partner agencies not just to
identify child neglect, but also to provide the best possible support
and protection to keep children safe.
HM Chief Inspector of Probation, Dame Glenys Stacey, said:
Many of the children of adult offenders may be experiencing
neglect. This programme will give us the opportunity to examine and
report on the work of probation providers in improving the lives of
children and young people living in very difficult circumstances. Youth
offending teams supervise many children and young people who have
experienced and continue to experience neglect in childhood and towards
adulthood.
We will identify the extent to which youth
offending teams work with these children and young people to reduce the
impact of neglect and improve their life chances.
Each inspection report will include narrative findings, clearly
setting out what local partners are doing well and what they need to do
to improve.
In 2014, Ofsted produced a report on local arrangements to safeguard
neglected children under the age of 10. This multi-agency review of the
experiences of older neglected children will build on that evidence
base.
When all 6 inspections are complete, an overview report will be
published to highlight learning and good practice on the theme of
childhood neglect.
CASA for Children
CampaignForChildren
