The wrong approach?
“The role of Government, both central and local, is not to get involved in the detail of service provision. It is to set the broad objectives, to resource services adequately and to hold those delivering services to account…” Chris Mills looks at the decision by Coventry City Council to appoint a retired high court judge to advise it on child protection.
Sixteen principles for better and safer practice
“Sometimes it seems that there is something about child protection that defies all attempts at improvement. The case of Daniel Pelka, and the uninspiring report into his tragic death, only serves to deepen frustrations.” Chris Mills outlines sixteen principles for better and safer practice.
Arbitrary lines, short-term approaches and small statistical gains
“We might deduce from the above that, if these families lives have been ’turned round’ then tackling the poverty which is likely to affect many of them is simply not even a goal anymore.” Stephen Crossley considers whether the Coalition’s Troubled Families agenda will reduce child poverty.
Why does progressive education not work?
“So that you can decide to stop reading this, probably, short piece I am going to tell you that this will not be supportive of progressive education methods.” Peter Blenkinsop outlines why progressive education doesn’t work.
Why are more people going to A&E?
That seems to be the question which is currently challenging health politicians and the media. Of course it is not a new question for those working in healthcare, since it is perfectly possible to track each and every attendance and episode of care that takes place. Even before I stopped being a commissioner at the […]
The cold heart of primary teaching
TED lectures normally have their desired effect of leaving me feeling inspired, invigorated in thought and galvanised into action. But as well as these effects, one I have seen recently – an excellent presentation by Rita Pierson, a teacher with 40 years experience - left me also with a bubbling queasiness in my stomach. Rita […]
Six months in… social work and social care
It’s six months since we launched this version of Guerilla Policy. Here’s a selection of some of our favourite posts we’ve published in social care and social work - from child protection to cuts, recruitment into social work to leaving the profession.
‘The one and only one’
For many years social work assessments have been the main focus for debate and questions within the media and social work practise. First we do the Initial assessment, then if we need more information we complete a more fuller core assessment. The time scales for these assessments were set in guidance regardless of the need […]
Children’s rights in the UK
Children North East is a member of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE). This week we received their annual ‘State of Children’s Rights In England’ report. The UK is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and as such our government is required to report every 5 years to the […]
Rich pickings in foster care
In January the Financial Times carried a piece about the investment potential for private companies seeking to invest in foster care. Entitled Fostering Sector Ripe For Consolidation, it begins in seductive fashion not with high finance or balance sheets but with the personal experience of carers who are clearly dedicated to the disabled child they […]
The relevance of resilience in healthcare
“Life’s a bitch and then you die”. Whilst I don’t generally subscribe to this pessimistic view of life, I have it heard it said on more than a few occasions by different people. Having been a Children’s Hearing(1) member for more than 20 years, I do believe that some people have more than their fair […]
The challenges ahead for improving outcomes for children and young people
Team wanted: “for survival of children, perilous journey, invariable scrutiny, much frustration, many years of constant work. Gratitude of families and society immeasurable in case of success.” It was (supposedly!) Shackleton’s advertisement for a crew that came to mind, when a pledge by 17 organisations was released in February relating to Children and Young People’s services in England, […]
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, they are a-changing
“A re-focusing onto its core client base, a disconnection from social services leading to an often-dysfunctional relationship with them, and a deeply concerning rise in eating disorders.” Zarathustra reflects on developments in CAMHS in a time of changing needs and now austerity.
Guardianista Gove
Confession time: I am, in certain respects, a fan of Michael Gove. I like his emphasis on academic rigour. I admire his enthusiasm for developing the intellect of children. I find his contempt of various progressive pedagogies refreshing and important. I’ll still criticise the analysis-free devotion of the #cultofGove, but for all I find Gove’s […]
Adoption: Threats and divisions as Gove loses patience
We’ve known for some time now that as far as working with children in care are concerned, adoption is the government’s absolute priority. A series of announcements over the past 15 months or so have focused on different aspects of the process. Last week came the latest and potentially most radical, where failing authorities could […]
The big question?
“I don’t think the government have a clue what constitutes success in social work so they came up with some half arsed timescales and a quick look around the basics of what we do and then tell us we are ‘outstanding’.” Social Worker X asks some fundamental questions about social work and doubts whether how we measure ‘success’ fits with the reality of protecting children.
Think like an Education Secretary: Gove’s 2012 reading list
Michael Gove is no stranger to literature. Not only does he constantly quote classic authors in Parliament but in a recent Spectator interview Gove lamented that he’d “had it up to here” with people arguing working class kids should be ignorant of the canon. After all, his self-confessed new favourite book – The Intellectual Life of the […]
The #Rotherham #UKIP case – Will Nigel Farage and Michael Gove now apologise?
When the story broke that three children had been moved from a foster family in Rotherham, reportedly for being members of UKIP, I went out and talked to social workers, solicitors and care leavers. Consistently I got a response that the reported account was implausible, and there was almost certainly a more complex story to […]
Should more children be taken into care?
In this post I want to look at some more of the failings identified by Michael Gove. I had planned to tackle ‘Failing No 1’ next, because it seems to me that the issue of too many local authorities not meeting acceptable standards for child safeguarding is very fundamental. However, because of recent letters published […]
Ignore us and we’ll go away
Social Worker X seeks to educate Michael Gove on the realities of child protection - and spells out what his criticisms would mean in practice.