Published: 10 January 2005
Updating People Like Us
Children living away from home are better protected against abuse than in the mid-1990s when a succession of scandals in care homes were exposed.
However there has been little or no progress in bringing sex abusers to justice, or in providing adequate help for children who have been sexually abused.
Also there are concerns for the protection of specially vulnerable groups, including disabled children and children in prison.
These are among the main conclusions from a wide-ranging review of progress since the publication seven years ago of People Like Us, a report by the former Chief Inspector of Social Services, Sir William Utting, on safeguards for children living away from home.
The review, by consultants Marian Stuart and Catherine Baines, was overseen by Sir William and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
It finds that although legislation, policies and guidance on safeguards have been strengthened in the past seven years - including some provisions in the current Children Bill - there is a continuing gap between policy and practice.
It warns that:
- policies are not being consistently implemented in all parts of the country and
- that practitioners in some sectors still do not have enough understanding of what needs to be done to safeguard children.
Examining action to deal with child abuse
The report notes progress in making information available to staff who work with children and families.
But it argues that
much more could be done to raise public awareness of the risks to children and measures that can be taken to protect them.
It also points to
gaps in the information available to parents and children so they can recognise abusive behaviour and know where to seek help.
Security checks for people who work with children
The report
warns against over-reliance on police checks.
Since only a small proportion of abusers have previous convictions, rigorous checking of other information such as life histories and references is also necessary.
Like the Bichard Inquiry after the Soham murder case, the review endorses the
need for better recording, handling and sharing of so-called 'soft' information.
Lack of improvement in bringing to justice those who sexually abuse children
The report says that this is
undermining efforts to prevent potential abusers from working with children, and calls for research to discover why conviction rates for offences against children are so low, and how they might be increased.
Help and treatment for abused children is still inadequate.
The review calls for major improvements in the availability of
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), so a range of treatment methods are accessible throughout the country.
Lack of sufficient treatment for sex offenders is also a major issue.
The report notes a particular shortage of provision for
identifying and treating female abusers.
It also suggests there has been too little work on the prevention and early identification of abuse by young offenders, and their treatment.
Marian Stuart, an independent consultant and co-author of the report, said:
"The incidence of sexual abuse of children is greater than most people realise, yet the number of convictions remains worryingly low.
Experts estimate that fewer than one in 50 sexual offences results in a criminal conviction.
If this problem continues to go unchecked, there will be an inexorable rise in the numbers of children subjected to sexual abuse, with all the damaging effects that can follow.
A radical rethink is essential.
We need to put more effort into gathering and analysing information about abusers and the scale of abuse, so that effective prevention, early intervention and treatment can be provided.
But we also should be doing more to safeguard children from un-convicted sex offenders, as well as the small minority that have been convicted and registered."
Residential and foster care
The review describes how regulation, inspection and minimum standards have been introduced since 1997 for circumstances where children live away from home, including:
- small homes,
- residential special schools and
- independently-provided foster care.
However it expresses disappointment that there has been
no attempt to develop a national strategy for residential care and that foster care has been relatively neglected.
The report suggests that:
- private foster care is a particular area of concern,
- measures in the Children Bill will be ineffective, and
- the registration scheme proposed in People Like Us seven years ago is needed.
Boarding schools
Safeguards in schools with boarding provision appear to have been transformed in recent years, with the introduction of welfare inspections, a new registration system and better training for staff.
However, the review accepts that it is too soon to assess the effectiveness of these changes.
Disabled children
The report welcomes Government policy documents and guidance recognising the vulnerability of disabled children - but also calls for wider recognition that disabled children are more likely to be abused than others.
It finds that practical advice on how to protect disabled children is still inadequate and co operation between health, education, welfare and other support services remains poor.
Children in health settings
Significant numbers of disabled children and children with psychiatric problems are treated in hospitals for long periods without their presence being notified to local authorities. This means that
safeguards under the Children Act 1989 are not being applied.
The report also argues that arrangements for checking health staff with unsupervised access to children need to be improved.
Children in custody
The review - like the original report - concludes that 'prison is no place for children'.
Yet it finds that increasing numbers of children are being imprisoned, despite an overall reduction in youth crime. The growing number of young people being remanded in custody presents a particular problem.
The report warns that the welfare and protection of children has not been a priority for prisons, and that health and education needs are dealt with inadequately, despite recent progress.
Marian Stuart said:
"While large numbers of children remain in custody, serious and sustained efforts are needed to improve their conditions and welfare.
Steps have been taken to improve regimes and safeguards in recent years, but this remains a particularly worrying area.
In addition, despite the fact that about half of all children in custody have previously been in care, there is little evidence of local authorities engaging with children in prison or their families."
She added:
"Our report urges the Home Office to review the use and place of custody for children and young people as a matter of urgency.
We are also calling for children in prison to be covered by the equivalent of the 'Quality Protects' programme for children in local authority care, with a view to improving their life chances.
Children in custodial units should have the same rights and access to education and health care as all other children."
Commenting on the report, Sir William Utting, said:
"This critical evaluation of progress in the seven years since my People Like Us report offers reassuring news in a number of important areas - notably in improving safeguards for children attending boarding schools and other residential education.
But in others, it suggests that progress has been sluggish or has stalled.
Continuing failures of implementation point to weaknesses in managerial structures, and renewed efforts are needed through professional education and training to improve the ability of staff to recognise and meet children's needs."
Further information
Progress on safeguards for children living away from home: A review of action since the People Like Us report by Marian Stuart and Catherine Baines
Companion report Safeguards for vulnerable children: Three studies on abusers, disabled children and children in prison
For free download of both reports and findings, click HERE and scroll down
Sir William Utting's report, People Like Us, was commissioned by Government in 1996 response to allegations of widespread abuse in care homes and foster care in Wales.
The Government's response in 1998 included the introduction of a 'Quality Protects' programme in England ('Children First' in Wales) to improve residential care facilities and all other children's services.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
Children Bill
Bichard Inquiry
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