Safeguarding Children Review

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Published: 16 July 2008

Safeguarding Children Review

The latest Safeguarding Children Review shows most vulnerable children are not yet benefiting from improvements to services and outcomes.

Much has changed in the landscape of children's services since the previous Safeguarding Children report in 2005.

As a result of improved safeguarding arrangements, most children now feel safe in their homes and communities, and are receiving the quality of care and support that they need.

But some children and young people are still not well enough served by public services. This is particularly the case for those who are looked after by their local authority, who are in secure settings or are asylum-seeking children, according to the third joint Chief Inspectors' review of arrangements to safeguard children.

The report is jointly published by the chief inspectors of eight inspectorates.

The report also highlights that some of the recommendations made in 2005 have not been implemented.

These include recommendations relating to:

· restraint techniques in secure settings

· the effects of detention in immigration removal centres on children, and

· continued delays in carrying out welfare assessments

Speaking on behalf of all the inspectorates, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, Christine Gilbert, said:

"It is encouraging to be able to point to some tangible improvements over the last three years but the position is still not good enough to give our most vulnerable children and young people the support they need.

I hope the recommendations from this report – coming as they do with the force of eight inspectorates behind them – accelerate the pace of change so that these children thrive and are more able to lead productive and fulfilling lives."

The report, 'Safeguarding Children' is published every three years and it assesses how well agencies are working at both national and local levels to safeguard children and young people.

Safeguarding children is more than protecting children from abuse or neglect. It also means ensuring their health & development are not impaired and that they are growing up safe & well cared for in order to have the best possible life chances and enter adulthood effectively.

According to the report, the priority given to safeguarding across agencies has increased since the first Safeguarding Children review was completed in 2002.

There is greater independence in the chairing & reporting arrangements of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs).

Strategic partnerships are now in place in all areas to deliver services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. And joint working has particularly improved in some areas, including arrangements between children’s services, the police and the health service aimed at preventing domestic violence.

But the report finds that not all agencies are meeting their statutory duties, and lines of accountability and responsibility for child protection are still not always clear. In particular, inspections have highlighted the lack of priority given to children’s safeguarding by some NHS trusts.

Anna Walker, Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission, said:

"Our experience is that healthcare organisations have made real progress in putting in place processes for safeguarding children. Services are getting better at identifying problems early and taking the necessary steps to address these problems.

However, there is still an enormous amount to do and this is particularly true for the most vulnerable.

The needs of children with mental health problems or learning disabilities, particularly those with complex mental and physical needs, and young people in the criminal justice system struggle to get to the top of the priority list.

We will continue to press for services to work together, particularly for those young people in greatest need."

There also remains a lack of a shared, consistent understanding of safeguarding between social care services, the criminal justice system and in secure establishments, where the focus is disproportionately on security issues over the impact these can have on children's well-being.

The report finds that the majority of settings where children are cared for or are educated comply with regulations for keeping children safe.

But there are some significant exceptions:

· One in ten children’s homes, for example, is inadequate in meeting standards for keeping children safe

· The choice of placement in children's homes and foster homes remains limited for most children in care

· For care leavers and young people leaving custody, there is also inadequate accommodation in most local authority areas

The review found that agencies have a greater awareness of the importance of Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checking for staff whose jobs bring them into contact with children. But it highlights that whilst new staff are normally checked, there is inconsistency in the extent to which best practice is followed for re-checking staff already in post.

The report makes 22 recommendations to government departments, agencies providing services to children and young people, Local Safeguarding Children Boards and relevant inspectorates.

Amongst these, is a call from the inspectors for co-ordinated information to be gathered on children who go missing to improve arrangements for tracing these children and to better understand the circumstances in which this happens.

Further information

Safeguarding Children website

'Safeguarding Children: The third joint chief Inspectors' report on arrangements to safeguard children'

The joint Chief Inspectors are:

· Christine Gilbert CBE, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills

· Anna Walker CB, Chief Executive, Healthcare Commission

· Paul Snell, Chief Inspector for Social Care Inspection

· Sir Ronnie Flanagan GBE QPM, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary

· Stephen Wooler CB, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate

· Eddie Bloomfield, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Court Administration

· Anne Owers CBE, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons

· Andrew Bridges, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Probation