Conclusions and recommendations
Social work services
1. The
pilots need to fill the evidence gap on social work practices.
It is vital that they are properly evaluated and that they are
not rolled out unless there is clear evidence that they will provide
the essential continuity and stability for looked-after children.
(Paragraph 12)
2. We do not see inspection
as the answer to concerns about services being withdrawn at short
notice by a private provider, as in the case of the Sedgemoor
children's homes. We note the Minister's point about Ofsted being
the registration authority for homes, but in that case and with
the proposed social work practices, it seems to us that contract
terms or some other form of regulation would be more appropriate
ways of controlling these problems. Throughout our evidence, continuity
and stability for looked-after children are emphasised as key,
and therefore some sort of safety net is needed. (Paragraph 13)
Support for post-16 education and training
3. We
welcome the Minister's comments that he is giving consideration
to increased support for those undertaking other education and
training and not just those in higher education. We recommend
that a broader bursary system is introduced for looked-after children
in post-16 education and training. (Paragraph 18)
Designated staff member
4. We
consider that the requirement that all schools must have a designated
staff member with responsibility for the educational achievement
of looked-after children is an important statement of intent,
and we support it. In particular, we welcome the confirmation
that the designated staff member must always be a teacher. (Paragraph
21)
5. We expect all existing
Academies to designate a teacher to have responsibility for the
educational achievement of looked-after children. If the Minister's
voluntary approach does not result in every Academy making such
an appointment we expect him to reconsider his decision to exclude
Academies from the legislation. (Paragraph 22)
Representation
6. The
Minister told us of his concern that the independent reviewing
officer system was not yet working effectively, and the Government
acknowledges this in the Bill by making provision for the Secretary
of State to establish a body to be the employer of independent
reviewing officers to provide greater independence if matters
do not improve. The Government needs to be explicit about how
it will judge if this change is needed, and how long it will allow
present circumstances to continue without perceived improvement.
(Paragraph 30)
7. If the new arrangements
for independent reviewing officers do not improve the way the
system works, the Government should look again at independent
advocacy and whether there is a need to replace the neutral independence
of the IRO with active advocacy on behalf of the child or young
person. (Paragraph 31)
8. We welcome the
extension of the provision of independent visitors to all looked-after
children. (Paragraph 32)
9. Every looked-after
child should have one key individual to whom he or she can turn,
and wherever possible the child should be entitled to say which
individual should perform that role. (Paragraph 35)
Placements
10. The
welfare of a child and his or her ability to thrive must always
be paramount, but, given that, we expect the benefits of a placement
with family and friends to be considered seriously before other
options are chosen. (Paragraph 39)
11. We acknowledge
the Government's attempts to address problems with the original
text of the Bill. We recognise that the issue is likely to be
a matter for debate once again when the Bill reaches the Commons.
We hope that the Government will continue to take the constructive
approach that it has done in the Lords when the debate continues
in this House. (Paragraph 41)
Post-18 fostering
12. We
note the Minister's outline of what the Government is doing to
pilot post-18 fostering arrangements, and we ask him to provide
further information about the pilots, where they are being held
and the issues that they are designed to clarify. (Paragraph 45)
13. Given that the
opportunity for further legislation is likely to be limited in
the near future, we recommend that the Government considers amending
the Bill to provide for regulations in respect of post-18 fostering
if the pilots require it, following the example of proposals for
independent reviewing officers already in the Bill. (Paragraph
46)
Private fostering
14. The
Minister says that he wants more time for the voluntary notification
system for private fostering to work effectively. Given the concerns
about some of the children in this situation, we ask the Government
to give its assessment of the numbers of children in private fostering
arrangements, to set out how it intends to increase levels of
notification, and to explain its criteria for assessing whether
the voluntary system is working or not. The Bill would allow another
three years for a registration system to come into being. If it
becomes apparent before then that the voluntary notification system
is not operating effectively, the Government should immediately
bring forward a registration scheme, having put in place the necessary
arrangements in advance. (Paragraph 49)
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