Children & Young People Magazine Feb. 2018 by ACTAsia

For decision makers and senior practitioners working with children, young people and families

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March 2018

Outstanding inclusive play

How play staff at Naomi House and Jacksplace hospices ensure every child can learn and have fun p22

Foster care stocktake: Implications of key measures p8

Experts call for expansion of school-based counselling p12

Special report: Interview: The Latest policy social worker and practice in driving reforms for care leavers p16 tackling CSE p27

Protecting girls at risk in a community based service St Christopher’s Safe Steps children’s home in West London cares for girls aged 12 to 17 who are at risk of child sexual exploitation or other serious community threats. At St Christopher’s we offer: Best practice based around the ‘Head, Heart, Hands’ principles of social pedagogy alongside therapeutic support and partnerships with local specialist groups Caring, passionate and well trained staff who take time getting to know them in order to build trust and respect Guidance on how to form healthy relationships in the future and how young people can keep themselves safe once they leave Safe Steps

0800 234 6282

Make a placement today www.stchris.org.uk referrals@stchris.org.uk

CONTENTS March 2018

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EDITORIAL 020 7501 + direct extensions below; fax is 020 7733 2325 cypnow@markallengroup.com Editor-in-chief and Publisher Ravi Chandiramani (6795) Editor Derren Hayes (6799) News Editor Neil Puffett (6793) Trainee Reporter Sophie Eminson (6236) Production Editor Colin Hamilton (6794) Online Manager Gemma Spence (6792) Designer Jenny Watson

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22 All the news that matters from the past month

8 ANALYSIS Social care Foster care stocktake makes a series of recommendations to improve the system 8 Youth justice How police and crime commissioners are tackling offending by young adults 10 Early years Councils are innovating to strengthen and maintain children’s centres provision 11 Health Council leaders call for expansion of school-based mental health counselling services 12 Education The key conditions needed to establish effective school improvement systems 13 Social care Revealing the extent of council “match funding” under the Adoption Support Fund 14 Youth work Is new legislation necessary to put youth work on a statutory footing? 15

16 INTERVIEW Mark Riddell National implementation adviser for care leavers at the Department for Education

19 VIEWPOINT © MA Education Ltd, 2018. All rights reserved. No part of Children & Young People Now may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishing Director. ISSN 1755-8093 Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, NP12 2YA. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor or Children & Young People Now. Advertisements in the magazine do not imply endorsement of the products or services advertised.

Feedback Big Data is not a magic bullet; Department for Education must be open to learning from failure Editorial Derren Hayes on the importance of stability in the care system and beyond Opinion Self-evaluation – a story to fear or celebrate?; Consign domestic abuse to the hall of shame

22 FEATURE Play How the award-winning play team at Naomi House and Jacksplace hospices make a difference to children’s lives

48 27 SPECIAL REPORT Child Sexual Exploitation Policy Policymaking progress since the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal and measures taken to tackle perpetrators and protect children Research Training; family support; gender-based differences in service users; and peer mentoring Practice Therapeautic approaches with children and families; multi-agency hub; raising awareness and aiding recovery; and youth work-led response

40 PROFESSIONAL Leadership Recruiting a diverse board 40 Commissioning Predictive analytics 41 Inspections Clinic Sector-led improvement 42 Legal Update Searching, screening and confiscation in schools; Councils face ECH plan deadline 44 Research Local Authority Support for Non-EEA Migrant Child Victims of Modern Slavery 46 Funding DM Thomas Foundation 47

48 PRACTICE International Focus Humane education, China 48 Case Studies Emotionally healthy schools; The Money House 50 Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme Seven features of practice 52 Participation in Action Fitzrovia Youth in Action mental health peer mentors 54 Local Spotlight Social care services in Doncaster 55

57 DIARY The great DCS mystery and reaction to Channel 4’s Kiri

Cover picture: Naomi House and Jacksplace

The paper used within this publication has been sourced from Chain-of-Custody certified manufacturers, operating within international environmental standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw materials, sustainable production and to minimise our carbon footprint.

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Children & Young People Now is a magazine and website for professionals working at all levels with children, young people and families. The magazine provides in-depth analysis, opinion and articles on best practice, targeting managers and senior practitioners involved in the commissioning and delivery of services. The website provides a breaking news service throughout the day for all practitioners and a host of resources, including information on careers and funding. March 2018 Children & Young People Now 3

NEWS ROUNDUP

All the news that matters... earlyyears NDNA

25,000 parents yet to receive confirmation

More than 25,000 parents are yet to receive confirmation they are eligible for 30 hours free childcare, government figures have revealed. Department for Education statistics for the spring term show that 329,505 eligibility codes for the 30 hours entitlement were issued by 11 January, of which 303,883 had been validated by 5 February. This has left 25,622 parents still waiting to find out if they are eligible and equates to 92 per cent of eligibility codes for the spring term being validated.

DfE confirms Zahawi as children’s minister The Department for Education has announced the roles and responsibilities of Nadhim Zahawi, confirming him as children and families minister four weeks after last month’s government reshuffle. Zahawi was announced as parliamentary under secretary of state at the DfE on 9 January, with CYP Now revealing two days later that he was set to take on Robert Goodwill’s brief but there was no official confirmation of this from the DfE until 6 February. The DfE website reveals Zahawi will be responsible for children’s social care including child protection, children in care, adoption, care leavers, social work, local authority performance and family law. 4 Children & Young People Now March 2018

(SEND) in the shaping of local support. A report by Ofsted and health watchdog the Care Quality Commission details a raft of concerns about the quality of support for children with SEND in Durham. It is one of two SEND inspection findings published this week, the other being a positive report on Hackney’s services.

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education

Inspectors slam quality of Medway SEND support Health, education and council chiefs in Medway have been criticised by inspectors for failing to work together to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. A joint visit by Ofsted and health watchdog the Care Quality Commission found that partnership work across schools, Medway Council and health organisations is poor. Inspectors said the organisations are failing to work together on long-term strategies to improve support, with the relationship between some head teachers and Medway Council leaders highlighted as particularly weak.

Careers strategy will fail disadvantaged pupils Government plans to improve employment advice will fail to offer help to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people, careers guidance experts have warned. The Career Development Institute (CDI), which represents careers guidance professionals, says measures in the Careers Strategy, published in December 2017, will fail to tackle disadvantages for many young people who have been excluded, are being home educated or are already in work-based training or apprenticeships. The CDI says the strategy will fail to live up to its aim to improve careers advice for the most educationally disadvantaged groups of children because it only focuses on schools.

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health

Charity urges better support for victims YOUNGMINDS/POSED BY MODELS

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Supporting children who have been affected by adversity and trauma should be made a public health priority, a mental health charity has said. YoungMinds is calling on the government to ensure that professionals across health, social care and education can better identify victims and understand the effect of trauma on a child’s life. It said that young people who have been through adverse childhood experiences – which can include neglect or abuse, the death of a family member, experience of racism or prejudice, or being the victim of witnessing domestic abuse – are not identified and are unable to access support.

SEND chiefs in Durham Call for mental health ‘ignore’ children’s views counselling for pupils Inspectors have criticised education, health and care services in Durham for ignoring the views of children with special educational needs and disabilities

Every secondary school in the country should be handed funding to offer independent mental health counselling to all pupils, local authorities have said.

The Local Government Association said action needs to be taken because too many children and young people are waiting up to 18 months for vital support. As part of the Future in Mind initiative, the government has set aside an additional £1.4bn for clinical commissioning groups for the period up to 2020 in order to improve child and adolescent mental health services, which they are responsible for commissioning. ● See Analysis, p12

Social media helps to support children in care Social media can bring psychological and emotional benefits to young people in care outweighing the potential risks it poses, a study has found. Research carried out by the University of East Anglia’s Centre for Research on the Child and Family found that social media provided a “window to life before being in care” and helped lookedafter young people deal with the “stigma and shame” they felt about being in care. Not only was the use of social media helpful for young people living in care to maintain healthy and appropriate birth family relationships, but it also eased transitions between placements, the report said.

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socialcare

Call for hospital advisers to help protect children Councils have called for independent domestic violence advisers to be deployed in hospitals as part of efforts to protect children from domestic abuse. The Local Government Association said the advisers, who spot signs of abuse and help victims get support, alongside more funding for early intervention services, are needed www.cypnow.co.uk

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Movers and shakers to tackle the high prevalence of domestic violence in children in need cases. Currently only one in 10 hospitals have advisers in place. Department for Education figures released in November show that domestic violence is the single most common problem experienced by children in need and occurs in 49.9 per cent of cases.

Charity launched to support care leavers

Former Department for Education minister Edward Timpson has been appointed to advise children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield. Timpson’s new position is as part of a five-person advisory board that provides Longfield with “advice, challenge and scrutiny”. He could also be in line for a future government role. The chief executive of the second children’s services department in England moved out of council control has announced her intention to step down from the role. Nicola Clemo, who joined Slough Children’s Services Trust in July 2015, ahead of its official launch in October 2015, said she plans to retire at the end of April in order to spend time with her family. The chair of Doncaster Children’s Services Trust, Colin Hilton, will step down next month, it has been announced. Hilton had been chair of the trust since its inception in 2015. Ofsted has appointed two new members to its board. The regulator

A council has launched its own charity in a bid to improve support for looked-after children and care leavers. Barnet Council, where children’s services are currently rated “inadequate” by Ofsted, said it is the first local authority in London to launch its own charity to help looked-after children fulfil their aspirations. Live Unlimited, a registered charity, has been set up specifically to fund the sort of additional activities that families might provide for their children outside of school hours. It will provide support to the 326 looked-after children and 216 care leavers in Barnet.

CSE focus diverts care from other abuse The current focus on tackling child sexual exploitation (CSE) is distracting policy makers from efforts to combat other forms of child abuse, the NSPCC has warned. According to the NSPCC, 90 per cent of abuse is carried out by someone the victim knows, such as a family member. But the charity believes the debate around child abuse has www.cypnow.co.uk

become too focused on CSE, as well as crimes committed by celebrities. The issue of CSE has grown in prominence on the back of an independent report by Professor Alexis Jay which estimated that 1,400 children in Rotherham were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013.

Foster care review ‘lacks ambition and vision’ Proposals to improve foster care following a major review of the system have received a mixed response from the sector, garnering support from some, but also attracting criticism for not being ambitious enough. The foster care stocktake, led by government adviser Sir Martin Narey and children’s social worker Mark Owers, makes a total of 36 recommendations to improve the system, including establishing a national register for foster carers and a shift to regional commissioning arrangements in order to get better value for money. It also calls for more clarity about the ability of carers to take independent decisions about the children they are fostering, and for guidance not to discourage carers

said Dame Kathryn August and Pamela Scriven QC have been appointed to serve on the board for three years. Ofsted said August has extensive experience of secondary education, while Scriven has significant social care and safeguarding expertise. The Reverend Stephen Terry has been announced as the new chair of the Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education. Launched in 2008, Accord brings together a range of religious and non-religious groups and individuals who wish to ensure state funded schools – including faith schools – are made open and accessible to all, regardless of people or their family’s religion or beliefs. from being physically affectionate to the children in their care. ● See Analysis, p8

Parental drinking link to serious child neglect More than a third of child deaths and serious injuries through neglect are linked to parental drinking, a report commissioned by MPs and peers has found. The report, commissioned by the all-party parliamentary group for children of alcoholics, found that between 2011 and 2014 parental alcohol misuse was implicated in 37 per cent of cases involving the death or serious injury of a child through neglect or abuse in England. An estimated 200,000 children in England are being raised by alcoholic parents. The research also found that 61

per cent of care applications in England involved misuse of alcohol and/or drugs.

Transition to replace LSCBs to start in May A 15-month transition period to replace outgoing local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) with new arrangements is set to get under way in May, it has emerged. On the back of recommendations made in Sir Alan Wood’s 2016 review of LSCBs, the current system is set to be scrapped and replaced with a new way of investigating child deaths. The Department for Education has been planning for a 15-month transition period, but until now there was no detail on when this would begin.

Regulator to get power for ‘limited duties’ Struggling social workers could be prevented from carrying out certain duties by the new regulatory body for the profession due to be set up later this year, it has emerged. Under plans put out to consultation, the Department for Education wants to hand Social Work England the power to place conditions on the type of work that can be done by social workers who do not meet expected professional standards. The new regulator is due to launch in September. “We are proposing that, like the Scottish and Northern Ireland social care regulators, Social Work England has the power to register social workers in England with conditions,” the consultation document states.

‘Flourishing’ social work praised by Ofsted Inspectors have praised senior leaders at Leeds Council for creating an environment where social work is flourishing News roundup continues overleaf

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 5

NEWS ROUNDUP

made statutory by the former Labour government as part of the Children Act 2004, said he has not made any plans but “hopes to stay active in the sector in some way”. “I would like to engage in the further development of the systems that support children in need and families that are struggling,” he said.

their experiences of being in care and found 83 per cent felt their life had improved. Only six per cent said they felt life had got worse. However, the Our Lives Our Care survey also found half of four- to seven-year-olds felt the reasons why they were in care had not been fully explained to them.

Exclusive: Adoption breakdowns on the rise DfE orders children’s services partnerships The number of adoptions that Andrew Webb plans to stay active in the sector after he steps down as Stockport DCS

following the first two-day “focused” inspection of children’s services to be carried out under the new inspection framework. Under the new inspection regime, all councils are subject to a basic inspection lasting between one and two weeks every three years – apart from councils already “inadequate” which face the prospect of a full four-week inspection.

Fostering plans ‘place vulnerable at risk’ Proposals put forward as part of a government-commissioned review of the fostering system would place vulnerable children at risk, a professional association has warned. The stocktake, published last month, makes a total of 36 recommendations, including the establishment of a national register of foster carers, and for improvements to be made to

placement commissioning. But the suggestion that local authorities should be allowed to ditch the independent reviewing officer role, which scrutinises local authority care plans for looked-after children, taking into account the views of the child, has been criticised by both Nagalro, a professional association for children’s guardians, and the National Association of Independent Reviewing Officers.

Last original DCS decides to step down The last of the original directors of children’s services who were in post when the position was established more than a decade ago will step down in March, it has been announced. Andrew Webb, who was director of social services in Stockport prior to becoming director of children’s services (DCS) when the post was

break down, resulting in a child being removed from a placement, have risen in recent years, despite government attempts to tackle the issue, an investigation by CYP Now has found. Figures obtained following a Freedom of Information request to all English local authorities indicates that since 2012, across all council areas, there have been as many as 679 breakdowns within the first year of a placement. During the same period, there have been 528 breakdowns after the placement becomes official – making a total of 1,207 breakdowns over the five-year period. ● See Analysis, p14

Life improves for most looked-after children The vast majority of looked-after children feel their lives have improved since being taken into care, a study has found. The charity Coram Voice and the University of Bristol asked 2,263 children and young people aged between four and 18 about

MOST READ STORIES ON CYPNOW.CO.UK OVER THE PAST MONTH

1 Transition period to replace LSCBs to start in May

Exclusive: DfE orders children’s Adoption breakdowns services partnerships on the rise at three ‘inadequate’ councils

6 Children & Young People Now March 2018

Timpson takes up children’s commissioner advisory role

Foster care review criticised for ‘lacking ambition and vision’

Local authorities will be drafted in to support children’s services in three areas where provision is currently rated “inadequate”, the Department for Education has announced. Leeds City Council will take over services in Kirklees, Camden Council will provide “intensive support” to Croydon, and Essex County Council has been appointed as “improvement adviser” in Barnet. A statutory direction issued to Kirklees Council states that it must enter into a strategic partnership agreement with Leeds City Council within three months and for a period of three years.

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youthjustice MoJ ‘on track’ to hit recruitment target A target of boosting the number of frontline staff in youth custody by 20 per cent will be met by the end of the year, the Ministry of Justice has said. The MoJ said almost 2,000 prison officers have been recruited since the launch of a campaign to bring in 2,500 additional officers www.cypnow.co.uk

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Long-term Neet likelihood by school rating 6.8% 5.8%

5.6%

4.5% 3.3%

Outstanding

Good

Requires Inadequate improvement

No rating

Source: Characteristics of young people who are long-term Neet, DfE, February 2018

Children in “inadequate” rated schools are twice as likely to be not in education employment or training (Neet) for 12 months or more than those in “outstanding” schools, government figures show. Department for Education statistics show that, on average, 6.8 per cent of children at inadequate schools go on to be Neet for at least 12 months, compared with 3.3 per cent of those attending outstanding schools.

by the end of this year – a target that includes a pledged 20 per cent increase in the number of staff on the operational frontline in young offender institutions (YOIs). Figures released by the MoJ show there was a net increase of 1,970 officers from October 2016 to December last year across the entire prison estate – up from 17,955 to 19,925.

Call for review of records system rejected The government has dismissed calls from an influential group of MPs for an urgent review of the youth criminal records system to take place. A report published by the justice select committee in October argued that the current system for disclosure of youth criminal records has an adverse impact on access to employment, education, housing, insurance, travel visas and also undermines the principles of the youth justice system. But in its formal response to the report, the government said it will not consider changes to the current www.cypnow.co.uk

The proportion for “good” and “requires improvement” schools is 4.5 and 5.8 per cent respectively. The average number of children in England who are Neet for a year or more is 4.8 per cent. A further 5.6 per cent attended schools unrated by Ofsted. The statistics found that the group of children most likely to be Neet for a year or more are looked-after children, with 37.1 per cent going on to be Neet for more than a year.

system until a legal challenge it is making to overturn a Court of Appeal judgment has been heard.

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youthwork

This year, a total of 28 professionals involved in the youth sector will take part in the sixmonth Emerging Leader Youth Programme, which is run by training provider Clore Social Leadership and funded by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Big Lottery Fund. The number of participants represents a 30 per cent increase on the number involved in a pilot of the course that took place last year.

Violence prevention initiative set to expand Redthread has announced plans to expand its award-winning hospital youth work service to a fifth emergency department in London. The London-based youth work charity wants to place a team of youth workers in the emergency department at Homerton University Hospital in Hackney to support young people who are victims of violent crime. In 2016, 364 11- to 25-year-olds attended Homerton University Hospital with assault-related injuries, the charity said.

Institute to push for Growing support among statutory youth services Tory MPs for votes at 16 The Institute for Youth Work A growing number of Conservative MPs back lowering the voting age to 16, it has been claimed. Senior Tory backbencher Sir Peter Bottomley said it was a “question of when rather than if ” the party would eventually back the idea, adding to growing voices within the party for voting age reform. Bottomley told the Evening Standard that there was enough support from within his party to ensure the voting age could be lowered.

(IYW) has outlined plans to get youth work onto a “statutory footing” as part of its new five-year strategy. The membership organisation said it also hoped to create a “more equitable” relationship between the government and youth workers despite the current “political limitations” the sector faced. Adam Muirhead, IYW chair, said any future progress made by the organisation could only be achieved through cross-sector collaboration. ● See Analysis, p15

Youth sector leadership programme extended Review stops short of A training programme designed to calling for law change support the next generation of youth sector leaders is to run for a second year.

An independent review into the benefits and barriers to youth

Research just out The National Fostering Stocktake, Department for Education, February 2018 Independent Review of Full-Time Social Action, Steve Holliday, February 2018 The Fragility of Professional Competence: A Preliminary Account of Child Protection Practice with Romani and Traveller Children in England, The European Roma Rights Centre, January 2018 Austerity, rationing and inequity: trends in children’s and young peoples’ services expenditure in England between 2010 and 2015, University of Sheffield and University of Huddersfield, February 2018 Educational Outcomes of Children with English as an Additional Language, Education Policy Institute, February 2018 Social Media, Social Capital and Adolescents Living in State Care: A Multi-Perspective and MultiMethod Qualitative Study, University of East Anglia’s Centre for Research on the Child and Family, February 2018 social action has advised the government to hold off using legislation to help more young people access full-time volunteering. The Independent Review of Full-Time Social Action undertaken by Steve Holliday, former chief executive of utility company National Grid, found young people’s participation in full-time volunteering for six months or longer could play “a central role” in improving social mobility.

ANALYSIS The review of foster care by Sir Martin Narey and Mark Owers recommends fundamental changes to the way

SOCIAL CARE By Neil Puffett The foster care stocktake, conducted by Sir Martin Narey and Mark Owers, makes a series of wide-ranging recommendations to improve the system, but has received a mixed reception from the sector. Although many of the proposals have been praised, concerns have been raised about others, while some commentators have warned the recommendations fail to address a number of longstanding issues. In total, the Foster Care in England review makes 36 recommendations, six of the most significant of which are analysed here.

1. AFFECTION

Recommendation: Guidance should

be changed so carers are not “discouraged” from being physically affectionate to foster children. Rationale: Although fostering regulations already set out that carers should provide a level of care, including physical affection, which is designed to demonstrate warmth, friendliness and positive regard for children, Narey and Owers say they found that all too often foster carers believe that demonstrations of physical affection are frowned upon. The review concludes that these concerns and anxieties can result in some children in care not receiving the physical or emotional affection they need to thrive. “We urge the Department for Education to make that clear in future guidance – so carers are in no doubt that, unless it is unwelcome to the child, they should not curb the natural instinct to demonstrate personal and physical warmth.” Sector reaction: The British Association of Social Workers welcomes the report’s promotion of physical affection between foster 8 Children & Young People Now March 2018

carers and children. It says that this, alongside the call for increased use of delegated authority and the right of a child to an independent advocate, is an area that has been the subject of debate for many years and should by now be embedded in the care system, but more work needs to be done.

SANDRA GLIGORIJEVIC/ADOBE STOCK

Fostering stocktake: six major 2. RECRUITMENT

Recommendation: There should be

greater regional co-operation on marketing campaigns to recruit foster carers. Rationale: According to the review, strategic recruitment, targeted at those most likely to have the skills needed to care for some troubled and challenging children, is not helped by the fact that 152 local authorities and 295 registered independent fostering agencies are all “competing against one another”. It says that this can be counter-productive, increasing the costs of marketing and, in turn, the costs of fostering. “Much greater regional co-operation could concentrate marketing expertise and make better use of recruitment budgets, and we urge local authorities to consider combining their recruitment efforts,” adds the report. Contrary to the wishes of many in the sector, Narey and Owers are not persuaded of the need for a large-scale national advertising campaign funded by government. Sector reaction: The Adolescent and Children’s Trust said it is disappointing the report has rejected the idea of a national advertising campaign. “There is an urgent need to attract more people willing and able to care for sibling groups, teenagers and children with disabilities,” it says.

3. REGIONAL COMMISSIONING

Recommendation: Local authorities should come together into about 10 consortia and negotiate with independent fostering agencies

Among its recommendations, the report calls for changes to guidance to encourage carers

(IFA) to provide placements at significantly reduced cost. Rationale: The report estimates that as much as £65m a year could be saved through better commissioning of the IFA sector. It points to the fact that some local authorities directly provide almost all their foster care, while others provide very little. Although it concludes that both positions are entirely legitimate, councils that commission and directly provide care do not necessarily do it coherently and robustly. “Generally, commissioning needs to vastly improve,” say Owers and Narey. There is a startling failure to obtain best value from a market in which the providers, not the purchasers, too often have the upper hand. We saw virtually no evidence of discount pricing for large numbers of placements from the same provider, and framework contracts set up after long and

tedious processes. These were routinely ignored in favour of more expensive spot purchase arrangements.” Sector reaction: The Children’s Services Development Group, which represents the independent sector, says the “in-house first” approach to commissioning by councils still needs to be addressed. “However, we are keen to work collaboratively with the government and local authorities to identify ways to reform the commissioning system and ensure vulnerable children and young people are able to access the right placement first time,” it says.

4. LEADERSHIP BOARD

Recommendation: The report

recommends that similar arrangements to those of the Adoption Leadership Board and the Residential Care Board should be introduced for fostering – effectively a Foster Care Board –

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services are commissioned and delivered, but experts have questioned the rationale for some of the proposals

recommendations for change INSIDE VIEW ‘REPORT RESPONDS TO THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN, CARERS AND PROFESSIONALS’ Mark Owers, co-author, the foster care stocktake Sir Martin Narey and I feel confident that if our recommendations are accepted by the government, fostering will be much improved. This is the view of many in the sector who have welcomed our report. At the heart of our review is a celebration of the many extraordinary families fostering children, and the many children and young people who view foster care positively. It is pleasing to see widespread recognition across the sector that we need to treat foster parents professionally and do more to support and involve them to enable children in their care to enjoy family life fully. Similarly, recommendations designed to better match children to foster parents, prepare for moving to a new placement, maintain existing

relationships and to promote physical affection have all been well received. However, the National Association for Fostering Providers is disappointed that we consider it sensible for local authorities to seek to place children with their own carers first. To be clear, we believe that authorities should approach independent fostering agencies without delay when they conclude that they do not have an in-house foster parent or one best suited to a particular child. There was disappointment too from The Fostering Network about our views on financial compensation and reward for foster parents. Few carers majored on pay when we met them. And significantly, none of the foster carers who wrote to us with ideas for the review have written negatively about our observations on pay. One of the most warmly welcomed recommendations is our call to focus on permanence as a whole and the

establishment of a national permanence board. With the sector’s support, we have an important opportunity to both reflect on how fostering can be improved, and deliver permanence and a sense of belonging for more looked-after children. It has been suggested that the government has used our report to resurrect their failed “exemption clause” to enable local authorities to opt out of certain statutory duties: the removal of independent review officers (IROs), not having adoption and fostering panels, and the use of respite foster care. Our report is our view and we covered only the issues we were urged to review by carers, professionals or children and young people. For example, we are not suggesting the government should abolish IROs, rather directors of children’s services should be able to make a local decision. We know many DCSs are keen to have that choice.

6. NATIONAL REGISTER

called for a national register of carers. However, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services say maintaining a national register would be a huge logistical task and require significant ongoing funding.

to display physical affection towards children

with the three boards being overseen by a new “permanence board” chaired by the director general for children’s social care. Rationale: The report suggests that as well as overseeing and directing the work of the activity-specific boards, the new permanence board should be responsible for monitoring the whole of the children’s care system and seeking to deliver permanence for more looked-after children. Sector reaction: Alison Michalska, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, says: “A shared language and holistic focus on permanence as a whole is long overdue and would be a helpful step away from the current silo approach.”

5. Reviewing officers

Recommendation: The report

suggests local authorities should be allowed to ditch the independent reviewing officer (IRO) role.

Rationale: The report notes that

there has been considerable debate as to whether IROs are having the intended impact on service quality and improvement since all local authorities were required to employ them in 2004. Narey and Owers say that although they heard from some witnesses who valued IROs, they overwhelmingly perceived a “sense of indifference to the role”. The report estimates that up to £76m a year could be saved by scrapping it. Sector reaction: Both children’s guardians organisation Nagalro and the National Association of Independent Reviewing Officers, as well as a number of other organisations, have criticised the idea. Nagalro says it strongly believes that such a move “would put vulnerable children at real risk” as the task of the IRO is to give children “who cannot speak” a voice.

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Recommendation: Narey and

Owers see great merit in establishing a national register of foster carers – a database that could hold details of a carer’s fostering agency, the date of their approval, where they live, the number of bedrooms in their home, the number of vacancies for children, their personal characteristics, and their level of training and expertise – and urges the DfE to evaluate the costs and advantages. Rationale: The report argues that such a register would provide vital information, which could improve recruitment and provide a vacancy management system and radically improve matching. Sector reaction: Narey and Owers point to the fact that a number of organisations, including The Fostering Network and FosterTalk, as well as some local authorities and foster carers have

WHAT IT OMITS ■

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Curbs to profits made by independent fostering providers, following criticism of the practice. Recommending foster carers receive professional status, on a par with social workers for example. A review of foster carers’ allowances as campaigners believe they are not adequately rewarded. An extension of the minimum fostering allowance to carers looking after young people aged 18 to 21 through Staying Put arrangements.

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 9

ANALYSIS Police and crime commissioners are developing fresh ways to reduce offending by young adults

PCCs put focus on young adults YOUTH JUSTICE

Council and the PCC to apply ways to tackle these. In addition, the commissioner has funded an initiative that encourages 15- to 24-year-olds at risk of exclusion or offending to work in a local community garden. Participants gain qualifications, while produce is donated to Carlisle Foodbank.

By Derren Hayes Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) have been criticised for failing to invest in youth crime prevention programmes. However, a new report by the Transition to Adulthood Alliance and Revolving Doors Agency highlights ways that PCCs are now commissioning and supporting projects to tackle offending by 18to 24-year-olds. The report authors say a quarter of the 43 PCCs in England and Wales now include “young adults” or “youth” as a priority in their plans, as recognition grows of the distinct vulnerabilities young people experience in their transition to adulthood. The criminal justice system treats young people as adults when they turn 18. However, the report states that PCCs have a crucial role to play in joining up the youth and adult judicial systems, and outlines examples of how commissioners are taking the lead.

South Wales PCC – Diverting young offenders

Young people aged 18 to 25 arrested for minor offences are offered the chance to participate in diversion

Gloucestershire PCC – Helping substance misusers

Cumbria PCC Peter McCall and young people at a local community garden project

schemes. They are issued with an adult community resolution instead of a caution or out-of-court disposal, and are required to have an interview with a diversion worker who creates a tailored intervention plan addressing behaviour and using a restorative practice approach. Independent evaluation of the scheme last year found writing letters of apology to victims and attending “shuttle” mediation sessions provided young adults with time to reflect. Piloted in Bridgend in 2013, it was extended across the force region in 2016 and looks set to be refunded in 2018/19.

Cumbria PCC – Establishing a youth Commission

Last April, Cumbria PCC Peter McCall funded Young Cumbria to establish a Youth Commission to influence decisions about policing and crime prevention in the area. A total of 32 youth commissioners aged 14 to 25 were recruited, and undertook consultation with 3,000 young people in the county. They established a set of priorities including hate crime, mental health, bullying and underage drinking, and throughout 2018 will work with police, the youth offending service, Cumbria

Commissioner Martin Surl has introduced a substance misuse diversion and support project to avoid criminalisation of young people for minor drug offences. He hopes that an early intervention approach can reduce the risk of minor drug offences becoming a trigger for young adults getting involved in more serious crime. The initiative aims to reduce the number of 18 to 24 year olds entering the justice system as a result of minor drug offences by identifying those at risk; and provide substance misuse support to prevent young adults with convictions of committing further offences. The project is supported by a new overarching programme that aims to tackle the causes of young people committing crime.

EXPERT VIEW : ‘POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONERS ARE RIGHT TO PRIORITISE THE NEEDS OF YOUNG ADULT OFFENDERS’ By Sean Creaney, Edge Hill University, and Dr Tim Bateman, University of Bedfordshire As is evident in the examples of promising practices, police and crime commissioners (PCC) appear to be initiating positive and constructive schemes with young adults who cause harm or are at risk of further offending. Approaches such as mentoring, youth champion roles and forums, shadow boards, diversion and restorative practices exist to reduce the number of 18- to 24-year-olds entering

10 Children & Young People Now March 2018

the formal justice system. There appears to be a focus on placing young adults at the heart of the system, prioritising their voices and lived experiences. Such initiatives can help to prevent criminalisation and maximise diversion in the form of tailored out-ofcourt disposals. This practice is in accordance with the evidence that formal contact with the criminal justice system can reinforce a criminal identity. This stigmatising and labelling course of action can hinder the process of desistance and impact negatively on their life chances.

The report states that professionals should have the option to extend youth justice support. Although a distinct approach is required to meet the needs of the 18-24 cohort, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as a person under 18 and requires that methods for dealing with children are distinct from adults. If we breach that provision, there is a real risk that an extended system wouldn’t see the need to address children’s rights specifically. Part of the current advantage children have is higher levels of resourcing. That could be diluted if the upper age limit of

the youth justice system was increased. There is also a risk that children would be treated increasingly as adults and if the system expanded, children would be outnumbered two to one by young adults. Nevertheless, there is a need to invest in innovative PCC schemes dedicated to addressing the distinct needs of the 18-24 cohort. We should consider reintroducing young adult specialist teams with smaller caseloads to reduce such stubbornly high reoffending rates, address unmet needs and achieve positive outcomes.

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Innovating for children centres EARLY YEARS By Derren Hayes A charity has warned that the government’s suspension of inspections of children’s centres is undermining the quality of services. Action for Children says that since the government suspended Ofsted inspections in July 2015, nearly 1,000 children’s centres have missed out on having their services assessed for quality and impact (see in numbers). Ministers said the suspension would be for a short period, pending the results of a consultation on the future of children’s centres, initially due in late 2015. However, more than two years on, the consultation has yet to be launched. Over that time, children’s centres have undergone major changes – for example, hundreds have been closed or had services reduced as a

ADOBE STOCK/GENNADIY POZNYAKOV

With the future of children’s centres still unclear, councils are having to be creative to maintain provision

MISSED INSPECTIONS

5 years between inspections

32 months since inspections suspended

969 centres that could have been inspected Source: Action for Children

Local authorities are coming up with innovative ways to protect children’s centres

result of council funding cuts, while others have merged to serve larger populations and provide a wider range of services. With many councils struggling to find a way to maintain these popular community facilities amid shrinking budgets, the Local

LONGER OPENING HOURS IN BLACKPOOL The challenge: In an attempt to extend the reach of children’s centres services from the pre-school age group to families with older children, Blackpool Council plans to create one-stop community hubs offering a wider range of services into the evenings and at weekends. The service: There are nine centres in Blackpool, two run by the council and seven run by schools and academies on its behalf. Budgets are set using deprivation data to ensure areas with the greatest level of needs receive most funding. Base budgets are topped up based on the number of children living in deprived areas, poverty and workless households, and in contact with children’s social care. The solution: Centres are currently open from 8am to 6pm on weekdays, but hubs will extend this to 9pm during the week and during the day at weekends. A pilot of the approach has seen teams

already operating outside office hours based at a centre. There are also plans to offer emotional wellbeing and youth mental health dropin services, benefits and housing advice, tenancy training for young care leavers and cooking courses. Progress towards the hub model is being overseen by a strategic board with representation from the clinical commissioning group, police, the council’s early help team and children’s service, and the NSPCC. The rationale: Councillor Graham Cain says: “We want to utilise our buildings more effectively as community hubs. This will only be possible through widening our offer of co-location and integrated services, particularly with the police and health. We are also aware that as children start school, families miss the access to community services they have through children’s centres.”

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Government Association has published a report, Delivering Children’s Centres Services, illustrating the different approaches being taken. Some of these include co-locating health and early years services, bringing family support

closer to children’s social care services, and working with police and troubled families teams to provide more intensive support for struggling families. Two examples of innovative practice by councils are summarised below.

BENEFITS OF EARLY EDUCATION IN BRISTOL The challenge: Bristol City Council needs to save £1.5m from its £3.5m children’s centres budget. This is in addition to the £3.5m saved over the past three years. The service is popular and successful, and central to the delivery of early education in the city. The service: Almost 25,000 families with under-fives are registered with children’s centres, and 82 per cent of families participate in services. Most of Bristol’s centres are based on school sites and are managed by maintained nursery or primary schools. Partnership work with health is strong; an integrated progress check for twoyear-olds has been developed and plans are underway to co-locate health visitors at children’s centres. The solution: A new model has been developed that will make the necessary savings without the need to close centres. This designates four lead children’s

centres to co-ordinate services in their areas. Individual centres will not need a management lead, producing savings. As most centres are managed by nursery schools, they receive the nursery school supplement currently provided in the dedicated schools grant. To maintain this funding, the council is developing evidence of the role played by nursery schools in improving social mobility. Children achieving a “good” level of development at the Early Years Foundation Stage rose from 66 to 68 per cent in the past year, while the attainment gap has narrowed five per cent since 2013. The rationale: Sally Jaeckle, head of early years at Bristol Council, says: “If we can improve the quality of early years provision, improvement in outcomes will follow. Close working between health and education brings coherence and is the only way our services can be of the high quality our families deserve.”

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 11

ANALYSIS Council leaders and professional organisations say mental health green paper should prioritise counselling

Call to boost school counselling ADOBE STOCK/GOLUBOVY

HEALTH By Derren Hayes The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for a major investment in school-based mental health counselling services. Ensuring every pupil in secondary education and alternative provision has access to on-site school counselling would cost about £90m annually, says the LGA, but could be paid for out of the £1.7bn the government has pledged in recent years for improving children’s mental health services. The call has been backed by specialist counselling organisations, who say investing in school-based services would be a better use of resources than measures in the children’s mental health green paper, published last December. This included plans to spend £300m over three years to train teaching staff in mental health awareness, appoint school mental health leads, and boost links between schools and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Dr Andrew Reeves, chair of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), says a recent Department for Education survey of schools and colleges shows that 61 per cent of schools and colleges currently have

COUNSELLING ISSUES A 2011 evaluation of school-based counselling services in Wales identified the main issues children were presenting with, the most common being: ■ Family – 57% ■ Anger – 24% ■ Behaviour – 18% ■ Stress – 15% ■ Bereavement – 15% ■ Bullying – 15% ■ Self-worth – 13% Source: Evaluation of the Welsh Schoolbased Counselling Strategy, Welsh Government, May 2011

12 Children & Young People Now March 2018

cut in the last couple of years. “If counselling services in schools can’t be sustained, there is a danger that this will lead to an increase in waiting lists in CAMHS, and youth information advice and counselling services (YIACS).”

Joint funding

The government is being urged to commit to providing universal school-based counselling

counselling support available to their students (see case study). “Instead of expanding successful and proven counselling services already in place, the green paper proposes new systems, including newly created designated senior lead posts and mental health support teams. “We are concerned that key proposals within the green paper might negatively impact the existing counselling workforce who deliver services in schools and colleges, and fail to deliver the services that will most benefit our children and young people.”

Universal counselling

In its response to the green paper consultation, BACP is recommending that the government commits to providing universal school-based counselling in England, as is the case in other parts of the UK. “We are disappointed that the government has not included a commitment to universal provision, despite these services being available to all children across Wales and Northern Ireland, and importantly despite the DfE’s own expectation set out in

Counselling in Schools: a Blueprint for the Future that all schools should provide access to counselling services,” Reeves adds. A universal school-based counselling service was introduced in Wales a decade ago. The Welsh government provided funding and guidance for all schools in Wales to develop counselling services by 2010/11, and set out 10 recommendations for what a good service looks like, covering issues such as access, status, professional standards and training, funding and monitoring of services. Evaluation of school counselling in Wales suggests it has been an effective early intervention – 89 per cent of children and young people accessing services did not then require onward referrals. By comparison, the DfE survey found 93 per cent of secondary schools and colleges in England fund counselling services themselves, with 71 per cent citing lack of funding as the main problem affecting provision. James Kenrick, chief executive of Youth Access, says: “Pressure on school budgets has led to several services funded by schools being

Kenrick, whose organisation represents YIACS, says the most effective model of funding school counselling services is where the local authority and CAMHS jointly fund a voluntary organisation to deliver counselling and preventative work across all schools and colleges in an area. However, research published last month by the BACP, Place2Be and the National Association of Head Teachers suggests there is misunderstanding about the role of counselling and the issues it deals with most frequently (see box). The survey found a third of schools did not feel confident in commissioning counselling or therapy, while “lack of understanding” and “unclear expectations” were cited by counsellors as their most common difficulties in dealing with schools. Reeves adds: “The benefits of school counselling are well established, but we must provide school leaders with the information and funding to be able to recruit counsellors.”

FURTHER READING Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision, DfE, December 2017 Mental Health Support in Schools and Colleges Survey, DfE, August 2017 Counselling in Schools: a Blueprint for the Future: Departmental Advice for School Leaders and Counsellors, DfE, February 2016 Future in Mind, DfE, March 2015

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services based in schools

services MEETING PUPILS’ NEEDS Eileen Sheerin, head teacher, Ashcroft School, Stockport All of our students have access to on-site counselling as soon as they need it. We believe that this makes a massive difference in the long-term and this approach has proven to have great outcomes for our students. Some of the young people at Ashcroft live with domestic violence, alcoholism, drug addiction or they themselves might be struggling with substance abuse. Many of our students suffer from anxiety and have had long-term absences from school. Because of the complexity of the issues our young people face, we use the Boxall profile system and the nurture approach. These methods give us a clear picture of the issues a young person might be facing and strategies to work through them. We have pastoral leads in school who give counselling support whenever our young people need it and a play therapist on site, which any of our students can access. If our young people face a mental health crisis, we empower them to suggest what additional support they might need. We will then set up that intervention immediately. Our approach builds trust – young people know they are being listened to and they can access support as soon as they need it. I fully support LGA’s campaign because our approach works. Young people dealing with a mental health crisis are not always able to wait four weeks to access a NHS specialist mental health service. While it is imperative that secondary schools have on-site counselling support, I also believe we need to offer this from key stage one so we can address mental health issues from an early age.

Report outlines key conditions for effective school improvement EDUCATION By Derren Hayes Recent research carried out by Isos Partnerships has assessed the changing nature of the local authority role in supporting and leading school improvement. The subsequent report, Enabling School Improvement, was published in January by the Local Government Association and is based on research carried out at eight local authorities – Cumbria, Dorset, Hampshire, Liverpool, Somerset, Tower Hamlets, West Sussex and Wigan – involving a range of demographics, size and type of school. It outlines a set of key conditions important to establishing effective school improvement systems, and the central role councils can play in that despite recent policy changes. The growth of academy and “free” schools outside of council influence, deep cuts to the Education Services Grant, which funded council improvement work, and the introduction of regional school commissioners to monitor academies’ progress has made improvement work more complicated for councils to co-ordinate in recent years. After plans in the 2016 education

white paper Educational Excellence Everywhere to remove councils’ schools’ role were scrapped, the government has encouraged the creation of improvement partnerships where schools in an area work together to improve standards. This also places greater emphasis on schools “buying” improvement support from councils. The National Education Union says councils are best placed to provide oversight of local schools. NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney says: “The government is promoting schoolto-school support, yet this approach requires financial capacity and experienced staff. Neither can be taken for granted when schools are experiencing the worst funding and teacher recruitment and retention crises in decades.” Set against this backdrop, the report identifies six features of an effective local school improvement system. These are: ■ Strong relationships between all schools, the council and other local and regional partners ■ Being focused on context and place, and taking account of these factors in developing a local vision ■ Clear local priorities and clarity about roles and responsibilities

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Utilising school and other improvement capacity, and marshalling limited resources Evidence of impact in improving outcomes, developing school leadership, and strengthening partnership working Supporting all children in the area, including the more vulnerable.

It also identifies the nine key conditions that are important in helping to establish such systems. This covers how to develop a clear vision, engagement with schools and leaders, and ensuring sufficient funding (see table). The NEU says accountability to local communities – including families, teachers and school leaders – is also a key condition to delivering an effective improvement system. “Direct delivery of education services by local authorities contains in-built accountability,” says Courtney. “Where other structures have been established, accountability mechanisms must be built in to these.” A strong local vision is paramount adds Courtney. Without this, “there is a danger local systems are driven solely by national government priorities, which often have a narrow focus and are vulnerable to changing political pressures”.

Key condition

Council actions to help develop conditions

Clear and compelling vision

Co-ordinate and provide strategic push; be objective facilitator; focus on place and local context; and identify clear roles

Trust and high social capital

Model effective relationships and partnerships; and use democratic mandate to sustain relationships based on shared aims

Engagement from majority of schools

Be an honest broker and reach out to schools with a compelling vision for all local children

Leadership from key leaders

Engage leaders and facilitate discussion. Development of system leadership capacity can be a key purpose of local school improvement

Convening and facilitating role

Bring intelligence from across the local school system; utilise existing expertise; and support evaluation processes

Sufficient school support capacity

Support the local partnership to broker internal and external capacity; help map future capacity; and commission system leader development programmes

Effective regional links

Engage with regional and sub regional partners on behalf of the local school improvement system

Sufficient financial contributions

Support the development of the partnership with funding and/or capacity

Strong partnership structures

Work with schools to develop a multi-tiered structure that is locally relevant; and ensure the improvement system is high quality and credible

Source: Enabling School Improvement, Isos Partnership, January 2018

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March 2018 Children & Young People Now 13

ANALYSIS Freedom of Information data reveals extent of council “match funding” under Adoption Support Fund

Post-adoption support boost SOCIAL CARE

COUNCIL ADOPTION ‘MATCH FUNDING’ GRANTS

By Derren Hayes Figures obtained by CYP Now reveal that nearly half of local authorities have provided top-up funding to a government scheme that pays for therapeutic support for adoptive families. Data provided by the Department for Education under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, shows that over a 15-month period up to 5 January 2018, a total of 74 councils had contributed £686,711 to the cost of postadoption support through “matchfunding” arrangements under the Adoption Support Fund (ASF). Match funding is used to pay for specialist therapeutic services that exceed government funding caps introduced in October 2015. When an adoptive family – or those caring for a child under a special guardianship order – has an application to the ASF for support or assessment costing more than £5,000 or £2,500 respectively, the amount over the caps must be matched by their council.

Concerns raised

Adoption campaigners have welcomed the additional support authorities have provided through ASF match-funding arrangements, but raised concerns that the majority of councils in England (51 per cent) have made no matchfunding applications since the measures were introduced in October 2016. Sue Armstrong Brown, chief executive of Adoption UK, says: “It is reassuring to see that local authorities are increasingly stepping up to support adoptive families, but we still need to see more authorities positively planning to work with the DfE to fund comprehensive support packages to ensure traumatised children in adoptive homes receive support at the level they need.” 14 Children & Young People Now March 2018

Increase in grants

Councils making grants

82%

49%

(£46,979), Leeds (£36,703), Norfolk (£34,038) and Medway (£28,282). However, some of the amounts provided by councils were small – Halton, North Somerset, Stoke-onTrent, Tameside and Wolverhampton each had one application approved for support valued at less than £1,000.

Strict criteria rise in the match-funding grants by councils between 16/17 and 17/18

of 152 councils in England have made match-funding grants

Key numbers

Average value of 209 council match-funding grants

Most grants made by one council (Norfolk)

£53,944

Highest total grants by a single council (Cumbria)

£254

Smallest single grant made (North Somerset)

£3,285

Source: FOI data provided to CYP Now by the DfE for period 6/10/16 to 5/1/18

Armstrong Brown adds that 54 per cent of respondents to an Adoption UK survey said their attempt to access funding above the caps was unsuccessful, and nearly 30 per cent were told that their local authority was unable to offer match funding because of budget constraints. “Local authorities are facing increasingly constrained resources, but failing to support traumatised children at an effective level makes no economic sense,” she adds. “These are the children that go on to need more educational, health and social service support into adulthood, costing orders of magnitude more than appropriate therapeutic intervention.” Andy Elvin, chief executive of The Adolescent and Children’s Trust, says the FoI figures show there are “a small number of children with significant additional needs”. He adds: “Our understanding is that in many authorities it is hard

to get the match funding agreed, owing to the extreme current financial pressures. This may well be the prime reason why the match-funding option is not happening so frequently.” The FoI figures show that between October 2016 and 31 March 2017, 74 match-funding applications were approved. In the first nine months of 2017/18, 135 applications had been approved, an increase of 82 per cent. However, some experts point to the high demand for the ASF in 2016/17 as possibly creating a backlog of match-funding applications that were not dealt with until 2017/18. Out of the 74 authorities to have provided match funding, Norfolk had most applications approved (11), closely followed by Cumbria (10), Gloucestershire and Leeds (both nine). The highest amount of match funding awarded by a single council was £53,944 by Cumbria, followed by Gloucestershire

There are strict criteria for what support the ASF will fund. Adoption support agencies are already expected to provide a comprehensive package of help including advice and guidance, counselling, mediating contact with birth families, financial support and short breaks. Meanwhile, the ASF will pay for specialist assessments, approved therapies including cognitive, play and music therapy, and therapeutic training for parents. Medway Council says: “It needs to be therapy to address why the child was removed from their birth family and for issues affecting them in their adoptive family.” Sarah Johal, head of service for One Adoption West Yorkshire, which now manages adoption services in Leeds, adds: “We [Leeds] prioritised match funding in order to ensure that placements for sibling groups and children with complex needs can be effectively supported and to prevent adoptions breaking down.” According to a DfEcommissioned evaluation published in August 2017, £52m has been spent through the ASF since its launch in May 2015, helping 22,000 children. The government is providing £29m for the fund in 2017/18 and has committed to it until 2019/20. In November last year, then children’s minister Robert Goodwill wrote to local authorities urging them to provide match funding “where this is necessary to meet children’s needs”.

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Is new youth legislation needed? The IYW plans to get youth work on to a “statutory footing” to create a more “equitable” relationship with the government, but is that necessary when legislation already requires councils to secure provision?

Adam Muirhead, chair, the Institute for Youth Work (IYW)

YES

While it is important to understand that there is already a statutory basis for youth work in Section 507b of the Education Act 1996, it is pertinent to recognise that no one actually cares. Even if the law is being properly considered, we are still dependent on a local authority itself determining “sufficiency” of provision, and how much is “reasonably practicable” in support for youth work/leisure-time activities. Our piece of law is so limp that even when North Somerset Council was beaten in court in 2012 over its youth service cuts, it wasn’t the “insufficiency” of the remaining youth work that won the day, but the lack of due process in consulting young people. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the cuts to services were not even reversed as the decision was tied up in the wider budget-making process, which could not be undone. The youth service was lost and, evidently, “our law” is not worth the paper it is written on. So yes, we need new supportive legislation, but in what form? A new amendment? Powers to audit and enforce existing legislation? A whole Youth Work Act? Any truly

“The service was lost and, evidently, ‘our law’ is not worth the paper it is written on”

supportive option necessarily means additional central government funding; it is clear to see that local authorities have all of the responsibility and none of the resource. The 2018/19 national budget for secondary education is £27.9bn; one per cent of this would equate to £279m, enough to kickstart a national youth work offer and its respective infrastructure. Millions of young people would have access to bespoke curricula to meet the plethora of adolescent needs that exist outside of the National Curriculum’s scope, across a broad age range and year round. Let’s just fantasise for a moment that this was possible; the main difficulty then would be whether to take “the king’s shilling” and in so doing become full-on agents of the state. The youth work sector must first clearly and collectively articulate its practice and purpose and be robust enough to withstand potentially corrupting forces. Increased protection of what we have through new legislation would be extremely welcome, but we must build up to that in a considered way. We must all work together to ensure this happens while the beating heart of purist youth work still exists throughout the UK. l www.iyw.org.uk

Jan Cosgrove, national secretary, Fair Play for Children

With the loss of over 600 youth projects and 3,500 youth work jobs, simply put, we do not have the luxury of campaigning for new legislation. Admirable sentiment, but remote. There is no glimmer of hope in terms of the government’s legislative priorities, nor is it high on that of the other parties. The way forward is to use what exists – sections 507a, 507b and 508 of the Education Act 1996. Section 507b is about the 13-plus age group – the main focus, one supposes, of IYW’s plans. The 1996 Act also prescribes local authority duties for under-13s. There is statutory guidance on 13-plus but not for the under-13 group. Many authorities seem to have breached this current law, in terms of providing “sufficient” services, relying on an apparent get-out, included in s507b, of doing what is “practicable”. Perhaps this should be removed by a simple amendment to the legislation, a target for any government or private members’ education bill. CHRISTIAN SCHWIER/ADOBE STOCK

YOUTH WORK

Youth work professionals are divided over whether new legislation is necessary

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Particularly vulnerable are those authorities that have missed consultation with young people, as proven in the North Somerset Council case. The current neglect of what exists has led some councils to say that there is no statutory obligation. In the wake of proposed cuts at Brighton and Hove, I submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Education. This – and the magnificent campaign from local young people – gave the council pause for thought. It accepted the provision is statutory. My argument is that the statutory guidance around s507b needs more teeth, and that there should be provision for adequate monitoring within the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. We need to highlight the emphasis in s508 on seeking involvement of the voluntary sector in delivering services – provision which has also been decimated by cuts. In West Sussex, where I live, there used to be 58 supported projects, mainly run by the voluntary sector, but this has now reduced to 16. As for services for under-13s, including play, this is part of a continuum with 13-plus provision, not a poor relative. A good junior section in youth provision is insurance for survival in the future. The approach suggested by Fair Play for Children does not rule out improved legislation, but emphasises using what there is as a potent tool. l www.fairplayforchildren.org

“Admirable sentiment, but the way forward is to use what already exists” March 2018 Children & Young People Now 15

INTERVIEW Derren Hayes meets Mark Riddell, national implementation adviser for care leavers

Driving change for care leavers Mark Riddell has been working to improve the lives of looked-after children and care leavers since he left care himself, aged 16, in 1984. After initially working for a number of care leaver organisations, Riddell trained as a social worker and in 2012 became manager of leaving care services at Trafford Council. Within three years, the council’s leaving care service was rated “outstanding” by Ofsted – at that time, the first service to achieve the highest rating under the single inspection framework. The achievement brought him to the attention of the Department for Education, and in September 2017 he was appointed national implementation adviser for care leavers. The two-year fixed-term DfE role involves him working with councils and government departments to ensure reforms to care leaver support included in the Children and Social Work Act are introduced successfully from April 2018 (see box).

How did the national adviser role come about?

Trafford took part in the New Belongings project run from 2013-15, which extended the council’s offer of support to care leavers up to the age of 25. We identified three key things that needed to change: getting corporate parenting right and underpinning it in legislation; strengthening young people’s rights and entitlements; and extending a council’s duty to support care leavers in education up to 25. We did all that and produced some fantastic outcomes for care leavers, told the [then] children’s minister [Edward Timpson] about it and the changes were incorporated into the act. With the policy and legislation in place, I told him he needed a national adviser for care leavers.

Did you have yourself in mind for that post when you suggested it?

Mark Riddell: “With the new offer and duty for care leavers being extended to 25, councils cannot do it alone”

Some leaving care services only engage when a child approaches 18. I’m saying to authorities that this is now a 16-25 offer, so you need to introduce a pathway plan and personal adviser around their 16th birthday. That is a challenge,

REFORMS TO LEAVING CARE PROVISION The Children and Social Work Act 2017 introduces a number of duties for councils from 1 April. These include:

I think the minister did say to me, “if the post came up would you consider coming out of local government?” I’m passionate about local authorities but said if it felt right I would go for it. When it came along I looked at the job description and thought it an exciting role.

■

Ofsted rated 80 councils “inadequate” or “requires improvement” for leaving care services from 2013-17. How do you rate service standards?

■

It is not a great local picture – most of the offers [to care leavers] are not good. 16 Children & Young People Now March 2018

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Outlining care leaver entitlements through a “local offer” up to 25 Extending personal advisers’ role to support care leavers up to 25 Ensuring looked-after children pathway plans extend beyond leaving care Applying good corporate parent responsibilities across all departments Consulting with other public bodies about the support they can provide

but doable. Some authorities have personal advisers who are not degree-level qualified social workers. I think the better model is using qualified social workers as personal advisers as they might work with a young person for the next nine years. Young people tell us they want a stable, sustained, professional relationship.

What are the key ingredients to a good leaving care service?

A lot of managers ask me how did we get to outstanding in Trafford – was it more resources, money, better partnership working, passion and dedication? It was all of those. We did get funding for an additional personal adviser to deal with some of the extra people coming in aged 21-25, but we hadn’t had much recent investment in the leaving care service. Most authorities are in a similar position. For Trafford, it was more about getting relationships with key partners – housing, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), mentors, clinical commissioning groups, local businesses – in place. I call them the corporate aunts and uncles. www.cypnow.co.uk

What changes should councils prioritise?

Some councils still pay for care leavers’ benefits when they have been sanctioned by the DWP for up to three months. Instead, try to be creative with the local offer. Go to your corporate aunts and uncles – talk to bus companies about getting young people a free bus pass; ask supermarkets for donations of dry food. Use the savings to invest back into the service. In Trafford, we realised we were taking care leavers to court for small council tax arrears that when transferred to debt collectors spiralled. That didn’t make much sense. We spoke to the Department for Communities and Local Government about a national exemption but it didn’t fit with the localism agenda. So we, along with eight or nine other councils, gave care leavers full council tax exemption. Now nearly 50 have granted an exemption and most others tell me they are thinking of doing the same.

The act extends the corporate parenting responsibility for care leavers across the whole local authority and to other public agencies. What difference will this make? Even most good councils are only thinking about corporate parenting, rather than the role of corporate aunts and uncles. With the new offer and duty being extended to 25, councils cannot do it alone. If they try to do it on their own they will have massive problems. Councils need to pull in key partners that interact with care leavers all the time to get the children’s services offer right.

What national changes do you hope to make?

Individual councils changing practice is good, but this has to be done as a whole-scale approach. I want ministers from the eight departments that have contact with children in public care to come together to look at what each can contribute to a national offer from government. It should be chaired by the Education Secretary and look to tackle problems such as the shared accommodation rate cut off at 21. I want that to be extended to 25. I’d also like to talk to the Ministry of Justice about creating a “marker” for identifying care leavers as they come into the prison system. Rather than treating young people like the rest of the prison population, we might be able to offer them more help – not reduced sentences but more prison counselling to address trauma or attachment difficulties. That’s the kind of stuff we’re looking to do. www.cypnow.co.uk

Will extending local authorities’ responsibilities to care leavers from 21 to 25 increase their costs significantly?

The sector is anxious about it because it’s a new, unpredictable burden. When we did it in Trafford we had about 60 who had left us at 21. We assessed that cohort and out of that concluded about 15 were likely to return for a service. But we knew the population well and we already had a good offer for 16- to 21-year-olds. About 12 of those young people needed support – some needed advice and guidance on financial or housing issues, but others were homeless which was a more intensive piece of work.

How can councils assess the number of young people likely to get in touch?

My advice is don’t wait until 1 April to identify the likely returners. Look at your cohort over the last three years for the ones you are most worried about. Contact them first to ask if they are okay. If they have moved away talk to police and probation to try to find them. If they return on 2 April or you get an email from prison saying they will be arriving tomorrow, that’s going to be a huge piece of work for the leaving care team. If you know a care leaver is due to leave prison in September, think about what resources you will need to put in place with your key partners. Ensuring social housing and benefits arrangements are in place before they are released could save the authority £2,000. Some councils think that there could be in excess of 400 young people coming back for services but I’m not sure that’s right. If your education and employment rate [of care leavers] is 50 per cent you can assume they are in stable housing and have family they are probably in contact with.

What can councils do to promote the offer and contact young people?

In Trafford, we sent out a card to 60 care leavers, and offered a £20 Tesco voucher when they contacted us. Of the 60 recorded deliveries we sent, 12 came back. The personal advisers knocked on those doors and discovered that they had moved. The ones that signed for it you know have got the letter – if you haven’t heard from them in a couple of weeks they are unlikely to come back in the first couple of weeks [of the offer going live].

I would promote the offer by breaking it down into three things: the corporate offer across council services; what young people can expect at certain ages, for example, if they go to university they know they will get 52 weeks of accommodation; and what support they will receive if they enter custody or have mental health difficulties.

How many extra staff will be needed to meet demand?

The corporate parenting duties and offer are good news stories – we all wanted it – but I don’t want the sector to be hugely burdened by it. I think authorities are thinking “we expect 50 care leavers to come back so we’ll need two personal advisers with caseloads of 25”. It doesn’t work like that. Some problems take the personal adviser only 20 minutes to deal with, but custody cases may take one or two days over a couple of weeks. New burdens money is to be provided to councils over a four-year period; it starts lower and goes up, and should be in place by 1 April. Councils should quantify how much extra resource they use so they can go to the DfE and say it’s actually having a bigger impact than initially thought.

CV MARK RIDDELL ■

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September 2017: National implementation adviser for care leavers, DfE 2012-2017: Manager leaving care services, Trafford Council 2009-2012: CIN Service Manager, Bury Council 2005-2009: Corporate Parenting Service Manager, Liverpool Council 2002-2004: Strategy and Performance Service Manager, Stockport Council 1997-2002: Qualified Social Worker, Rochdale Social Services 1995-1997: Children Rights Manager, Liverpool in Care Support 1990-1995: Residential care worker, Catholic Children’s Rescue Society 1984: Leaves care aged 16

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 17

VIEWPOINT FEEDBACK

MONKEY BUSINESS /ADOBE STOCK

DfE must be open to learning from failure

The sector must take heed of the evaluations of MST

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Email cypnow@markallengroup.com or write to The editor, CYP Now, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB

Big Data is not a magic bullet

On reading the recent edition of CYP Now (February 2018), one could be forgiven for thinking that Big Data is the answer to everything (Rethinking children’s services; Wholesystem change for social workers; Local Spotlight). From “systems thinking” to “predictive analytics”, and even “genograms”, this heady world of numbers is sold to us as a magic bullet for sorting out the myriad of problems children and young people face, and saving money to boot. These articles failed, though, to mention any of the many recent and relevant texts that express grave concerns. They include Timandra Harkness’s Big Data: Does Size Matter? (2016); Cathy O’Neil’s Weapons of Math Destruction (2016); and Virginia Eubanks’ Automating Inequality (2018); plus my work on “at riskism” and “uncertainty-appreciative practices”. In combination, these studies offer compelling evidence that many data systems are, in fact, deeply flawed; they draw on limited data sets, are far from objective, actually exacerbate existing biases and prejudices, undermine democratic and relational practices, and threaten principles of privacy and voluntary association. Furthermore, they surveil and control workers as much as the children and young people they purport to help. Data needs democratising; the aim should be to enhance the autonomy of those we work with. Big Data ethics are needed more now than ever. I’m sure I speak for many in urging caution in thinking Big Data is some kind of cure-all. Let us remember that working with children and young people is inherently uncertain, and that this is a quality we should celebrate, not fear.

Graeme Tiffany

18 Children & Young People Now March 2018

The report of the evaluation by University College London of the trial of multi-systemic therapy (MST) that found MST no better than conventional approaches to supporting troubled young people led me to reflect on whether the department for Education and the sector are using the learning from recent major evaluations (cypnow.co.uk, 17 January). I am concerned that because evaluations of MST and others such as the Evaluation of the safeguarding children and assessment and analysis framework (SCAAF) published in December 2017 and of the Scaling and Deepening the Reclaiming Social Work (RSW) model published in July 2017 have shown mixed impact, there is little desire to look squarely at what they do tell us. For example, the evaluation of the scaling and deepening of the RSW model showed some promising results, but authorities that were part of the study have not taken it forward in the way it was originally developed in Hackney. All have either stopped the model or modified it to reduce costs. The evaluation of the SCAAF highlights the problems created for implementing change with unstable staff teams and the failure to learn from other implementations the importance of taking time to build engagement and buy in if changes in practice are to succeed. I wonder if the DfE wants to look at learning which is uncomfortable for them as it shows flaws in its thinking and ideas for how the sector needs to change and develop.

Colin Green

OPINION POLL The question Should local authorities be required to compile and submit data on the number of adoption breakdowns? (343 votes) THE RESULT No 5%

YOUR VIEWS ON… Maggie Atkinson on ‘Children’s Trust boss steps down in wake of critical Ofsted report’ “Is Slough’s Trust as overspent as Doncaster’s is? Or indeed Sunderland’s? Read the forensic analytical commentary by Doncaster Council’s CEO Jo Miler. She points out that Rotherham has made its progress without a trust. She’s right to do so.” Looked-after child on ‘Multi-systemic therapy no more effective than conventional support, study finds’ “I’ve personal experience of being offered, accepting, grateful for MST, but therapy of any kind is not magic – it doesn’t cure illness or poverty, nor is it an answer to injustice. MST is positive, but it should not be used or viewed as though it were an answer to problems for a family that are not within a family’s gift to solve.” Anna Czepil on ‘Multi-systemic therapy no more effective than conventional support, study finds’ “Is 18 months long enough to see the true impact? Have we even been using the MST approach long enough to understand the true value? Family key work is about generational change, culture change, building trust and support within family setting. How can we see the impact of that in an 18-month period of a young person’s life?” Nick Herbert on ‘Lack of duty on schools could compromise safeguarding shake-up’ “Why are schools always referred to and not further education colleges? There are 280 FE colleges in the UK educating and training 2.2 million people. The safeguarding issues dealt with by individual colleges dwarfs what individual schools deal with, but still no mention.” Best Comment on ‘Damian Hinds announces education drive for disadvantaged areas’ “The government removed £600m from local authorities last year when it cut the Education Service Grant. It replaced it with a £140m school improvement fund that trusts and teaching schools can bid for. Of that £140m announced last year, only £40m will be actually allocated this year. So that’s only 6.6 per cent spent on education of the education services money removed from local authorities. It is a national disgrace.”

Yes 95%

email cypnow@markallengroup.com telephone 020 7501 6796

Next question Would a national register of foster carers, as suggested in the fostering stocktake, result in better matching and fewer placement breakdowns?

The editor, Children & Young People Now, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB

Vote in the poll @ www.cypnow.co.uk

Letters should include an address and phone number. All letters may be edited for publication.

www.cypnow.co.uk

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TACKLING CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

VIEWPOINT EDITORIAL

Promoting stability has to be care system focus Derren Hayes editor, Children & Young People Now derren.hayes@markallengroup.com

The headline findings from the Our Lives Our Care survey published in late February are encouraging for everyone working in children’s social care. The survey of 2,263 children and young people aged between four and 18 about their experiences of being in care found 83 per cent felt their life had improved (News roundup, p6). Despite the frequent negative coverage across the media about the quality of services for children in care, just six per cent interviewed for the survey – conducted by charity Coram Voice and the University of Bristol – felt life had got worse. With nearly four-fifths of looked-after children living in foster care, the survey findings suggest the fostering system is working well. It should mean the government starts from a position of strength when deciding which recommendations to implement from the recent review of foster care (Analysis, p8). In their report, review authors Sir Martin Narey and Mark Owers emphasise the high quality of care delivered by most foster parents, but highlight the need to improve the system for matching children with carers. Recommendations to create a national register of foster carers and develop more regional collaboration among councils and fostering agencies could help widen the pool of available foster carers. This in turn would ensure children’s needs are better met and reduce the risk of a foster placement breaking down. Frequency of placement moves was one of the few areas of concern to emerge from the Our Lives Our Care survey. It highlights the priority looked-after children place on developing stable and enduring relationships with carers and professionals. This need does not disappear when a young person leaves care either, as Mark Riddell, national implementation adviser for care leavers, explains (Interview, p16). Reforms to leaving care services due to come into effect from April require councils to appoint personal advisers to help support care leavers up to 25. Riddell’s advice is for councils to appoint advisers before a young person leaves care in an attempt to improve continuity “because young people tell us they want a stable professional relationship”. The foster care review’s focus on permanence should, alongside the children’s commissioner for England’s “stability index” introduced last year, help policymakers develop new ways to minimise care placement moves. This would go a long way to ensure the vast majority of looked-after children continue to have a positive experience of the care system.

“With nearly four-fifths of looked-after children living in foster care, the Our Lives Our Care survey findings suggest the fostering system is working well” 20 Children & Young People Now March 2018

“The development of Partners in Practice (PiP) strengthens the view that the skills, knowledge and expertise for support and improvement lies within the sector. Although a regional approach cannot and will not guarantee authorities don’t go into intervention, a more open approach that presupposes all authorities will be open with their peers about the challenges they face, the help they need or the support they can provide can only be a good thing, and reduces the likelihood of intervention. It is now up to all of us and all our authorities to play our part and get on with it.” Stuart Gallimore on sector-led improvement “Put simply, joint enterprise is when two or more people are deemed criminally liable for a single crime. Joint Enterprise not Guilty by Association (JENGbA) co-founder Jan Cunliffe recently delivered an inspiring guest lecture at Edge Hill University, arguing that joint enterprise is an outdated, prehistoric law that draws innocent people into the criminal justice system. The government needs to take the JENGbA campaign seriously. I urge you to support the brave and persistent JENGbA campaign and help to address wrongful convictions of, according to JENGbA and acknowledged in the recent debate in the House of Commons, hundreds of innocent people.” Sean Creaney on why a review of joint enterprise offence is needed “Part of the problem is many people struggle to articulate what a social worker does. Relatively small numbers of people have contact with social workers and the significant media coverage surrounding desperately sad situations typically colours perceptions. This is compounded by the lack of a clear narrative about this life-saving work. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get messages out about how social workers can and do transform lives? This was clear in the final episode of Kiri in a scene where four care leavers told Miriam what a difference she’d made to their lives.” Alison Michalska on media depictions of social work “We all know the perceived barriers to entry: poor pay, lack of promotion opportunities, poor status, fear of accusations of abuse and paedophilia, discomfort at working in such a highly female work environment, and an expectation that one man can address the shortfall of positive male roles in so many children’s lives. We know that there are men who want to work with children, so let’s encourage them. We are still short of 25,000 staff across the sector and Scotland is expanding its provision. In 2017, CEEDA reported that five per cent of the 3,930 staff she interviewed in the PVI sector were male. That is positive as we still have a target across the sector to achieve two per cent.” June O’Sullivan on men in childcare

www.cypnow.co.uk

VIEWPOINT OPINION

Self-evaluation – a story to fear or celebrate? Jacky Tiotto is director of children’s services at Bexley Council Ofsted’s new children’s services inspection arrangements place far greater emphasis than the previous regime on leaders’ self assessing what we do and why. So what is the most successful way to prepare and present a self-evaluation – one that supports our local inspection and acts as the much-needed lubricant to the Ofsted machine? I have spent time reflecting on the words I heard recently from an Ofsted official, that such an evaluation “should not be hard to write”, because there should be nothing in it that I don’t already know or use in my daily oversight of children’s social care. The Ofsted official went on to explain that “all we want to know is what impact you are having, how you know and what you are doing to improve?” For a second, I believed in the simplicity. It wasn’t long before I felt uncomfortable with

my own questions: what actually are our headline achievements and what is our evidence, do we know if we are making a difference and how would we know, what does this or that phrase reveal? By sharing an area of strength that is potentially disputed could we be accused of not knowing our area? What is the consequence of being open about areas we need to strengthen? Will this mean we require improvement? Is it any wonder that, like me, most children’s services leaders are cautious about this new thing called self-evaluation? But is it new? Every day we evaluate how well we are doing. We spend hours in meetings, talking about our performance, preparing for scrutiny, responding to complaints and compliments, sharing opinions and making decisions about practice and process. We read the criteria that describe “good” and we mostly agree. So what is different about making this story available to others and very specifically to Ofsted? I like the idea of self-assessment because it

gives us some control over our story while deepening our understanding. However, we have a complex story to tell as though it were a simple one. We have to communicate our context without seeming to make excuses. We want to present our best without being unrealistic. We want to be honest without creating unnecessary plot lines that distract from the whole. On top of this, we need luck and a fair wind so that the unpredictable does not mean that our story is out of date on the day it is read. In the end, a judgment will be made. With so many factors influencing what that outcome will be, I have concluded that the only way to approach an evaluation at this time, is to explain what we are trying to do, why we are trying to do it, how well we think we are doing it and the work we do to continually improve. My hope is that a transparent and honest account is met with an appreciation of the complexity that exists to balance support to families and the protection of their children. l See Inspections Clinic, p42

Consign domestic abuse to the hall of shame Sir Paul Ennals is independent chair of three local safeguarding children boards Every now and again something in the world changes. After generations of people accepting one type of behaviour, something happens that moves the goal posts. I remember the days when drink driving was commonplace – to my shame, I can clearly remember a lifetime ago frequently driving after three pints. Now, my instincts would stop me. Smoking too – it was so normal to smoke in restaurants, pubs, people’s houses. Recently we have seen the tolerance of sexual harassment trickle down the drain. Post Harvey Weinstein and in the midst of celebrating woman’s suffrage, can we ride this wave of change and consign domestic abuse to the hall of shame? Scotland is pushing ahead – its parliament is introducing laws creating a new crime of emotional abuse – one stage further forward than the English law of 2015 www.cypnow.co.uk

that outlawed coercive control. Legislation helps, but it is never enough when the problem being tackled is deep-seated and cultural. We need a public campaign along the lines of #MeToo. Domestic abuse is much more widespread than most of us realise, especially in Scotland, the North East and the North West. In these areas, a very large proportion of neglect cases that result in child protection plans feature domestic abuse in the story. Last autumn, we commissioned a new play for secondary schools on child sexual exploitation (CSE), drawing on real cases in the North East. Not long ago, the cultural view was that many CSE victims were at least partly to blame. At the first showing of the play, it was encouraging to see how that had changed, and that the sympathy was all for the young people being sexually exploited. However, In the play, one character is in an abusive peer relationship, suffering at the hands of her violent boyfriend. The mood in the hall was palpably different – why did she not simply leave him? Why did she

not report him to the police? To many in the audience the victim was largely to blame. This has to change. Many areas of the country have been reviewing how they respond to domestic abuse – the focus of joint targeted area inspections has helped. Ofsted found that many areas were effective at supporting victims, but needed to improve services to perpetrators. In many areas the programmes available for perpetrators require attendance over 26 weeks – unrealistic for many of the chaotic men who need them most. Six-week programmes, aimed at low-level offenders, is what we really need. In the North East, through Operation Encompass, after any incident where a child has been present in a domestic abuse incident, their school is notified the following morning so schools can check they are okay. Responses from professionals like this are important, but we really need input from the pubs, football clubs, off licences, newspapers, soaps too. Let this be the year we fight back against domestic violence. March 2018 Children & Young People Now 21

FEATURE PLAY

THE TEAM MAKING EVERY DAY COUNT

Play and playfulness is central to the work of Naomi House and Jacksplace hospices for children and young people. Charlotte Goddard went to meet their award-winning play team to find out more

t the doors to Jacksplace and Naomi House hovers a model of a dragonfly. Here symbols are often used to communicate what is hard to say in words, and an approaching family knows the presence of the dragonfly model indicates the death of a child. The twin hospices, based on a site in Hampshire, care for children and young adults with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. They often have complex medical conditions, sensory needs, profound and multiple learning difficulties and may not communicate verbally. Children and young people may attend for a session, respite visits over a number of days, or for care at the end of their lives. The dragonfly, and other symbols that gently warn others of the presence of grieving relatives at the settings, are part of hospice routine yet for the most part Jacksplace and Naomi House are joyous places to be. Over the last few years the hospices have transformed the role of play from a filler activity to a key part of the care a child and young adult receives. The play and activities team, which won the Play Award at the 2017 CYP Now Awards, works in collaboration with the nurses and care staff to create a holistic care package. “Without the play and activities team we would be lost,” says Carol Ransome, head of Jacksplace. “They support the care team, they give ideas on how to interact and stimulate learning, and enable children to be as independent as possible while giving them pleasure. Play can also help in therapeutic ways, to help them understand what is happening to them. At Jacksplace a lot of our young people have very low confidence and are socially isolated, so the team is able to deliver activities that encourage social engagement with their peers, as well as learning new skills.” The play team has expanded in recent years and now comprises six members, bringing different skills to the table. Backgrounds and qualifications include youth work, mental 22 Children & Young People Now March 2018

FACTFILE ■

Naomi House opened in 1997 following a campaign by the local community to raise the necessary £5m. Jacksplace opened on the same site in 2010, funded by a bequest from businessman Jack Witham

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Naomi House caters for children under the age of 16 and Jacksplace for young people between 16 and 35

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The hospices are built on an estate once owned by film magnate J Arthur Rank. The land, near Winchester, was offered by the Cornelius-Reid family in return for an annual rent of a dozen red roses every midsummer

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Naomi House supports 297 children and Jacksplace supports 137 young adults. Last year the hospices provided 1,939 bed nights of care at Naomi House and 1,684 at Jacksplace, and cared for 17 children and five young adults at end of life or post-bereavement

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The hospices cost £8.5m a year to run, less than 15 per cent of which comes from statutory sources. Funding sources include a network of shops, corporate partners like Ryanair and Vodafone, legacies and fundraising activities

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The hospices employ 183 staff

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The play team’s annual budget is less than £40,000 excluding staffing costs

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Many referrals come from University Hospital Southampton, but GPs also make referrals and families can refer themselves

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The play and activities team consists of: leader Huw Bromage, deputy leader Sara Crean, and team members Anne-Marie Boyne; Lucy Donaldson; Tasha Harman and Claire Floyd

health, education, IT, residential care, psychology and early child development. “They have a variety of experience and qualifications in youth work and early childhood studies,” says team leader Huw Bromage. “However, something hugely important when trying to find a match for this team is they have to have that something special about them, the passion to make a difference in people’s lives.” Entering Jacksplace through a high-ceilinged foyer with curving blue walls, a group of young people are arriving to spend the day at the hospice. The first play team members clocked on at 7.45am. “I’m setting up an arts activity for the day service, using a variety of different materials – crêpe paper, tissue paper, silky stuff,” says deputy team leader Sara Crean. “We are setting out different types of paint brushes for different abilities, to include everyone.”

Sensory experiences

On Tuesdays, activities revolve around sensory experiences while Thursdays are geared towards a more cognitively able group, who will learn skills such as cooking. Today, there is a game of Jenga in progress and young people are making snowdrop collages with the support of play team members and volunteers. Another young person is using a Magic Carpet, which projects interactive images onto the table. Claire Floyd, qualified youth worker and play team member, is a passionate advocate of the opportunities new technology can bring. She works closely with charity Lifelites, which donates equipment to the hospice. Eye gaze technology, for example, allows children who have limited mobility to play computer games, draw and communicate. “One lad with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) withdrew into himself,” relates Floyd. “We got a virtual reality system and because it is just controlled by a movement of the head, he was back on the Xbox having a conversation

Play team activities help to stimulate learning and encourage socially isolated children and young people to engage with their peers

www.cypnow.co.uk

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 23

FEATURE PLAY “When trying to find a match for this team, candidates have to have that something special about them, the passion to make a difference in people’s lives” Huw Bromage, play and activities team leader, Naomi House and Jacksplace hospices

FOR MIKEY THE HOSPICE IS JUST A FUN PLACE TO GO Five-year-old Mikey Strachan sits on the edge of the pool, squirting his older sisters with water toys, while they swim. Later he will play outside in an electric car that allows him to join in as his siblings pedal around the garden, or he might make some cakes with the play team. Mikey struggles with breathing when he tries to do too much, so activities must take place in short bursts. He needs constant suctioning to clear his airways and can suddenly stop breathing, so he must never be left alone. Mikey’s condition is as-yet undiagnosed. His legs can give way so he has a walking frame to help him and also uses a wheelchair. When he was nine months old he underwent surgery for a tracheostomy. He receives his nutrients, vitamins and minerals intravenously. Mikey is staying at Naomi House with his family for four or five days. Sometimes he comes by himself for up to three days to give his family some respite. While at Naomi House he continues to have medical treatment, but his mother Chevonne says he

24 Children & Young People Now March 2018

thinks he is on holiday. “They take away the medical side,” she says. “He has lots of treatment while he is there but he doesn’t even notice he’s having it, the play team keep him entertained and the nurses do it around them.” Mikey’s condition can be tough on his siblings. “They get very worried about Mikey, but here they can be normal children, not caring for their brother,” she says. “My oldest daughter has a few behavioural issues due to Mikey’s medical needs – she gets cross with people touching him – but the play team has sat with her and talked to her about this. They are amazing.” “When we are here not everything centres around Mikey’s health – it is just a fun place for us to go,” she continues. “I can’t take my children swimming in a public pool because Mikey isn’t allowed, so at Naomi House we can still be with Mikey but someone can watch him while I go in the pool with the other children.” Mikey plays with his family while at Naomi House

with one of the other lads. It’s simple, but opens up this world to these young people.” DMD is the most common fatal genetic disease diagnosed in childhood, resulting in a progressive deterioration of muscle strength and function. Play team member Lucy Donaldson runs a morning group for boys with the condition. “We plan activities they will enjoy and that will get their confidence up,” she explains. “As their condition progresses they will start needing equipment such as hoists and eye gazer technology. We introduce it now through play so it won’t be so daunting when they need to use it.”

Play specialities

While the play team take the lead in different areas depending on their specialities, they work across the two hospices as needed. “We can go from working with a one-year old to working with someone who is 30, or we could be working with an adult with cognitive disabilities and with a cognitively able adult with physical disabilities in the same room, and make sure everyone is able to take part as much as they can,” says Crean. Funding for the expansion of the play team comes from the same place as funding for the rest of the hospice – a range of statutory grants, corporate donations, legacies and fundraising. Hobbycraft, for example, keeps the hospice supplied in arts and crafts materials. Before a child or young person comes through the door, the team will have researched their likes, dislikes, development needs, methods of communication and educational needs. “We ask the child, young adult or family members what things they may like doing,” says Bromage. “If they are not able to speak, the team has different ways to communicate with them, such as facial expressions, eye movements, noises, small movements and picture cards.” Choice is important when a child has no control over a lot of what happens to them. “It’s important to give the children and young adults a voice,” Bromage explains. “As we get to know the child, we may put a specific plan in place, www.cypnow.co.uk

such as a sensory room session in which they can use a variety of switches, including an audio switch, so any noise can change lights, sounds or smells within the room. I had one young boy learn that by clicking his tongue against his teeth he could change the whole colour of the room. The joy and happiness on his face will stay with me for a very long time.” When a child arrives to stay, the play workers personalise their bedroom with their favourite toys, decorations and bedding. In one of the bedrooms Donaldson is tying fluttery bits of ribbon onto a fan for five-year-old Matthew, who loves the movements they make in the wind. Matthew likes the fan to be turned on and off and the team have rigged it up so he can control it while he is having treatment from a nurse. “We can concentrate on the children having a good time while the care staff write the important notes and go and prep feeds,” says Crean. The team trains other staff members in play techniques, and supports the community team by maintaining a “pick and mix” cupboard of activities they can take when they visit children in their homes. “The play team gives us different ideas, and all the children we go out to have their care plan that tells us what they like and don’t like,” says Sandra Feltham, community carer. “I might take a lot of different things like board games, jigsaws, arts and craft, sensory lights, and they can make a choice. They might have cerebral palsy, epilepsy, hearing or vision impairment or challenging behaviour but we will always adapt our activities around that. The in-house play team have different arts and crafts activities every week so whatever is going on that week we might take with us on our community visit.” Over in Naomi House a play worker is laying out toys and sensory equipment on the floor of a spacious room that resembles a nursery. Play team member Tasha Harman comes past with nine-year-old Evie, who is going swimming in the hydropool. Most of the children and young people cannot attend mainstream pools, since they are vulnerable to infection and dependent www.cypnow.co.uk

on an array of medical equipment. Nurses and carers who assist in swimming sessions are directed by the play team and undergo the team’s mandatory swim training. Young people are sitting in the hub and dining room at Jacksplace, known as Las Vegas, when there is a patter of feet and Cossack the black Labrador comes trotting in. Cossack is a Pets As Therapy dog and one of a range of animals – including snakes – whose visits to the hospice are organised by the play and activities team. The team organises a range of other visitors as well, including music and poetry therapists. Brothers and sisters are part of the life of the hospice, and the play team help nurture sibling relationships, as well as meeting specific needs siblings might have. “We try to organise activities the siblings and child can do together,” explains Donaldson. Inclusive activities might include squirting paint from a syringe, or using the bikes in the garden, some of which are designed to carry wheelchairs.

Memory making

Play is particularly important at the end of a child’s life. “Once a child comes in for end-of-life care, it may mean that they have just hours or days left,” says Bromage. “Memory making is essential to the family during the hardest of times. We help make those memories, so they can hold on to them forever. Memories have included seeing Santa all together at Christmas and painting personalised T-shirts.” A painted river flows along the walls of Jacksplace, eventually arriving at the Ocean Suite. Over at Naomi House the same room is known as the Butterfly Suite. Today this calm space is empty, but this is where a family can spend extended time with a young person after they have died. As with the bedrooms, the play team will fill this neutral space with the things the young person or child loved. “Once the child has died, we make sure we spend time with the siblings and interact through play in a sensible and respectful manner, thus giving the parents time to say

Team members have to balance supporting families and siblings through difficult times with providing a fun environment in other parts of the hospices

goodbye on their own,” says Bromage. “The importance of our collaborative working with carers, nurses and the family support team is key during this time.” “This is the hardest part of the job,” says Donaldson. “Being able to support family and siblings at that time, as well as providing a fun environment for the other parts of the house is difficult sometimes, although we manage it.” If team members are struggling with a particular situation they can ask to move to the other hospice, and the family support team is available to support the play workers as well as families. The last members of the play team usually clock off at 8pm – but sometimes stay late. Jack’s Cabin in the hospice garden, complete with TV and juke box, can act as a “pub”, allowing young people to have a night out without leaving the hospice. The team has also launched a buddy scheme, Jack’s Mates, with meet-ups every four to six weeks at a bar or similar. “We phone ahead, and see if we can have chairs removed in advance so young people can come in with their wheelchairs,” says Crean. The bar trips are for over-18s, for obvious reasons, but the team also arranges day trips such as skating or visits to the zoo, and special events such as Santa and the Easter Bunny arriving by helicopter, or sports days with obstacle courses. You can never be sure what is around the next corner at Naomi House and Jacksplace. “The other day I came across children firing Rice Krispies into the chaplain’s mouth, using a hairdryer,” says marketing manager Keith Wilson. “I have never seen such a mess. The children were loving it, absolutely howling with laughter.” That laughter is the key to the play team’s work. “I can’t stop what is going to happen,” says Claire Floyd. “But I can make it good fun getting there.” l The 2018 CYP Now Awards will open for entries at the end of March at www.cypnowawards.com March 2018 Children & Young People Now 25

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SPECIAL REPORT POLICY CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

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Rotherham’s child sexual exploitation scandal propelled the issue to the forefront of policymaking. CYP Now investigates the key learning and strides taken to tackle perpetrators and protect children and young people

t wasn’t until the Rotherham sexual abuse scandal hit the headlines in summer 2014 that the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE) came to the forefront of public policy. Not only did the Rotherham case trigger wholesale change at the council, it also prompted decisive action from policymakers to improve the national response. In 2015, the Department for Education produced an action plan for tackling CSE, supported by £30m to develop a range of new www.cypnow.co.uk

projects and organisations charged with improving awareness, detection of cases and support for victims. Last year, updated guidance for children’s professionals set out a clearer definition of what constitutes CSE to reflect the role of technology, particularly social media, in changing how perpetrators attempt to groom children. In-depth inspections of how safeguarding agencies tackle CSE revealed encouraging practice in many areas, but also concerns about the way agencies share information and

intelligence. This is particularly important in light of latest data showing that CSE is becoming more frequently detected during child in need assessments. Awareness of CSE has grown since 2014, and a recent NSPCC report warned that the focus is diverting policymakers’ attention from efforts to combat other forms of child abuse. CYP Now’s special report on child sexual exploitation assesses key research, summarises latest policy developments and highlights examples of good practice on tackling the issue. March 2018 Children & Young People Now 27

SPECIAL REPORT POLICY CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Policy context Child sexual exploitation, while on the radar of child protection agencies and organisations, was catapulted to the top of the political and policy agenda by the revelations in August 2014 that 1,400 children in Rotherham had been systematically sexually abused and exploited over a 16-year period. The Rotherham CSE independent report, by Professor Alexis Jay and published by Rotherham Council, found that concerns over a network of abusers who had groomed and exploited girls in the town had been raised by youth workers more than a decade before, but safeguarding agencies had not acted. The case also highlighted a lack of awareness of what constitutes CSE among police and child protection professionals and how to tackle it effectively.

Rotherham report

The government appointed Louise Casey, head of the Troubled Families Unit, to conduct an urgent inspection of Rotherham Council. Published in January 2015, Casey’s report

concluded the council was “not fit for purpose”, and a team of commissioners was appointed to take over its running. An Ofsted inspection of children’s services launched in September 2014 and published that November rated the department “inadequate”. As a result of new police inquiries, 19 men and two women were convicted in 2016 and 2017 of sexual offences in the town dating back to the late 1980s; one ringleader was jailed for 35 years.

Policy response to Rotherham

In the wake of the Rotherham scandal, the then coalition government published a report outlining how it was going to address some of the key criticisms raised in the Jay and Casey reports. This became the first of a number of government policy papers focused on improving agencies’ response to CSE.

Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation, HM government, March 2015 This cross-government report highlighted the

need for a “fundamental change of attitude” among professionals and the public about the nature of CSE. In Rotherham, victims had not been believed when speaking out about abuse, and when evidence emerged of an abuse network of mainly men of Pakistani heritage some professionals had been reluctant to act because of what the report calls “misplaced concerns about political correctness”. It outlined plans for a public awareness campaign on reporting CSE, improved guidance for professionals on identifying it, and better training for staff in schools and the health service on the signs of abuse. A requirement was also introduced for police forces to train all new and existing staff in responding to child sexual abuse. The report also detailed changes to information sharing practice across police forces, local authorities, health and wellbeing boards and local safeguarding children boards, with the aim of making it easier to share intelligence.

CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN ENGLAND Instances of CSE in children in need assessments in different regions of England, 2016/17 (map shows percentage of total assessments relating to CSE) Region

CSE

Total children in need

North East

880

24,960

North West

3,280

75,500

York & Humber

1,620

48,770

East Midlands

1,750

39,260

West Midlands

1,940

52,040

Eastern England

1,920

41,270

London

2,860

74,780

South East

2,560

79,800

South West

1,980

36,070

18,800*

472,450

ENGLAND TOTAL

CSE a factor in children in need assessments 18,800 4%

17,600 3.9% 12,200 3%

3.5%

3.3%

14/15

4.3%

16/17

Source: Characteristics of Children in Need, DfE

360+

4.4% 3.7% 4.6%

3.8% 3.2% 5.5%

15/16

children were trafficked for sexual exploitation in 2016 Source: National Referral Mechanism statistics 2017, National Crime Agency

2,400+ CSE victims in gangs and groups from Aug 2010 to Oct 2011

Source: Characteristics of Children in Need 2016/17, DfE, November 2017; *figures rounded up

28 Children & Young People Now March 2018

Source: “I thought I was the only one. The only one in the world.” Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England, 2012

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SPECIAL REPORT POLICY CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

EXPERT VIEW WE NEED A BROADER UNDERSTANDING In addition, it announced plans to create a national Centre of Expertise for Child Sexual Abuse to identify gaps in evidence on abuse and how best to tackle it, and a range of measures to enhance frontline social work practice. Meanwhile, £1.24m was provided to NWG Network to establish and manage the national CSE Response Unit, which opened in September 2016, to assist local safeguarding agencies and practitioners in tackling CSE.

CSE: Definition and Guide for Practitioners, DfE, February 2017

This advice replaced 2009 guidance Safeguarding Children and Young People From Sexual Exploitation, updating the definition of CSE and explaining its correlation with child sexual abuse. The definition has been used as the basis for developing a shared language between agencies of what CSE is, however experts such as Dr Sophie Hallett believe the narrowness of the definition restricts the scope of practitioners’ response (see expert view, right). The guidance also outlines the links CSE has to other forms of abuse and how certain groups of children may have characteristics that make them more vulnerable to being exploited. It lists behaviours exploited children may display and gives examples of how children are exploited. The guide also sets out what practitioners and managers should do to prevent CSE and how they should respond to young victims.

Tackling CSE: Progress Report, HM government, February 2017

This update to the March 2015 report outlines the steps taken to fulfil the government’s pledges to tackle CSE. This includes the conviction of 5,879 offenders for child sexual abuse offences in 2015. Other key outcomes include an extra £14m for supporting victims, the creation of both the Centre for Expertise and CSE Response Unit, and the launch of a whistleblowing helpline run by the NSPCC. As markers of success, it cites a 24 per cent rise in the recording of child sexual abuse offences in 2014/15, a 14 per cent rise in prosecutions, a 19 per cent rise in convictions and a doubling in referrals in the first four months of the helpline being operational. It also outlines plans for increased investment to protect children from online predators, and to create a Missing Persons Register to reflect the vulnerability to sexual exploitation experienced by young people who run away from home or care. The government also pledged to spend £2.2m on a campaign to educate young people about respectful and safe behaviour. www.cypnow.co.uk

Dr Sophie Hallett, lecturer in social policy, the school of social sciences, Cardiff University “Grooming” has become the way of both explaining and understanding how young people come to experience CSE. This focus can make it difficult for practitioners to understand the reasons why CSE takes place, and – vitally – mean that instances of CSE that do not fit this grooming model go unnoticed. It is the element of exchange that sets sexual exploitation apart from other forms of sexual abuse. Crucial to understanding why and how CSE happens is recognising the meeting (and taking advantage) of unmet needs that takes place in sexually exploitative encounters and relationships. The abuse that occurs within CSE is always the responsibility of the perpetrator, but CSE is bound up with other difficulties young people are experiencing – which can mean, for example, that young people exchange sex as a way of coping, or as a way of regaining a feeling of control over their bodies. Difficulties which also mean they can reject support, and do not recognise themselves as being abused. To say this is not to underplay the significant harms they experience nor the concern we should feel about young people in such circumstances.

Scale of the problem

There are no definitive statistics that measure the number of instances or cases of CSE in England. Police conviction figures do not differentiate between CSE or sexual abuse. Since 2014/15, the DfE has required local authorities to record when CSE is a factor in children in need assessments. This shows that CSE was a factor in 18,800 children in need assessments in 2016/17. This equates to four per cent of all assessments carried out last year, a rise of a quarter since 2014/15 (see graphics). A regional breakdown of the DfE assessment data shows that the prevalence of CSE is fairly consistent across England (see table). However, the rate is highest in the South West (5.5 per cent) and lowest in the South East (3.2 per cent).

Multi-agency working

Over the past five years, serious case reviews into the handling of CSE in Rotherham and other high profile cases in Oxfordshire and

If we acknowledge these aspects of CSE, it opens up the space to recognise the sexual exploitation that occurs but which currently sits outside of the narrow parameters of CSE as currently portrayed throughout UK policy and practice guidance. The exchange element in definitions of CSE is lost, and cumbersome, with the focus being on “what” it is that young people receive, rather than directing us to consider the “why”, outside of any grooming narrative. Educating young people about healthy relationships goes only so far as a means of responding to CSE, as does protecting young people by removing them from their abusers. Tackling the underlying problems and difficulties experienced by young people is key. Dealing with sexual exploitation as an isolated issue may, conversely, end up leaving young people more vulnerable if these other problems are not also addressed. Creating opportunities for young people to build positive relationships is vital, as is promoting young people’s active participation in their own support and facilitating a practice context in which professionals can work with them to mitigate risk. This would require a policy and guidance shift to both a fuller recognition of the problem and of the practice challenges involved in responding to it. l Dr Sophie Hallett is the author of Making Sense of CSE: Exchange, Abuse And Young People, published by Policy Press, 2017

Rochdale have been critical of joint working between safeguarding agencies. Sharing of information and intelligence by local authorities, police, health and education is key to understanding patterns of CSE, disrupting and deterring perpetrators, and helping and protecting children. This was why CSE was the “deep dive” element for the first five joint targeted area inspections carried out by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and criminal justice inspectorates. The inspections conducted in Central Bedfordshire, Croydon, Liverpool, Oxfordshire and South Tyneside in the first half of 2016 found evidence of encouraging practice with all areas having strategies and plans in place. Prevention and awareness raising in communities was strong. There were also signs that areas were improving their understanding of the context in which CSE occurs, and developing work with hotels, taxi firms and transport companies (see expert view, overleaf). March 2018 Children & Young People Now 29

SPECIAL REPORT POLICY CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Improving knowledge

Despite the increased media profile and policy attention given to CSE in recent years, there are still significant holes in knowledge on the scale of the problem and evidence on effective practice (see research evidence). The government-funded CSE Response Unit offers local safeguarding organisations and practitioners access to more than 1,000 CSE resources and learning materials. The network is also available to voluntary groups and private providers. The unit offers feedback and peer review to local safeguarding children boards and provides targeted improvement support. There is an outof-hours helpline to enable a quick response to developing child protection concerns. In February 2017, the Centre of Expertise on CSA was launched with £8m of Home Office funding until 2020. Hosted by Barnardo’s, the

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However, the inspectorates found too much “variability” in the response to CSE from police, health and youth justice agencies, and that these organisations rely too much on local authorities to take the lead. Areas that have proved most effective in developing multi-agency working have created specialist teams made up of professionals from a range of agencies. For example, Oxfordshire’s Kingfisher team hold regular multi-agency meetings to ensure information is shared with all organisations in a “timely manner” aiding early identification of children at risk. In Newcastle, police and the city council created an “exploitation hub” whose work has helped support young victims of sexual exploitation and ensure perpetrators have been prosecuted (see practice example).

the programme found all four projects had reduced CSE risks, while young people participating in the projects reported improved emotional and behavioural wellbeing. One of these, the Empower and Protect Project in South Yorkshire, has seen four councils work together with social business Catch 22 to improve young people’s resilience (see practice example). With reports regularly emerging of children being groomed and exploited for sex in a range of settings – from sports clubs to care homes, in the family home or online – the demands on safeguarding agencies to improve knowledge and practice are set to continue. By Derren Hayes

FURTHER READING Agencies must tackle the growing role of online CSE

centre aims to collate latest evidence on CSA and CSE, identify areas that need more research and disseminate knowledge to practitioners through a regional network of practice improvement advisers. A key piece of work in its first year has been an evidence review of commissioning practice around services to tackle CSE in five councils. It found plenty of evidence of good commissioning practice, but respondents reported significant cuts to prevention services at a time when demand was rising. Professionals were particularly concerned about agencies’ ability to respond effectively to the growing role of online channels in CSE. The DfE also funded four CSE-focused initiatives in the first phase of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme. Analysis of

Local Commissioning of Services Addressing CSA and CSE in England, Centre of Expertise on CSA, January 2018 CSE and Mental Health Thematic Evaluation, Spring Consortium, July 2017 Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: Progress Report, HM government, February 2017 Child Sexual Exploitation: Definition and Guidance for Practitioners, Department for Education, February 2017 Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation, HM government, March 2015 Report of Inspection of Rotherham Council, Louise Casey, Department for Communities and Local Government, February 2015 Independent Inquiry into CSE in Rotherham, Professor Alexis Jay, August 2014

EXPERT VIEW WE MUST RECOGNISE THE CONTEXT IN WHICH CSE OCCURS Dr Carlene Firmin, principal research fellow, University of Bedfordshire CSE is a safeguarding risk that is posed largely outside of a child’s family and to this extent is not well-accommodated by child protection interventions, structures or policy frameworks. Contextual Safeguarding has provided a language to articulate this challenge and a framework for developing a response. I initially developed it following a series of reviews into multi-agency responses to cases of peer-on-peer abuse where it became evident that risks were escalating in young people’s peer groups, schools, community and online contexts, whereas interventions and assessments largely targeted them and their families.

30 Children & Young People Now March 2018

In order to reduce risk, intervention plans needed to target the social contexts in which abuse, including CSE, was occurring – and these were generally extrafamilial. Such interventions required partnerships with a range of sectors including education, youth work, retail, transport, community safety and housing. The extent to which these interventions were successful needed to be measured by a change in the contexts themselves rather than in the behaviours of any individual child at risk in that context. Working with practitioners to apply this framework in different parts of the country over the last four years has demonstrated the relevance of Contextual Safeguarding to the CSE agenda. Interventions to change the physical design or cultural norms within schools have been introduced following incidents of student peer-on-peer abuse. Social workers and police officers have spent time in shopping centres and eateries where young people

have been groomed, and in doing so built relationships with the staff who manage those spaces to become their “eyes and ears” and take proactive steps to flagging concerns before they escalate. I have worked with transport analysts to identify ways that data on young people’s journeys can be used to identify contexts where they may be vulnerable overnight or during the school day. Recently I spoke to a social worker who, following her engagement with the idea of Contextual Safeguarding, decided to meet her young person when she was spending time with her peers and got to know this group: when the young person went missing her social worker knew who in her peer group to contact. At the heart of these approaches is a shift from agencies referring safeguarding concerns to social care to being active agents in creating safe spaces for young people and delivering interventions in partnership with social care.

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SPECIAL REPORT RESEARCH CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Research evidence

Focus groups and interviews were conducted with frontline practitioners and managers in various teams in six local authorities in England. The size and nature of these varied in terms of region, size and rates of reported cases of CSA.

Social workers were less confident in working with cases that involved grooming, trafficking, internet abuse and other types of exploitative behaviour, and where multiagency responses were required. They highlighted the need for all practitioners working with children, young people and families to have knowledge and understanding of CSA and CSE as distinct areas of sexual abuse as part of their safeguarding responsibilities. Participants expressed uncertainty around their role in partnership working. In particular, they lacked clarity regarding their role in supporting children and other family members during police investigations. They expressed concern about the potential delays for children accessing therapeutic interventions during this process. Managers and social workers were also concerned about the reliance on the voluntary sector for direct postdisclosure therapeutic work with sexually abused children and the sustainability of these services.

Practice issues and confidence

Supervision and training

The research section for this special report is based on a selection of academic studies which have been explored and summarised by Research in Practice (www.rip.org.uk), part of the Dartington Hall Trust. Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse (CSA). Although societal and professional awareness of CSE has increased over recent years, challenges remain on how best to address it and support those affected. The paper by Kwhali highlights the need for all practitioners working with children, young people and families to have knowledge and understanding of CSA and CSE as distinct areas of sexual abuse as part of their safeguarding responsibilities. The findings of this paper are echoed in the article by Thomas and D’Arcy, who highlight the importance of using holistic, strengths-based family approaches to improve services for children and young people affected by CSE. Most CSE services are targeted towards young women rather than young men. The paper by Cockbain and colleagues explores the relationship between sexual exploitation and gender in their study of young people accessing CSE support. The final article by Buck and colleagues provides an insight into young people’s views and experiences of a peer mentoring programme that works to address the hidden problem of young gang-associated women who have been exploited or are at risk of sexual exploitation.

STUDY 1 Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: Knowledge, Confidence and Training within a Contemporary UK Social Work Practice and Policy Context Josephine Kwhali et al, British Journal of Social Work, 46, (2016) www.cypnow.co.uk

This paper reports on the implications of a study commissioned by the NSPCC to explore social workers’ confidence and understanding of child sexual abuse (CSA) and child sexual exploitation (CSE) in particular. It discusses: ■ Practice issues in relation to social workers’ knowledge and confidence in working with children and young people who have been sexually abused or exploited. ■ Effective support, supervision and training for social workers working with CSA/CSE.

Research and key findings

Some participants considered themselves to have considerable experience and knowledge of CSA work, while others less so. Social workers’ experiences of CSA were primarily acquired through the assessment or management of cases of intra-familial sexual abuse. Procedures and guidance in this area were well developed.

Social workers discussed the complexity of their role and of the multifaceted issues that informed their work with sexually abused children. In addition to the knowledge and skills required to manage the investigative process, they identified the importance of being able to assess risk and understand the different forms of

CHILD PROTECTION PLANS Number of child protection plans where sexual abuse is a factor (% of total plans), England 2,760 4.4%

14/15 15/16 16/17

2,370 2,260

Source: Characteristics of children in need, Department for Education, November 2017

4.7% 4.4%

sexual abuse and their impact on children. Working with children who have been sexually abused and their carers can be complex and potentially traumatising for practitioners. Participants identified the need for practitioners to have sufficient time for preparation and reflection when working with CSA/CSE cases, but noted that this was rarely available. They also highlighted the need for effective support and supervision to help them in their work with children and young people post disclosure. Training relating to CSA/CSE was generally evident for those working in two teams: duty and assessment, and child protection/ children in need. However, this was often not the case for social workers in leaving care, fostering and adoption, family support and disability teams. Participants commented on there being no standard route or timescale in which children disclose abuse. In addition, grooming may be a specific risk factor in residential and leaving care settings, with all child care workers needing to be alert to the signs of abuse and have skills in working with children and young people post disclosure. Participants did not feel that their post-qualifying training fully prepared them for working with CSA/CSE cases. They highlighted the skills required to manage the investigative process as well as assess risk and understand the different forms of sexual abuse and their impact on children. They highlighted the need for further training on risk assessments, direct work, grooming, different forms of abuse, children’s behaviours relating to CSA and the use of tools. In addition, they identified a need for training to cover the healthy development of children, particularly relating to sexual development, so that their practice is not viewed only through the prism of abnormality. March 2018 Children & Young People Now 31

SPECIAL REPORT RESEARCH CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

■

Training on CSA/CSE should be made available to all frontline social workers and family support workers. This should cover risk assessment, different forms of abuse and their impact on children and young people, healthy sexual development and therapeutic approaches to recovery. Social workers should have sufficient time for preparation and reflection when working with children who have been sexually abused. They also need time to develop trusting relationships with children and to support their welfare in the longer-term. Clear guidance is needed around roles and responsibilities to ensure effective multi-agency working. This is especially important where there is a police investigation and where therapeutic interventions may be delayed until criminal proceedings have been completed.

STUDY 2 Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation with Young People and Parents: Contributions to a Twenty-First-Century Family Support Agenda Roma Thomas and Kate D’Arcy, British Journal of Social Work 47, (2017) This article discusses family work with young people and parents/ carers affected by child sexual exploitation (CSE). It presents findings from a 2015 evaluation of an early-intervention project, run by Barnardo’s, with young people at risk of or affected by CSE and their families.

Evidence on CSE

Care and support for young people and families affected by CSE frequently appear to be separate from mainstream social work. Support services are often provided by specialists in voluntary organisations, creating a divide between mainstream social work and direct work with young people and families affected by CSE. 32 Children & Young People Now March 2018

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Implications for practice

■

Poor responses by professionals can result in children feeling that they are invisible

Evidence from a 2015 study by Beckett shows that young people affected by CSE often have complex needs and have been in contact with other services, such as health, education, and the criminal justice system. There may be low levels of trust and engagement with statutory services, which can be compounded by professionals’ use of inappropriate and insensitive language. Poor responses by professionals can result in children and young people feeling invisible, that their voices are not being heard, they have not been believed or that they are being judged as responsible for their own abuse. This has been explored in recent studies by Ofsted, Hallett and PACE. CSE prevention and support require skilled family intervention that is based on a holistic approach. This means developing trust between workers and families and facilitating parents and young people to support each other in rebuilding relationships.

The FCASE project

Families and Communities Against Sexual Exploitation (FCASE) was a two-year project (2013-15) that involved direct work, training and developing community awareness. It was delivered across three sites by professionals with strong relational skills. The key aim was to harness

protective factors within a child’s home or foster home to safeguard them from sexual exploitation. It highlighted the importance of multi-agency processes to help identify early signs of CSE, put preventative strategies in place and develop processes for sharing intelligence and disrupting abuse. Following the referral and assessment processes and the introductory meeting, a direct work programme was delivered to families, working separately (but in parallel) with the young person and their parent/carer. The sessions covered: ■ For young people: relationships, risks, grooming, consent law and e-safety ■ For parents: understanding and living with risk, what CSE is, abusive relationships, grooming, the internet and consent.

■

Implications for practice ■

Evaluation findings

Interviews and focus groups were held with 30 sets of parents/carers, 25 young people, 15 practitioners and 20 stakeholders, with key findings summarised below. ■ The experience, skills and CSE knowledge of the FCASE team were central to engaging parents/carers and young people in the work and for assessing their needs. The workers had strong communication and interpersonal skills and were

able to assess quickly whether or how the programme needed to be adapted to meet each family’s needs. The FCASE intervention had a positive effect on parents’ relationships with, and trust of, professionals. Parents/carers reported that they felt that someone was listening and responding to them. Families appreciated the flexibility of the FCASE process. Meetings were held at the families’ convenience, sometimes in the evening if parents worked and their children were at school. Parallel working – where one worker supported the parent/ carer and a different worker supported the child – was successful. It helped to maintain confidentiality of discussions and also strengthened family relationships as each family member felt supported. Although the FCASE model was designed to work within the statutory child protection framework, barriers remained in multi-agency working. There was often a reduction or withdrawal of support from children’s services once a family had been referred to FCASE. This was explained as a consequence of constrained resources and low levels of co-operation between the voluntary sector and children’s services.

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Improving services for children and young people affected by CSE can benefit from adopting a holistic family support approach, with practitioners working individually, but in parallel with the young person and his/her parent or carer. Strengths-based family approaches enable better relationships to form between the worker and family, and empower young people and their families to analyse the changes they need to make to keep young people safe. Knowledge of CSE needs to be embedded across the workforce in order to provide families with the support that is needed. www.cypnow.co.uk

SPECIAL REPORT RESEARCH CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION ■

There is a need for specialist services with the deeper skills and knowledge base about sexual exploitation. However, CSE specialism and mainstream social work should not be separated by hard boundaries.

STUDY 3 Immaterial Boys? A Large-Scale Exploration of Gender-Based Differences in Child Sexual Exploitation Service Users Ella Cockbain, Matthew Ashby and Helen Brayley, Sexual Abuse (2017) This research paper provides findings from a study exploring the relationship between child sexual exploitation (CSE) and gender. Most CSE services are targeted towards young women rather than young men and there is limited knowledge about gender and its importance in understanding and responding to CSE. This study highlights differences in how girls and boys come to be referred to Barnardo’s CSE services.

Policy and practice context

In recent years, CSE has increasingly been recognised as a serious child protection and crime prevention concern and its profile has increased in the media. Police and local authorities have been heavily criticised for failing to identify and respond adequately to CSE and demands have been growing nationally, and internationally, for improved responses to CSE (for examples see Appleton, 2014 and the home affairs select committee, 2013). There is no internationally agreed definition of CSE and it is argued that accepted national definitions may inadequately delineate exploitation from abuse more broadly. In the UK, CSE is not a distinct offence defined in criminal law and prosecutions are made under a range of offences. Professionals work to the definition found in government safeguarding guidance. In 2017, the Department for Education published new guidance for practitioners, local leaders and www.cypnow.co.uk

decision makers working to protect children from CSE, which included a definition of CSE. Research in Practice has published an evidence scope by Eaton and Holmes on working effectively to address CSE. This study involved a largescale exploration of differences and commonalities between boys and girls accessing Barnardo’s CSE support services in the UK. This included children who had been sexually exploited, children implicated in sexually abusing other children and those at risk of either. This study is among the first in-depth comparative analyses of gender and CSE. Around 9,000 cases (one third of which were boys) across 28 different services in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were examined between 1 April 2004 and 1 November 2013. The dataset was limited by missing data, notably higher for boys than girls.

Study key findings

For both girls and boys, referrals came from a variety of agencies but social services were the most frequent referrer. Very few referrals for either gender came from education or health agencies, potentially indicating a lack of awareness of CSE among those working in health or education, or potential issues with referral processes. Corresponding with other studies, findings suggest a substantial overrepresentation of looked-after children as CSE service users in comparison to the general youth population. While the relationship between CSE and service user’s gender is not straightforward, there are

some key findings in relation to variation between gender these include: Sources of referral: Boys were significantly more likely than girls to be referred by certain agencies, in particular criminal justice agencies, and less likely to be referred by others, in particular social services (see graphic). Reasons for referral: Boys were more likely than girls to be referred because of concerns related to going missing. Girls were four-times more likely than boys to be referred following direct disclosure of CSE, although direct disclosure was rare across the sample as a whole. This is consistent with findings from other studies that practitioners are more likely to identify signs of CSE in girls than in boys. Other factors: In comparison to girls, boys were more likely to be several months younger on average, have recorded disabilities, criminal records, and less likely to have peers also thought to be affected by CSE.

Implications for practice ■

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All agencies working with children have responsibility for the identification of CSE given the lack of self-disclosure by young people. A lack of referrals from education and health to Barnardo’s CSE services suggests that there is a need to raise the awareness of the availability of these services as well as deal with any issues inhibiting these agencies making referrals. The over-representation of looked-after children in Barnardo’s CSE cases suggests that those caring for looked-

TRENDS IN REFERRALS TO BARNARDO’S CSE SERVICE Girls were

Boys were nearly

4×

2×

more likely than boys to be referred for support following direct disclosure of CSE

more likely than girls to be referred for support from criminal justice agencies

Source: Immaterial Boys? A Large-Scale Exploration of Gender-Based Differences in Child Sexual Exploitation Service Users, Ella Cockbain, Matthew Ashby and Helen Brayley, 2017

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after children have an important role to play in identifying signs of CSE. However, there is no study that has looked in detail on a large scale at how being looked after and experiences of CSE interact. Differences between male and female service users suggest that female-centric approaches to policy making, victim identification and service provision may not be serving boys adequately and that gender should be factored more effectively into the design and delivery of research, policy and practice.

STUDY 4 Exploring Peer Mentoring as a Form of Innovative Practice with Young People at Risk of Child Sexual Exploitation Gillian Buck et al, British Journal of Social Work 47, (2017) Little is known about the use of peer-led approaches as a response to child sexual exploitation (CSE). This small qualitative study aimed to gain an insight into young people’s views and experiences of peer mentoring.

Research evidence

Child sexual exploitation has risen to the forefront of political and public interest following a series of high-profile criminal cases in the UK. One area of research that has been undertaken in recent years – Berelowitz et al 2013, Becket et al 2013 – is around gang-associated young women and sexual exploitation. This research has identified patterns of victimisation in these young women including: pressure or coercion; sex in return for status or protection; multiple perpetrator rape; exchange of sex for drugs, alcohol, debt or money; to set up males from rival gangs; and to disrespect a rival gang (for example, having sex with a family member). These experiences lie within a broader context among young people of sexual violence, exploitation and victim-blaming. March 2018 Children & Young People Now 33

SPECIAL REPORT RESEARCH CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION ELENATHEWISE/ADOBE STOCK

including: the insecure funding environment of MAV, which limited the potential for longterm work; and the unsustainable level of dependency on mentors being available around the clock.

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Implications for practice ■

Mentors can help young people understand the culture in which they find themselves

Manchester Active Voices

Manchester Active Voices (MAV) is a young person’s service that works to address the hidden problem of young gang-associated women who have been exploited or are at risk of exploitation. The project employs female peer mentors with lived experiences of serious youth violence or exploitation. The theory underpinning the approach is that mentors’ community-based experiences enable them to help mentees understand the culture in which they find themselves. Research has shown that peer mentors can also instil trust and hope through being a positive role model that has overcome similar challenges to mentees.

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The study and key findings

The study used a mixed methods qualitative approach (selfcompletion booklets, interviews, focus group) to explore the meanings that participants attached to mentoring relationships. Data was gathered from 11 mentees (aged between 12 and 18) and three peer mentors. The article reports findings on the following five issues. ■ Multiple vulnerabilities: Mentees had a range of complex needs and vulnerabilities including being groomed; involved with older men online and at parties involving drugs; excluded from school; living in care; involved with child protection; financially unstable; and struggling with self-esteem, 34 Children & Young People Now March 2018

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bullying and self-harm. Mentors recognised the importance of addressing these factors to prevent an escalation of harms. Mentors as a point of connection: Young people enjoyed their time with mentors and valued the work in their communities. They discussed being able to speak to mentors about things they could not speak to others about. This was because mentors were from the local area and understood their problems and because they were less “authoritarian” than other workers. Approach to working: There were two approaches that were particularly valued by mentees: the time mentors spent with them and the individualised support they provided. Young people were able to work with mentors at their own pace in a relaxed, non-pressured, informal environment. Activities and interventions varied, depending on the needs of the individual. This enabled the young people to have fun and feel “normal”, as well as to develop trust and confidence in their mentor. Reducing invisibility: Young people described a move from feelings of isolation to being connected to others, which suggests that being mentored helped them to build their peer and family support network. Challenges: A number of challenges to the mentoring programme were identified,

This is a small-scale study of one peer-mentoring programme and it is not possible to extrapolate the findings to other peermentoring programmes. Notwithstanding this limitation, study participants highly valued the approach.

The following recommendations were identified by the young people: ■ Projects should place young people with experiences of CSE at the centre of their practice. This could include identifying, training and supporting young people who have survived such

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experiences to become mentors; creating a young person’s advisory panel; or holding consultation events. Young people requested group activities and family support work. They offered suggestions such as themed groups codesigned with mentees, group outings and group education sessions focused upon healthy relationships. These activities invest in young people’s social supports, which has the potential to build resilience post mentoring. Projects should recruit multiprofessional advisory panels (police, children’s services, mental health) as participants persistently communicated frustration with some services. Support, development and training for mentors should be formalised, with space for reflective supervision to support mentors’ resilience and facilitate their self-care.

FURTHER READING Related resources Tools and Checklists to Assess Risk of CSE, Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse Journey to Justice: Prioritising the Wellbeing of Children Involved in Criminal Justice Processes Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Barnardo’s, September 2017 Child Sexual Exploitation and Mental Health: Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme Thematic Report 3, Nikki Luke with professor Judy Sebba, Alun Rees and Di McNeish, July 2017 Child Sexual Exploitation: Public Health Support, Prevention and Intervention, Public Health England, July 2017 Key Messages From Research on Child Sexual Exploitation, Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, January-June 2017 Child Sexual Exploitation: Definition and Guide, Department for Education, February 2017 The Alexi Project: Evaluation

Reports, Harris, Roker, Shuker, Brodie, D’Arcy, Dhaliwal, Pearce, University of Bedfordshire, 2013-17 Related resources by Research in Practice Working Effectively to Address Child Sexual Exploitation: Evidence Scope, Eaton and Holmes, October 2017 Young Person-Centred Approaches in CSE – Promoting Participation and Building Self-Efficacy: Frontline Briefing, C Warrington, February 2017 Child Sexual Exploitation: Practice Tool, Beckett, Holmes and Walker, February 2017 Child Neglect and its Relationship to Sexual Harm and Abuse: Responding Effectively to Children’s Needs, Research in Practice, November 2016 That Difficult Age: Developing a More Effective Response to Risks in Adolescence: Evidence Scope, Hanson and Holmes, November 2014 Children and Young People Missing From Care and Vulnerable to Sexual Exploitation: Strategic Briefing, R Godar, September 2013

www.cypnow.co.uk

SPECIAL REPORT PRACTICE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Practice examples ■

Catch22 helped South Yorkshire authorities trial a new support model to keep sexually-exploited and vulnerable teenagers safe

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Parents, foster carers and professionals were supported by psychologists to use therapeutic approaches in daily interactions

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Participating authorities are now mainstreaming some of the approaches developed

LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS/ADOBE STOCK

South Yorkshire Empower and Protect

ACTION

South Yorkshire Empower and Protect (SYEP) supported 12- to 18-year-old sexual exploitation victims or those at risk to remain safely within families, as an alternative to secure accommodation. Run from July 2015 by Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham councils, Doncaster Children’s Services Trust and social business Catch22, it helped parents, carers and professionals use therapeutic approaches, boosting protective factors including positive relationships and placement stability. The Sheffield Council-led bid for funding to the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme was inspired by charity MAC-UK’s “Integrate” approach, involving clinicians bringing mental health support to young people in their communities. SYEP’s clinical lead Dr Tania Rodrigues adapted this approach, basing her team’s support on Ambit (adolescent mentalisation-based integrative therapy), a practice of reflecting on the thoughts and feelings underlying one’s own and others’ behaviour. Rodrigues delivered four-day training to specially-recruited foster carers, alongside two-day training to social workers and other professionals, helping them understand the impact of trauma on emotional and cognitive www.cypnow.co.uk

Mentalisation helped young people and families to feel listened to and respected

development and behaviour and respond appropriately. She challenged professionals to change the “power imbalance” between them and young people, arguing that sexual exploiters’ strategies to groom and control “aren’t too dissimilar” to social workers’ practice of giving young people time and attention to build their trust, warning of negative outcomes if they don’t engage. Instead, she says, sexuallyexploited teenagers should be empowered and listened to as “experts by experience”. “Rather

“Rather than asking what’s wrong with them, we need to ask: ‘What’s happened to you?’” Dr Tania Rodrigues, clinical lead, South Yorkshire Empower and Protect

than asking what’s wrong with them, we need to ask: ‘What’s happened to you?’, showing we understand there are elements around them reinforcing and maintaining their problems.” Funded for two years, the authorities’ first referrals in October 2015 included teenagers in secure accommodation, on the brink of foster placement breakdown and on the edge of care. Rodrigues, a referrals manager and supervising social workers from the four authorities matched referrals with foster carers where appropriate. A joint plan, including risk management and boundarysetting at home, was then agreed between the social workers, carer and clinical team. Young people identified a trusted professional as a key worker, who was invited to the training and monthly or fortnightly clinical supervision with the social worker. Rodrigues also visited foster carers regularly, helping them reduce anxiety by reflecting on their practice and discussing

alternative approaches, alongside “psychologically informed family conversations”, enabling carers and young people to discuss conflicts and possible resolution. Rodrigues modelled mentalisation to ensure everyone felt heard and respected, helping carers embed this in family interactions. Rodrigues’ team also worked with parents, using mentalisation in whole-family discussions to strengthen family support. The client group widened in year two to authorities’ most vulnerable teenagers. SYEP discontinued as a sub-regional initiative after ending in March 2017. But the three authorities and the trust signed a legacy document committing to mainstreaming key elements. “In Barnsley, it helped shape how we work with vulnerable adolescents and support carers and families in safely caring for them in their own communities,” says service director for children’s social care and safeguarding, Melanie John-Ross. She says Barnsley’s plan included social workers and foster carers accessing SYEP training resources and clinical consultation with mental health services.

IMPACT

A March 2017 evaluation report by the University of Bedfordshire and NatCen Social Research says SYEP demonstrates that sexuallyexploited young people or those at risk can remain safely in communities, with the right support for them and their carers. Data for 14 young people among 36 referrals between October 2015 and October 2016 shows significant improvements in safety and expected future outcomes for nine cases. Of six cases with followup mental health data, five showed improvements, while 14 out of 16 young people reported a positive difference. By Emily Rogers March 2018 Children & Young People Now 35

SPECIAL REPORT PRACTICE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Newcastle Sexual Exploitation Hub ■

Multi-agency group supports children and adults at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation

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It follows a process of safeguarding and support, helping police gather evidence to convict perpetrators

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It helped Northumbria Police convict 18 members of a sexual exploitation ring, through Operation Sanctuary

ACTION

Newcastle Sexual Exploitation Hub’s co-located professionals include four police officers working with victims or “complainants”, who keep hub colleagues abreast of intelligence and investigations. They work alongside hub manager Sam Keith, one children’s and three adult social workers, a nurse and voluntary sector representatives. Further adult and children’s social workers are being recruited. “We’ve built really good

knowledge of what we each can and can’t do, helping us understand how we can all best support people,” says Keith, Newcastle Council’s safeguarding adults manager. The hub’s work was triggered in 2013 by a young woman’s disclosure, which service manager for safeguarding adults Linda Gray says sparked recognition of the need for “a more bespoke response to sexual exploitation across the city”. Northumbria Police launched Operation Sanctuary in January 2014 and social workers used their safeguarding and multi-agency information-sharing procedures to support those identified as at risk. The hub expanded into its current form in 2015, with £3.5m from the Home Office’s Police Innovation Fund. “Evidence-gathering wasn’t first and foremost for us, it was supporting people,” Gray recalls. “Police recognised quickly that was a way of keeping people on board.” The hub now receives £708,000 annually from Newcastle Council.

Members meet weekly to discuss cases emerging through intelligence from hub police officers and referrals by social workers and others, triggered by indicators including missing episodes. They follow a process of safeguarding, support and evidence. Keith says: “Our strength is that we don’t wait for disclosure.” Initial safeguarding could include supporting young people’s families to increase safety; social workers have been trained in this by the charity Pace (Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation).

“People often don’t think they’re in abusive relationships when we believe they are” Sam Keith, manager, Newcastle Sexual Exploitation Hub

A hub police officer may initially approach a suspected victim with a hub social worker, or other trusted professional. Hub workers support people whether or not they’re willing to engage with police or acknowledge sexual exploitation. Its social workers don’t have caseloads outside the hub, which Keith says frees them up to be “tenacious, determined and passionate”. They provide emotional support alongside practical assistance with issues including health and housing, supporting the commissioning of services such as secure accommodation where needed. They also bring cases to a regular meeting with mental health professionals, easing access to services. A hub representative from local charity Bright Futures may deliver group and one-to-one sessions in a young person’s school to increase understanding of sexual exploitation and healthy relationships. Meanwhile, the hub’s systemic family therapist

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NSPCC runs specialist CSE service to raise awareness of the issue among schoolchildren and care professionals

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Individual and group therapy sessions work with young victims to come to terms with what has happened to them

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The number of centres operating the services has doubled since 2013

ACTION

Launched in November 2011, Protect and Respect aims to prevent children aged 10 to 19 at risk of sexual exploitation becoming victims, and offer support to those who have already been exploited. The NSPCC runs the service from 14 centres across the UK. It works in partnership with social 36 Children & Young People Now March 2018

services, the police, schools, children’s residential homes and carers. In recent years, the service has been expanded – in 2013, it was run from seven centres in England. There are now centres in: Belfast, Cambridgeshire, Camden, Cardiff, Carlisle, Craigavon, Croydon, Foyle, Liverpool, Peterborough, Plymouth, Prestatyn, Sheffield and Swansea, which opened in June 2017. There are two key aspects to Protect and Respect – to raise awareness and aid recovery. To increase awareness and encourage disclosure, NSPCC workers with expertise in child sexual exploitation go into schools and care settings to discuss with staff how to spot the signs of abuse so that they can prevent it, or refer people to their services. Warning signs include a child going

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Protect and Respect

Young people are helped to identify CSE compared with safe, loving relationships

missing, sexually explicit messages and association with gangs. Louise Bazalgette, NSPCC development and impact manager, says that when going into schools, young people will be carefully selected to ensure everyone in the group feels comfortable.

She adds: “The NSPCC group facilitator will run exercises and show them video clips to prompt discussion around issues such as healthy relationships, sex, consent, grooming and what CSE is. In each session the young people will be given some age-appropriate www.cypnow.co.uk

SPECIAL REPORT PRACTICE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

making parents, school nurses and neighbourhood police aware, ensuring everyone keeps an eye out and a key person is collating information.” When victims feel ready to give evidence, their hub worker supports them through the process and afterwards. The hub also spreads awareness of sexual exploitation, training other agencies to respond appropriately. Gray says this has led people to come forward “who wouldn’t otherwise have done.”

IMPACT

Hub workers help vulnerable young people with emotional support alongside practical assistance with health and housing

from Barnardo’s may help strengthen family support networks. “People often don’t think they’re in abusive relationships when we believe they are,” explains Keith. Seamless support for those transitioning to adult services is a priority. The hub’s children’s social

worker may continue supporting someone beyond 18 and those taken on at 17 may be supported by an adult worker from the outset, in collaboration with the children’s worker. Keith describes the intelligence sharing as a two-way process between police and social workers,

who often contribute fresh information such as a new name or location, garnered from relationship-building with victims. “A young person often makes a disclosure to a social worker, but isn’t ready to speak to police,” says Keith. “We’ll then put in place as many safety measures as possible;

information and will have an opportunity to have a discussion around the topic, ask questions and give their views.” Meanwhile, children and young people who have been victims of CSE can be referred to a Protect and Respect social worker for an individual assessment of needs. Referrals usually come from professionals working with children such as social workers or teachers, but self-referrals are also accepted. They spend up to six hours in one-to-one sessions during which assessments of risk and wellbeing are carried out. NSPCC social worker Sarah Brown says: “Often the young people are deeply traumatised and, at first, can be difficult to engage. They don’t always see themselves as victims and we have to work with them at their own pace.” After this stage, the child has

group sessions for 16 weeks, which Brown says offer “emotional, therapeutic and practical support”. The service then keeps in touch with the young person for six months to monitor progress. Peter Swan, team manager at the Croydon NSPCC Centre, says that the service helps young people understand what CSE and grooming are compared with a safe, loving relationship. It aims to help children make sense of what has happened to them and understand that sexual exploitation is not their fault. He adds that there are many reasons why children become at risk of CSE. “Young people may be facing difficulties at home, dealing with low self-esteem or addiction,” he says. “When young people experience loneliness and isolation, they may turn to their abuser to fill a void or a need for love. Young

people can develop a dependency on their abuser for anything from money or drugs to shelter and emotional warmth,” he adds. Bazalgette explains there are a range of issues the scheme encounters, from “girls pressured to send sexually explicit photos” to “grooming from adults they may already know”, or “strangers who are approaching them online or in a public place” to “other young people”.

www.cypnow.co.uk

“They don’t always see themselves as victims and we have to work with them at their own pace” Sarah Brown, social worker, NSPCC

Operation Sanctuary identified 278 sexual exploitation victims, who were offered support. The operation led to 93 convictions, culminating in the conviction of 18 people in August 2017, after 22 victims were supported to give evidence. The hub is still supporting some of these, with further trials expected this year. The hub won the CYP Now Awards 2017 Safeguarding Award. By Emily Rogers

IMPACT

An evaluation of the effectiveness of the service will not be available until Summer 2018, when the NSPCC will publish data about the impact that the scheme has had, and will look at the progress of the children who have used the service. They will do this by assessing wellbeing, vulnerability and posttraumatic symptoms in service users before, during and after their referral. Following this, they plan to refine and relaunch the service in September 2018. The most recent available figures show that 1,860 children have been helped by Protect and Respect up to May 2017. Brown adds: “Young people have told me the fact that I have listened to them, believed them and taken their issues seriously has been so important to them.” By Kate Plummer March 2018 Children & Young People Now 37

SPECIAL REPORT PRACTICE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

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Response to child sexual exploitation refocused from social care approach to be youth work-led

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Statutory intervention in referrals has dropped as has the level of risk in suspected CSE cases

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The Young and Safe model is now embedded in mainstream prevention and early help services

HIGHWAYSTARZ/ADOBE STOCK

Young and Safe

ACTION

North East Lincolnshire Council and its partners have worked together to bring about a major shift in the area’s approach to tackling child sexual exploitation (CSE). Where once this was seen predominantly as an issue for social care, it is now a youth workled process based on traditional youth work values including outreach, voluntary engagement and building trust, explains Paul Caswell, interim head of young people’s support services. The shift saw the creation of a Young and Safe team in 2011 in an attempt to “identify and intervene early, not just for CSE but other ‘wicked’ issues too”, says Caswell. “The team is made up of qualified youth workers so we’re using the traditional method of voluntary engagement with young people rather than that statutory forced element.” The model was informed by a successful youth crime reduction initiative launched in 2008, which saw youth workers and police spend time building trust with those at risk of being drawn into crime. Trust is also key when it comes to tackling CSE where young people may not recognise themselves as victims, explains Caswell. “It’s about offering young people continuity and consistency – not giving up – and that’s where traditional, targeted youth work comes into its own,” he says, before adding that the approach is very much a multi-agency process. 38 Children & Young People Now March 2018

Young and Safe sees outreach youth workers spending time with young people who could be at risk of being drawn into crime

Under a new integrated 0-19 service, all children’s services referrals from schools and others – including concerns around CSE – now go through a single Families First Action Point before being allocated to the relevant team or specialist service. Young people thought to be at risk of CSE get a multi-agency child exploitation (Mace) risk assessment that may lead to a referral to social care, tailored support from Young and Safe or a joint response with other agencies. The Young and Safe programme has continued to evolve and encompasses a wide range of elements including education sessions on safe relationships in both primary and secondary

“It’s about offering young people continuity and consistency – not giving up” Paul Caswell, interim head of young people’s support services, North East Lincolnshire Council

schools, targeted group work for those at risk and one-to-one casework with those who may be or are victims of CSE. Another element includes Operation Priam, a joint youth service and police initiative to patrol areas where young people hang out and may be at risk. Young and Safe workers also deliver training to raise awareness of CSE with other professionals. Meanwhile, a local Say Something if You See campaign has targeted other adults who may be in a position to help identify and prevent CSE such as taxi drivers and those working in hotels. One of the biggest challenges in moving to a youth work-led approach has been the change in culture and mindset required. “It’s things like trying to convince policing teams that missing young people are not ‘streetwise’ – that they all need to be seen as vulnerable children,” says Caswell, who is a former police officer. The new 0-19 service has seen Young and Safe caseworkers and supervisors move from a central team to locality teams based in different parts of North East Lincolnshire.

The idea is that all 300 staff working in prevention and early help services should be able to offer basic support and information around CSE, says Caswell.

IMPACT

One of North East Lincolnshire’s key goals is to reduce the number of young people at risk of CSE needing a statutory intervention from social workers. In the three years from 2012/13 to 2014/15 social workers were involved in an average of 82 per cent of referrals. But that dropped to just 37 per cent in 2015/16. North East Lincolnshire’s CSE annual report for 2016/17 shows that trend has been maintained with 62 per cent of CSE referrals at universal or early help level and 38 per cent at statutory levels. The Young and Safe approach, also now used to identify and support those at risk of criminal exploitation or affected by domestic abuse, has seen a reduction in the level of risk identified in Mace assessments. In 2016/17, 79 young people were referred into Mace a total of 125 times, with nearly half assessed as “low risk” or “de-listed”. By Jo Stephenson www.cypnow.co.uk

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More from: www.dmthomasfoundation.org

Funding roundup A total of £674,935 has been awarded by the Big Lottery Fund for a youth sports engagement programme in St Helens. The initiative will be run by YMCA St Helens and St Helens Council Sports Development. The three-year programme is aimed at young people aged between 10 and 18, offering 20 free weekly sports and physical activity sessions, holiday programmes and sessions aimed at young people with additional needs. More than £14m of funding will support the work of 117 charities helping children and young people throughout Scotland. The Scottish Government funding from the 2018/19 Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund, will enable a wide range of projects aimed at improving outcomes for children and young people. Recipients of funding include Barnardo’s, Cyrenians, Scouts Scotland and Save the Children. Tavistock Golf Club has donated £5,800 to the Children’s Happy Hospital Fund, split from a sum of £11,600 with the Devon Air Ambulance. The charity’s aim is to make a difference to all young patients, their families and carers, both in hospital and home. The Big Lottery Fund has awarded £10,000 to a preschool in Blackburn, which used it to install a mud kitchen. Cherry Tree preschool applied for the funding to improve its facilities. Preschool manager, Alison Brough has said that the facilities have boosted the work they do and have helped to improve the outside area in order to enhance children’s options for education.

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 47

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DM Thomas Foundation for Young People was established in 2000 as the Hilton in the Community Foundation. It changed its name in 2015 in honour of founding trustee, Dame Maureen Thomas. The foundation’s central grants programme funds a range of programmes to help young people “Achieve It, Beat It and Experience It”. The main priority of the foundation is to target grants at grassroots community groups and charities that provide opportunities to improve the wellbeing of children and young people with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

PRACTICE INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

Humane education, China

hina has 1.3 billion citizens, 20 per cent of the world’s total population. Its huge economic growth and industrial expansion in the past 20 years has seen living conditions and material wealth rise significantly for much of its population. However, this has come at a cost. China is now the number one producer of greenhouse gas emissions, with growth and profit often put before concerns for the environment, citizens and animals. In an effort to redress the balance, not-for-profit organisations such as ACTAsia have developed programmes that aim to educate children in Asian countries to be more aware of the natural environment. Such approaches, they say, can also help improve children’s attainment and reduce antisocial and aggressive behaviour.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Caring for Life helps children to understand that animals are sentient creatures

FACTFILE ■

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Caring for Life is a Humane Education programme developed by ACTAsia in 2012 Caring for Life Education is based on the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Four Pillars of Education 82m people in China live below the poverty line on just $1 per day

48 Children & Young People Now March 2018

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In China, moral education is a requirement for schools Caring for Life says 61 million Chinese children have parents who work away from home for large parts of the year The pilot programme was introduced in three schools in two cities in China

Research by ACTAsia has found that many Chinese people do not recognise that animals are sentient creatures with the ability to feel pain, fear and pleasure. This, they say, can result in children growing up with little empathy for animals and an acceptance they can be physically abused. Animal cruelty can lead to children developing mental health problems and be an indicator of violent behaviour towards people in adulthood. There is little in the way of animal protection laws in China nor little public discourse about the issue. However, environmental awareness of the impact that mass industrialisation has on the land and communities is growing. ACTAsia believes that educating children about their impact on animal welfare, citizenship and the environment can help develop a future society that will take greater care of people and the planet.

Its Changing China report showed that learning about the connections between animal cruelty and welfare and environmental protection could help improve children’s understanding of both issues. Many Chinese children from rural areas grow up with family friends or extended family because their parents live in the major cities for employment, sometimes only visiting their child once a year. Researchers believe this lack of parental contact combined with no siblings – due to the effects of the Chinese government’s policy to restrict families to having one child – has increased the risk of children drifting into crime through a lack of guidance and supervision.

CARING FOR LIFE

Established in 2006 by a sociologist and a veterinarian, ACTAsia is a non-profit organisation with offices in the UK, the Netherlands and Australia. ACTAsia developed its Humane Education: Caring for Life programme to educate primary school-age children in China about caring for animals and the environment to help them to make socially responsible decisions throughout their lives. Caring for Life was introduced in public schools in China in 2014 as a foundation course based on the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Four Pillars of Education. Since 2016, following the fouryear pilot programme introduced in 2012, ACTAsia has been working with Chinese school authorities to champion the concepts of empathy and compassion among children. The ultimate aim of Caring for Life is for education authorities to incorporate it into their school’s curriculum. www.cypnow.co.uk

HUMANE EDUCATION: CARING FOR LIFE

An emphasis on practical teaching encourages better understanding in children

PRACTICE

Developed by ACTAsia in consultation with primary school teachers in China, education and welfare experts, the programme consists of five subject areas (see box). These focus on teaching different aspects of caring for animals and the planet, the connections between care and the sustainability of society and the environment. The programme applies the principles illustrated in the Cone of Learning by Edgar Dale, which suggests how much people tend to remember in two weeks based on how information is received. As the Cone of Learning supports the teaching of the Chinese philosopher Confucius,

the programme focuses heavily on the concept of doing to understand. Therefore, Caring for Life education is taught practically to encourage better understanding. Creative activities and interacting in small groups, such as role play and sharing tasks, are used to encourage compassion between friends and active participation while listening to and including their friends. Throughout, children learn to do as they are taught, which helps them to understand the principles of Caring for Life so they can apply it in the future. A curriculum for Caring for Life has been developed that teaches elements of the programme at different stages of development.

1. The Web of Life The connection of all living things; environmental influences; and consumerism 2. Sentient Beings Emotions, sense and feelings; the needs of people and animals; and endangered species 3. Care and Respect Across cultures, nationalities and species; specific needs; pet animals and how to care for them

Children learn about animal behaviour

For example, pre-school children can be taught about animal behaviour and empathy, but may lack understanding to learn about euthanasia and pet loss.

IMPACT

Caring for Life has been introduced to 130 primary schools in China, as

4. Interacting with Others Human interactions; safe interaction with animals and the environment; understanding how disease spreads from animals to humans 5. Empathetic Choices How to recognise the need for compassion and empathy and when to take action; how to make a difference Source: ACTAsia

well as community centres in 10 cities. The programme reaches 65,800 children, with more than 1,300 teachers trained as Caring for Life educators by ACTAsia. The programme continues to grow, as two ACTAsia staff members went to a Mandarin Immersion school in the USA to train teachers, so that they can incorporate Caring for Life into their school’s curriculum. From the pilot, the Caring for Life experts found that teachers rated students as becoming significantly more pro-social, wellbehaved and showed significant growth in overall understanding of the issues related to topics taught through the course. By Sophie Eminson

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UK The evidential case for Caring for Life within China is overwhelming. But what of the UK? The next generation join a multicultural society with ubiquitous global connections and accelerating change. Young people must adapt to interdependence. There is evidence of declining youth wellbeing. The Prince’s Trust annual youth index found young people’s happiness is at its lowest since 2010. Unicef’s Child Wellbeing

www.cypnow.co.uk

Reports present similar evidence. However, empathy and compassionate education provide the requisite skills for enhanced wellbeing and interdependence in the 21st century. The UK government’s intention to target wellbeing was included in the Children & Social Work Act 2017. The Ministry of Education confirmed that relationship education would be a mandatory feature for primary schools.

Relationship education is an umbrella term with aims related to understanding difference, respect for oneself and others, the removal of prejudice, reproduction and sexual relationships. Bundling all these issues together means compassion, relationships and respect are lost in the English curriculum. Despite such concerns, making relationships education

statutory does offer the opportunity for Caring for Life to be delivered in UK primary schools. Caring for Life is highly suited for UK multicultural classrooms as it is efficient regarding curriculum time, written to suit a non-specialist teaching team, with aims relating to social responsibility, respect and compassion. l Nick Leney, assistant head, Wey Education Schools Trust

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 49

PRACTICE CASE STUDY 1 | Cheshire | Mental health

Joined-up work improves mental Schools, health professionals and the voluntary sector join forces to meet the need for child and adolescent PROJECT Emotionally Healthy Schools

PURPOSE To help schools and colleges support children and young people’s emotional and mental health

FUNDING Around £1.4m until December, from Cheshire East Public Health and two clinical commissioning groups

BACKGROUND

The December 2017 green paper Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision gives schools a leading role in early intervention, envisaging designated mental health leads in every school and “mental health support teams” serving school clusters. A similar model already operates in Cheshire East and is due to be rolled out to all 0-18 education settings there by 2020. It started in six secondary schools in 2015 as one of the government’s mental health services and schools link pilots. Jonathan Potter, head of preventative services, says the authority wanted to address “mismatch” between the volume of need for mental health support in schools and the resources available.

ACTION

Emotionally Healthy Schools (EHS) is a partnership between schools, health and the voluntary sector, providing whole-school initiatives and targeted interventions, underpinned by staff training and consultation. Three teams work together to support schools: an EHS Links team of four mental health professionals; an eight-strong “school leads” team of seconded senior primary, secondary, college and special needs staff; and Tools for Schools, 50 Children & Young People Now March 2018

Emotionally Healthy Schools helps to foster an atmosphere in which pupils can talk about their feelings and emotional health

a four-strong team from local charity Visyon, delivering a timetable of training and work with pupils. Representatives from each team serve each of Cheshire East’s four areas. EHS Links offers schools a day’s

mental health awareness training, helping teachers assess pupils’ wellbeing, alongside half-termly consultation for school clusters that sees a staff member from each school receiving advice on the best approach for a pupil causing

MENTAL HEALTH REFERRALS BY PILOT SCHOOLS Proportion of pilot school referrals made to mental health services

Proportion of pilot school referrals that were accepted by mental health services 83%

90%

15%

6.5%

Pre-pilot

End pilot

Pre-pilot

End pilot

Source: Emotionally Healthy Schools pilot project evaluation, University of Salford, April 2017

concern. The team also offers “facilitated reflection” sessions, enabling staff to share experiences and learn from each other. EHS’s lead school is Middlewich High, whose head and assistant head Keith Simpson and Clare Holmes are strategic lead and programme co-ordinator. Holmes and her school lead colleagues help mental health leads in schools complete a self-assessment, which informs an action plan. School leads then visit schools half-termly, advising colleagues on supporting pupils’ emotional health, and sharing best practice. Six teachers, including Holmes and Simpson, are specialist leaders in education (SLEs) for emotional and mental health through the National College for Teaching and Leadership. “To improve emotional and mental health www.cypnow.co.uk

wellbeing mental health provision support, often what we need to change is the school culture, which comes from its leadership,” explains Simpson. “SLEs go in as equals. We’re not here to provide the answers, but tease out what’s working well and build on that.” School leads also work with colleagues from the EHS Links and Tools for Schools teams to develop resources and initiatives, such as training college students as “mental health first aiders”. Potter says EHS helps “create a climate in which feelings and emotional health get talked about”. “If staff are confident in this area, they’re more likely to open up conversations about it,” he adds.

OUTCOME

So far, 77 per cent of Cheshire East schools and colleges are engaged in EHS. A 2017 University of Salford evaluation report shows the six pilot schools making 17 out of the 115 – 14.8 per cent – of school referrals to East Cheshire Tier 3 child and adolescent mental health services between January and June 2015. But in the last six months of the trial up to December 2016, referrals by pilot schools reduced to 10 – 6.5 per cent of the 155 referrals by all schools over that period. Before the pilot, 83 per cent of participating schools’ referrals were accepted but that increased to 90 per cent by the end. This compares with an 81 per cent acceptance rate across all schools for both periods. The percentage of pupils saying they had spoken to a staff member about their emotional health in the past month increased from 12.6 to 22 per cent. If you think your project is worthy of inclusion, email supporting data to derren.hayes@markallengroup.com www.cypnow.co.uk

Activities at The Money House help young people learn about finance and manage their transition to independent living

CASE STUDY 2 | London | Youth work

Flat opens up world of finance PROJECT The Money House

PURPOSE To help 16- to 25-year-olds embarking on independent living manage their money and remain independent

FUNDING Annual running cost of £300,000 funded by the Berkeley Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation and Hyde Charitable Trust

BACKGROUND

The Money House began in Greenwich in 2013 as a financial literacy programme helping young people avoid debt and maintain tenancies. It was initially run by Hyde Housing with Greenwich Council, Citizens Advice and Meridian Money Advice. Financial educational and enterprise charity MyBnk took over the management of the programme in January 2017, opening a second project in Newham. More than 900 young people have participated to date.

ACTION

The Money House is a one- or five-day programme that takes place in a flat typifying the type of accommodation young people first move into. The programme is open to all 16- to 25-year-olds regardless of housing status, but most referrals come through the local authority. Attendance is a mandatory part of Greenwich Council’s “move-on” process for young people entering social housing. Up to 10 young people take part in the five-day programme from Monday to Friday, which features interactive games and activities designed to build knowledge and skills in subjects including tenancy rights and responsibilities, avoiding eviction, handling household bills, banking, saving, budgeting, borrowing safely, benefits entitlements and employability. The whole flat is used. Participants practise inventory checks, read the electricity meter, calculate utility costs, and cook,

working towards qualifications in personal money management and preparing for work. MyBnk education manager Nick Smith-Patel, who runs the course in Greenwich, says “we teach them the rules”. “This stuff doesn’t have to be dull. Finance is amazing; about how we survive in the world. Once you show young people the value of knowing it, they eat it up.”

OUTCOME

Of 395 completing the five-day course in the first four years, 99 per cent said they felt more confident about their financial situation. Data collated by Hyde Housing shows just 11 per cent of young people who took part in the scheme in the first year and went on to be housed by Greenwich Council had rent arrears of more than £500. This compares with 33 per cent of young tenants who did not take part in the programme. No participants in the scheme were evicted.

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 51

PRACTICE CHILDREN’S SOCIAL CARE INNOVATION PROGRAMME

Seven features of practice Projects in the first phase of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme have been evaluated to identify practice that has the most impact for children, with seven clear features emerging A document launched by chief children’s social worker Isabelle Trowler at a national learning conference held in London on 27 February summarises seven features of practice to emerge from some of the most effective projects funded through the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme. The summary document provides an overview of what the seven features of practice look like on the ground, alongside the challenges and successes of implementation. It also outlines the difference that these features of practice can make to the lives of children and families, and the seven main outcomes achieved by projects that have demonstrated them (see box). Using independent evaluation reports for the first round of projects, thematic reports and the final overall evaluation report written by the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford, the

Department for Education has drawn together a number of particularly important findings that form the basis for the seven key features. It draws upon findings from projects looking to redesign whole children’s social care practice systems, rather than work focussed on a specific group of children or issue. While the DfE found huge diversity in the context and approaches of different projects, it said what was most striking was how projects that showed the most promising early outcomes shared many characteristics. Many of the features of practice can be seen working together in the most successful projects, and many of the most successful innovations demonstrated all seven of the features coming together as part of a comprehensive change programme. This article is an abridged version of the summary document.

Feature 1 – Using a clear, strengths-based practice framework

Having a clear framework of practice means having a widely owned and well-defined set of values and theoretical principles that underpin all work with children and families. These must be understood, shared and used across the whole organisation, including by partners, and they must flow from and be championed and embedded by leaders. A strengths-based approach is one that focuses on identifying families’ strengths as well as their difficulties, and supports the family to understand for themselves how they can use their strengths to help overcome their difficulties.

What difference does it make? ■ Creates a shared understanding of what good practice looks like, alongside clear expectations – Practitioners know what is expected of them and families

OUTCOMES ACHIEVED BY INNOVATION PROGRAMME PROJECTS While the time innovation programme projects have been running is relatively short, there are already some clear indications of positive impact emerging from successful round one projects. These include: 1. Greater stability – Six projects achieved improved placement stability, including the Mockingbird Family Model fostering project which saw a four per cent rate of unplanned placement change, compared with eight per cent nationally. 2. Reduced risk – Half of projects reported reductions of children on child protection plans, including the Signs of Safety authorities which saw a

52 Children & Young People Now March 2018

22 per cent decrease in the rate of children becoming subject to a plan. 3. Increased wellbeing and resilience – Out of 26 projects, 14 reported improvements in children’s physical or mental health and seven improved resilience mainly among parents. 4. Reduction in care – 14 of the 23 projects that aimed to reduce the number of children in care achieved this. In the five Reclaiming Social Work authorities, 79 per cent of those children identified as at highest risk of needing care stayed with their families. 5. Increased staff wellbeing – Two authorities involved in Focus on

Practice saw sickness absence drop 40 per cent, while in Hampshire, which provided highly skilled personal assistants to support social workers, sickness rates reduced by 83 per cent. 6. Reduced turnover and agency rates – In Hertfordshire, there was a reduction in the number of allocated social workers for each family, suggesting fewer changes of worker. 7. Value for money – More than 80 per cent of projects reporting on value for money found improvements. For example, North Yorkshire’s No Wrong Door estimates over £1m savings or costs avoided per year for the authority and other local agencies.

get a more consistent experience, as every social worker is working in a similar way. ■

Gives all practitioners a shared language – When all practitioners and partners are working with the same practice approach, they can easily discuss cases.

■

Provides a vehicle for developing direct work skills – Through the

process of developing staff in a new practice approach. ■

Children and families are empowered – Rather just being

told what they must do, children and families are supported to come up with their own solutions, which gives them a deeper sense of ownership of what needs to change.

Feature 2 – Systemic approaches Systemic approaches focus on the way relationships shape the particular difficulties or challenges that face a family or other caring system. These relationships are considered at the level of the family system and of the wider social system which exerts an influence over how families operate. The generation of multiple ideas about how family relationships might be working to keep problems going is encouraged, and systemic interventions focus on which of these ideas seems to best fit for the family system in terms of supporting relationships to be more helpful, and reduce the difficulties that a family faces. Systemic approaches are used alongside strengths-based approaches as the two complement one another.

What difference does it make? ■ Active change agents – Social

workers seek to effect change, not just assess and report. www.cypnow.co.uk

NICHIZHENOVA ELENA/ADOBE STOCK

■

Whole-family approaches can improve outcomes before situations deteriorate ■

■

Children and families are empowered – They are

supported to take ownership of their own solutions. Creates sustainable change – Because families help create and own the change. Families feel listened to – The approach encourages a deep and inquisitive analysis of what is happening for the family.

Feature 3 – Enabling staff to do skilled direct work Providing the right training, coaching and supervision enables social workers to deliver higher quality direct work with children and families. Increasing support from non-social work staff, volunteers and/or administrative staff significantly increases the amount of social worker time available for direct work with families.

What difference does it make? ■ Better support for families –

Several of the evaluations reported positive change in social work practice, and many cited evidence of better experiences for families.

■

More social work time spent on direct work – Work that doesn’t

need a social worker is done by others. For example, in www.cypnow.co.uk

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the use of personal assistants led to a rise in social worker time with families from 34 to 58 per cent.

Feature 4 – Multi-disciplinary skills working together

Having different professional disciplines with a range of skills and knowledge working consistently together as a team to support the family enables better decision making and better responses to families’ needs. Innovation programme projects achieved this in a number of different ways, for example by employing systemic family therapists to work as part of social work teams, or by bringing adult specialists together with children’s specialists in a single team. Where professionals form a single team, the risk of families being passed between services is reduced.

What difference does it make? ■ Greater coherence for families –

Multi-disciplinary teams simplify contact with families. Professionals in a single team can share information more easily, so families don’t get multiple contacts nor have to repeat themselves.

Better, shared decision-making –

When a multi-disciplinary group make decisions collectively they bring a range of perspectives, challenge each other’s thinking and ultimately make better informed decisions. Easier access to specialist help – Where teams include specialists, for example from adult services or domestic violence workers, the needs of the whole family can be better met within the team without “hand-offs” and outside referrals.

the young person/family, and act as a bridge to other members of the team, to aid engagement.

What difference does it make? ■ Prevents confusing multiple approaches to families – By

■

Feature 5 – Group discussion

Teams discussing and making decisions on cases collectively, within the context of a clear, shared approach to practice, enables them to jointly problem solve and test each other’s analysis. Crucial elements of group case discussion include the involvement of multidisciplinary expertise and access to highly skilled senior/consultant social workers.

What difference does it make? ■ Supports the development of good practice – Through role ■

■

modelling, coaching, and quality professional discourse. A range of professional expertise – A range of professional disciplines are involved, able to challenge each other and bring different perspectives. Better, quicker decision-making – Knowledge is easily shared and case leads are supported to make decisions.

Helps overcome mistrust and increase engagement – The main

contact can act as a bridge to support the family to engage in more specialist interventions as necessary.

Feature 7 – Whole-family focus

While practitioners always focus on the needs of the child, it is by working with the whole family that children’s outcomes can be improved. This includes working with parents who may not live together and who have complex relationships.

What difference does it make? ■ Prevents escalation and tackles root causes of a family’s problems – The needs (for example, domestic violence, substance misuse, mental ill health) of parents are often at the root of risks to children, so effective strategies to address these needs are critical to better outcomes.

■

Feature 6 – High intensity and consistency of practitioner

Successful projects often focused on ensuring children and families had access to a consistent single practitioner within the team who was their main point of contact, with this person providing intensive support over time. This practitioner’s aim would be to create a strong relationship with

ensuring planning and action is joined up and routed through one person. Helps build strong relationships – The young person and family have someone consistent who they feel is invested in them.

■

Creates long term, sustainable solutions – The focus is on

addressing root causes and improving outcomes for the family as a whole. Reduces family stress – Providing advice, advocacy and social support can tackle stress linked to debt, housing and family conflict.

l 7 Features 7 Outcomes, available

to download free from www.springconsortium.com

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 53

PRACTICE PARTICIPATION IN ACTION

Peer mentor programme aims to bring mental health from out of the shadows Provider Fitzrovia Youth in Action Name Mental health peer mentors Summary London charity will recruit peer mentors to support young people with mental health problems to gain confidence and life skills Discussing mental health can be a taboo subject for many children. To help encourage young people to talk more openly about mental wellbeing, a London-based charity has created a new programme to match those with mental health concerns with older peers. Organisers Fitzrovia Youth in Action (FYA) hope the project will not only address young people’s mental health concerns, but also help build their resilience and confidence. In addition, mentors will gain valuable leadership and problem-solving skills. Funded by Camden Council, the programme will see Mind in Camden provide training for young people recruited as mentors, while mentees will be referred by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust. Abbie Mitchell, FYA peer mentoring manager, says that the goal is to “strengthen peer support” and tap into “that culture that young people can talk to each other about challenges that are going on”. She adds: “It’s about helping to get rid of the stigma as well by promoting these kind of conversations.” Since the project was launched on 10 October 2017, World Mental Health Day, young people have been consulted about the project, and, alongside Mind in Camden, helped develop mentoring models and techniques that will best support mentees. Since January, FYA has been working with schools and youth groups to recruit young people as peer mentors. Once trained, mentors

“They will work on using tools to support their wellbeing and explore what tools they might already have” Abbie Mitchell, FYA peer mentoring manager 54 Children & Young People Now March 2018

Young people have been consulted on the techniques and mentoring models that will best support the mentees

will be matched with a mentee two years younger than them and deliver six mentoring sessions. “They will work on using tools to support their wellbeing and explore what tools they might already have,” Mitchell says. “They might set some goals around different areas of their lives and build up their resilience together.” Mitchell says that during the programme, mentors and mentees will use workbooks with resources and activities in them. They will also use techniques linked to the Five Ways to Wellbeing, an approach developed by the New Economics Foundation. These are: “connect” (building and improving relationships), “give” (volunteering), “be active”, “take notice” (being more mindful and aware of surroundings), and “learn” (developing interests). At the end of the programme both mentor and mentee will reflect on what they have learned and how they can continue to use the skills in everyday life. Although some young people involved might have mild mental health challenges, the service is for everyone and Mitchell says that the sixhour training programme and will benefit the mentors as much as mentees. “They will speak in the language they understand and older young people can reflect back to what was going on for them when they were younger,” says Mitchell.

Emolios Lemoniatis, consultant child and adolescent pyschiatrist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, says he hopes that 80 peer mentors will have been trained, 160 mentees engaged and more than 480 sessions run by the end of the year. The project will run until October 2019. The project will build on an FYA project in which young people were trained to spot signs of addiction and substance misuse among peers. By Katherine Plummer

My View Janelle

“Peer mentoring is an amazing programme. It not only benefits the person being mentored but also the person doing the mentoring, and it helps them to learn about mental health in depth. Helping out with the recruitment process and hearing the plans of the interviewees made me even more determined to join the programme once it got started. I feel that this will actually make a big difference – especially in school around how different year groups communicate. I think that is a very positive thing.”

www.cypnow.co.uk

PRACTICE LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

Doncaster Transferring delivery of children’s social care to an independent trust has proved a success for the South Yorkshire town Doncaster is a deprived market town in South Yorkshire. It became a metropolitan borough in 1974, incorporating the surrounding areas of Hexthorpe, Hyde Park, Newton, Bentley Rise, Wheatley Park, Intake and Bessacarr. Like much of the region, it suffered economically with the collapse of the coal industry. Now, nearly a quarter of children in Doncaster live below the poverty line – the fourth highest rate in England. In 2013, following highly critical Ofsted inspection reports, the Labour-controlled council agreed to then Education Secretary Michael Gove’s recommendation to transfer the running of children’s social care services to an independent trust. This began operating in October 2014, and an inspection last December rated services “good”.

CHILDREN’S SOCIAL CARE SERVICES IN DONCASTER Rise in referrals rate per 10k

Looked-after children rate per 10k

806

Statistical neighbour

687 572

Yorkshire & Humber 2016

England

2017

75%

Doncaster

2015

Rise in neglect cases

rise in the rate of child protection plans due to neglect since 2014

Stability in the workforce

Pupil premium rate ■ 2014

23%

■ 2017

20% 32%

13.5%

11%

Agency rate

Vacancy rate

3% of Doncaster pupils are eligible for the pupil premium

Sickness rate

Source: Doncaster Children’s Services Trust and Local authority interactive tool, Department for Education

VIEW FROM THE TOP: ‘LISTENING HAS BEEN CRUCIAL TO TURNING AROUND SERVICES’ Paul Moffat, chief executive, Doncaster Children’s Services Trust A key factor identified in the recent Ofsted report is the priority we have given to engaging with young people. The best services are those that have feedback from children and young people, the customers. For example, young people told us that reference to “contact” was embarrassing so we’ve changed that to “family time”. We have tried to change the language of care in the town. Some of our looked-after children want to become social workers. They came up with the idea of selling “Hey Me” training to private care providers,

www.cypnow.co.uk

the proceeds from which have been used to pay for their access training and course materials. It has already raised £5,000. The workforce has become more stable by reducing the use of agency staff – 25 former agency social workers have transferred to full-time positions. That reflects the good supervision, skills development and career progression we offer them because they could earn more from neighbouring authorities. The rise in referrals to the service reflects untapped demand, and the confidence that people have in the front door of the system. I predicted 18 “Being independent has helped our pace of change and been an attraction for staff”

months ago that as our early help offer improved, demand would go up. The trust along with police, the council, schools and health are looking at how we can reduce demand by supporting families at an earlier stage. Ofsted said our threshold for intervening is right, child protection plans are right for the challenging environment we are working in, lookedafter children rates have stabilised, and we have got better at detecting neglect. Some of the challenges we still face are because of the poor standards of care in the past. Being independent has helped our pace of change and been an attraction for staff. Whatever happens in the future it was the right move for Doncaster. It is no panacea, but where there is long-term failure it is right to consider a different delivery model.

The council has embraced the partnership with the trust and I have regular meetings and talks with the director of children’s services Damian Allen about investment in services, how we can improve delivery and finances. People are talking about the trust in a positive way and there’s been a wider change in culture across the town – schools are getting better, a National College for High Speed Rail has been established and there is “opportunity area” funding coming in. We want to create more economic opportunities for our young people. We have had weekly meetings for three years about how we get to “good”. Now we have got there we have meetings about how we get to “outstanding”. No one is taking their foot off the pedal – in fact, staff want to know how quickly we can be reinspected.

March 2018 Children & Young People Now 55

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The early years pupil premium aims to boost learning of disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds

Ideas to make EYPP close the gap EARLY YEARS Sue Asquith, early years adviser, National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) Nurseries have a lot of freedom in choosing to spend their early years pupil premium (EYPP) money, which can buy anything from a few hundred pounds to several thousand, depending on numbers of recipients. A recent Department for Education report, Experiences of the Early Years Pupil Premium, part of the Study of Early Education and Development, found some providers wanted more guidance on how to spend this money and see examples of how other settings are using it. Whatever managers decide to invest in, they must be able to demonstrate a clear and worthwhile return in terms of benefit to the children who the EYPP is intended to help. As all nurseries know, improved outcomes via EYPP come under intense scrutiny at inspection – every penny must count – and if interventions, special projects or new equipment work well for a wider demographic of children in attendance, so much the better. Settings need to ask themselves, what do we want the impact to be

Children at Portico Poppets nursery learn about weighing and measuring using cups

for the child the EYPP is provided to support? Once the solution is identified, the search for what is out there can begin.

EEF Toolkit

A first port of call for inspiration is the Education Endowment Foundation’s Early Years Toolkit, free to access online. The toolkit usefully rates potential strands of approaches – such as early literacy, early numeracy, physical development and play for learning – for impact against cost and duration of activity. The DfE study found there was a sense that some smaller providers struggled to achieve the same kinds

of impacts as larger settings, due to fewer eligible pupils and less funding. For example, some settings struggled to fund staff resources such as speech and language therapists, but found creative solutions such as training existing staff. Programmes such as NDNA’s Literacy, Maths and SEND Champions – online courses that train graduate staff to improve practice based on identified needs – help children to meet developmental milestones (see case study).

Equipment and experiences Other successes have involved purchasing very specific toys

or equipment – books, tablets, games and musical instruments – to support the development of children with particular learning needs. One example reported in the DfE report was a mud kitchen, bought with a selectively mute child in mind, with the aim of developing his communication skills. A much wider group of children benefited as they were all able to play in it. Along similar lines, other settings have used money to improve outdoor spaces, create growing areas or buy bikes. Days out to the theatre or seaside to broaden learning experiences for children who might not otherwise get such an opportunity, as well as short courses for parents about supporting their children’s behaviour, sleep or toilet training, have also been shown to be a worthwhile use of EYPP money. Some smaller nurseries have pooled their EYPP allocation – for example, to fund a new, specialist staff member. New rounds of funding, year on year, are allowing nurseries to build on their original purchases and projects, and further enhance outcomes. Once purchases have been made and put to appropriate use, projects run and training applied, being able to prove the worth of these activities is essential.

CASE STUDY: PORTICO POPPETS DAY NURSERY USES PUPIL PREMIUM CASH TO HELP STAFF BOOST CHILDREN’S MATHS SKILLS Portico Poppets Day Nursery in St Helens used EYPP money for manager Vicki Cardwell to do NDNA’s Maths Champions programme. Assessments had shown space, shapes and measures as an area where not all children were making expected progress. An initial maths audit highlighted that there were not enough opportunities for children to weigh and measure, so practitioners watched a webinar on measuring to get ideas on what to do.

EYPP money was also used to buy rulers, tape measures and scales, as well as setting up activities using ordinary equipment such as cups for weighing. Cardwell gave parents information about things they could do at home with children such as using tape measures or making play dough. “The staff took the ideas and used them in different ways,” she explains. “For example, one staff member built

10 Children & Young People Now 14-27 February 2017

an obstacle course where children measured how far they had jumped.” Activities included measuring the heights of the children or the length of their arms. As children began to understand more about measuring, they started using their hands to measure and making their own rulers. Children learned about weighing when making play dough or snacks, using scales and also measuring out quantities using cups.

Cardwell also observed children using rulers and tape measures spontaneously as part of their play, including measuring play dough snakes they had made. It was also noted that practitioners’ anxieties about maths decreased as they began to understand how maths could be used in simple everyday activities. Maths Champions is currently undergoing a large scale evaluation with the Education Endowment Foundation to further research its impact.

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010_CYP_140217 Analysis2.indd 10

10/02/2017 17:56

New youth work income streams With council funding falling, charities must develop fresh ways of boosting revenue, says London Youth YOUTH WORK

IN NUMBERS

£22m

Rosemary Watt-Wyness, chief executive, London Youth

Cut in council youth service budgets across London over recent years

Cuts to services for young people are, sadly, no longer news. Nevertheless, Green Party London Assembly member Siân Berry’s recent report detailing the depth and breadth of cuts in London is stark and sobering reading (see In Numbers). These cuts are in the context of widening inequality in the UK as a whole and London in particular – the city has the highest levels of poverty in the country and the highest cost of living. So for many young people, opportunities are out of reach. Youth charities are doing all they can to make the case for increased investment. London Youth believes youth services are an important part of local infrastructure and that they should be funded as such. We still believe that the scarcity of youth provision is likely to lead to longer-term cost – financially and for young people’s lives – and we will continue to voice these views. While there are signs that policymakers do recognise the importance of provision outside school, it is hard to see how the revenues we have lost through the cuts will be replaced. So what can organisations supporting young people do to generate replacement funds to keep services going? At London Youth, we see helping our local member organisations to answer this question as a pivotal part of our role. Sharing examples that work and which others might be able to replicate is crucial. Here are six ways London Youth members are generating extra funds. These ideas do not just apply in London: across the UK youth work professionals are striving to find and develop new ways to sustain their organisations.

12,700 Places for young people have been lost with more than 30 youth centres closing

Bodies such as Sport England can help youth charities reach diverse communities

1. Maximising assets Many of our members hire out sports halls and pitches to businesses and other groups at times when young people are not using them. Some have arrangements with sound artists to utilise recording studios in return for tuition for young people. It is not without cost, and you need to think carefully about safety and risk assessment, but there is potential. We are hosting an event for our members with Sporting Assets, which specialises in helping community organisations with sports facilities to increase their revenues. And we’re looking, with partners, at the scope for a simple, digital system of brokering venue sharing and hire across our network.

2. Core capabilities

Some organisations now sell services using skills they have established. For example, organisations with digital capabilities are now regularly being commissioned to produce film and wider digital content.

3. Youth work in other settings More organisations are taking youth work into schools and other settings. Partnering can take considerable time and effort. However, additional activities and support for young people are often

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010_CYP_140217 Analysis2.indd 11

needed and partners can be willing to pay for them. Health settings are one area where it is possible to imagine many new applications.

4. Regeneration

Some buildings-based organisations are working with local authorities and business to develop new provision. Sometimes as part of a broader development, a youth organisation can secure a new or upgraded building and, potentially, ongoing revenue, while the developer secures sales and rental income from adding homes or offices on the site. There can be significant gains, but there are also considerable risks and professional advice is needed to make this work.

5. Partnerships

Working with big corporations can lead to new money and shared expertise and technical support. We would be naïve to think that business will pick up the voluntary sector tab – it won’t. But businesses increasingly recognise their responsibilities within communities and can be active partners, providing opportunities for young people as well as key skills for organisations.

6. Scaling up

Many small organisations struggle to access commissioning processes

35% Average cut in council funding to voluntary sector youth providers Source: London’s Lost Youth Services, Siân Berry, Green Party

or find they are not competing on a level playing field. This is an area in which being part of a network can really help. A great example is our relationship with Sport England. We work with almost 100 members, under a single grant that helps meet the funder’s objective of getting children active in diverse communities, without requiring every small organisation to manage its own funding relationship. We help our members to aggregate their resource and achieve greater scale and will be seeking to replicate this model in other funding areas. We would urge commissioners to think about similar models to open up their processes to knowledgeable, local organisations. Developing these approaches is not easy. Some of them require having assets in the first place. But the sector is showing it can be adaptable and resourceful. Learning from each other can really help. We will be devoting more energy to facilitating the exchange of business development ideas between our members.

14-27 February 2017 Children & Young People Now 11

10/02/2017 17:56

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DIARY

Sniffing out stories that have gone to ground while managers were only worried about covering their own backs and corporate damage limitation. While the drama was trying to make important points about foster care, ethnicity and the many uncertainties in the child protection system, social work professionals took to social media to criticise the depiction. Ferret gave up at episode one, but a Telegraph review of the final episode concluded: “At its most compellingly honest, it portrayed the impossible demands placed on social workers who stick plasters on the wounds of broken Britain.” What a shame that many children’s professionals would have switched off by then.

FWIW what exactly is a DCS anyway?

A worthy original DCS calls time in Stockport Continuing the DCS theme, the last remaining “original” director of children’s services Andrew Webb has announced he is to leave Stockport Council at the end of March. Not only was Webb in the first www.cypnow.co.uk

Children jump at the chance to boost their fitness Schoolchildren are being offered free trampoline sessions to battle obesity. Trampoline park operator Flip Out is providing 20,000 hours of trampoline time free to children in the London borough of Newham. It says that one 60-minute trampoline session burns up to 1,000 calories, and also strengthens muscles and reduces stress. Creative collaborations between councils and business such as this put a spring in Ferret’s step.

tranche of DCSs when the role was created in 2007, but he was also partly responsible for coming up with the job description too, a story he recently recounted to one of Ferret’s colleagues. “Many of the opportunities that have come my way in the past 20 years have been a real honour, but one that sticks out was when I was seconded to the Department for Education to work on Every Child Matters,” he said. “Having agreed the structural changes that were required, I got to work with others to write my ideal job description (the DCS role) and then get it included in legislation.” During his tenure, Webb has championed the DCS role. He has also been somewhat of a thorn in the side to Ofsted, last year claiming that the cost of the single inspection framework was “phenomenally wasteful”. Ferret hopes he continues to challenge authority in whatever role he goes on to next.

The colourful life of the leaving care guru

Social worker drama a missed opportunity The portrayal of child protection social work in the recent Channel 4 drama Kiri drew a sigh of exasperation from Ferret – and probably many of those who work in children’s services too. This time, the usual clichés about meddling social workers were replaced with an experienced child protection professional played by Sarah Lancashire drinking on the job, taking her dog to work and allowing unsupervised contact. Colleagues were portrayed as ditsy, CHANNEL 4

We all know the public sector is fond of using acronyms and initialisms (editor’s note: initialism is an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately, for example, BBC). There are so many in fact that even Ferret sometimes struggles to remember what some of the more obscure initialisms stand for – MHCLG and CYPMHS are recent examples to enter Ferret’s lexicon. However, there is one term you would think needs no explanation to anyone working with children and families, or has even a passing knowledge of local authority services – DCS (director of children’s services). So Ferret couldn’t help but LOL when a council press officer, responding to an interview request with their DCS, emailed back with: “Forgive me, but what or who is a DCS?” It seems that despite DCSs being around for more than a decade, there is still some way to go in boosting the role’s profile.

Sarah Lancashire stars in Channel 4’s Kiri

Last month saw the return of Edward Timpson, former minister for vulnerable children and families, to the children’s services fold with the announcement that he has become an adviser to the children’s commissioner for England. One of Timpson’s last acts before losing his seat in last June’s general election was to appoint Mark Riddell as national implementation adviser for care leavers. The appointment could prove to be a masterstroke for the Department for Education, as Riddell does not conform to the usual stereotypes of government mandarins. Riddell, former care leaver guru at Trafford Council, has written a book about his time spent growing up in the care system, has a passion for punk and mod music, and once was a drinking buddy of aging Hollywood action hero Sylvester Stallone after meeting him on the set of one of the Rambo films. Anyone that has the perseverance to write a book, draw inspiration from punk and shoot the breeze with Sly, should have no problem sorting out the nation’s leaving care services and handling DfE ministers. March 2018 Children & Young People Now 57

ADOGSLIFEPHOTO/ADOBE STOCK

The Ferret

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Meet your legal learning needs This year’s seminar programme will provide guidance to improve your court skills and case law knowledge, with topics including continuing healthcare, preparing a balance sheet for court, the Care Act, section 20, deprivation of liberty of young people and best interests decision making.

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A one-day conference 22nd March 2018

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Safeguarding Children in the Digital Age Safeguarding children and young people in the 21st Century requires a solid understanding of how to safeguard children online. This is an essential national conference for the entire children’s workforce. We have secured some of the country’s leading experts to equip you with the understanding, skills and confidence to enable children to stay safe in the digital age. GOVT INTERNET SAFETY STRATEGY What the strategy means in practice and understanding the evidence behind it Sonia Livingstone OBE, LSE INSTILLING DIGITAL RESILIENCE The Growing Up Digital programme; Digital 5 a Day campaign; policy changes required Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL MINEFIELD Guide to key social media platforms, chat facilities, instant messaging apps, ‘dark web’ Jonathan Taylor, Online Safety Consultant HOW OFSTED INSPECTS E-SAFETY Ken Corish, UK Safer Internet Centre CYBERBULLYING PREVENTION Lauren Seager-Smith, Kidscape SUPPORTING PARENTS & CARERS David Sankey, Guardian Saints WHOLE-SETTING E-SAFETY APPROACH Rebecca Avery, Kent County Council ONLINE SELF-HARM Catherine Knibbs, Cybertrauma Consultant CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH Matthew Blow, Young Minds RADICALISATION & PREVENT DUTY Phil Knight, Just Enough

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