Maureen Fevre I am a qualified child care social worker with 31 years’ post-qualifying experience. I have specialised in work with children and families. I have MA in Child Welfare and applied Childhood Studies. Whilst studying for my Masters I also obtained the Advanced Award in Social Work.

History of Child Care Policy UK Child abuse has always existed. Opinions vary as to when it was first acknowledged but one study had shown that at least 385 cases of the abuse of children were tried in courts in Britain between 1785 and 1860. Legislation to prosecute people accused of child cruelty in force in UK since 1880s; The first society for the protection of children in this country was set up in 1884 in Liverpool, and then in London and other regions of the country to become the NSPCC. The first public inquiry was around the death of Dennis O’Neill in 1942, from a cardiac arrest following a beating from his foster carer. This led to the Children Act, 1948 and a concerted effort to deal with physical abuse. It also introduced the regulation of foster carers.

The death of Maria Colwell whilst in the care of her mother and stepfather in 1972 and the subsequent public inquiry influenced the structure and content of the Children Act, 1975. This was a critical moment in the history of child protection as it led to the formation of inter-agency child protection procedures, the establishment of area child protection committees, and the creation of the child protection register and procedures. The effect was to strengthen the role of social workers in relation to child protection but also emphasising the importance of multi-agency intervention in order to focus on the child at all needs of the times; whilst simultaneously assessing the risk posed to children of remaining in the care of their parents During the late 1980’s there was a developing concern (echoed in the Cleveland Inquiry Report) that social workers had too much discretionary power which could be viewed as undermining the independence of the family.

The Children Act, 1989 The Children Act, 1989, established the legislative framework for the current child protection system in England and Wales. It is underpinned by the following key principles: The Welfare of the Child is the paramount concern Delay in decision making is prejudicial to the welfare of the child The Court shall not make an order unless to do so would be better for the child than making no order

Thus the implementation of the 1989 Children’s Act sought to balance the paramount importance of the welfare and needs of the child, with parental responsibility and parental participation in planning when child abuse is suspected/in evidence; and for professionals to support and work in partnership with families while performing the ongoing assessments necessary in order to ensure the needs of the child are being consistently met.

Key concepts of the 1989 Children’s act The Children Act introduced the concept of” significant harm” – which, within the act, means the ill treatment or the impairment of health or development - including impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another – namely domestic violence Development meant physical intellectual, emotional social or behavioural development; Health means physical or mental; ill treatment includes sexual abuse and forms of ill treatment which are not physical; and neglect of children The Local authority has a duty to investigate if there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found in their area, and is suffering, or is likely to suffer SIGNIFICANT HARM

To Ensure that the voice of the child or young person is heard at every stage in the case planning process the cornerstone of the 1989 Children’s act is the Welfare Checklist which are the key considerations social workers have to include when issues of concern within families are notified to them: The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child; their physical, emotional and educational needs; the likely effect on the child of any change in their circumstances; any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering; how capable the child’s parents are in meeting the child’s needs

Attachment theory Attachment theory underpins social worker practice and assessment in the UK. Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969). Attachment does not have to be reciprocal.  One person may have an attachment to an individual which is not shared.  Attachment is characterized by specific behaviors in children, such as seeking proximity with the attachment figure when upset or threatened (Bowlby, 1969). Attachment behavior in adults towards the child includes responding sensitively and appropriately to the child’s needs.  Such behavior appears universal across cultures. Attachment theory provides an explanation of how the parent-child relationship emerges and influences

Attachment theory principles Bowlby suggested that a child would initially form only one primary attachment (monotropy) and that the attachment figure acted as a secure base for exploring the world. The attachment relationship acts as a prototype for all future social relationships so disrupting it can have severe consequences. This theory also suggests that there is a critical period for developing an attachment (about 0 -5 years). If an attachment has not developed during this period, then the child will suffer from irreversible developmental consequences, such as reduced intelligence and increased aggression.

My current role – Independent Reviewing Officer 2002 Legislation introduced the role of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) The role of the IRO is to chair Looked After Children reviews and to ‘monitor’ the responsible authority's performance in relation to looked after children and young people. Looked After children refers to children are children who are looked after primarily by social services, in partnership with the child’ parent/parents. IROs also chair Child Protections Conferences and help formulate and review child protection plans for children who are at risk of harm but are deemed to be able to safely stay in the care of their parents providing the agreed plan is adhered to; They have a duty to ensure any plans agreed and formulated are in the best interests of the child; and prevent drift and delay for looked after children and young people.

Child Protection procedures/categories When child protection concerns are reported to the authorities they will investigate, and assess (using the welfare checklist) whether the child is at risk of Significant Harm applying the categories of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or neglect. Following investigation, a child protection conference is sometimes necessary If the multi agency conference determine the child is at risk of significant harm the child’s name will be placed on a child protection register; and made the subject of a child protection plan; or they can be placed in the care of the local authority if the parents agree voluntarily Or if parents and social workers disagree, that a child protection plan is insufficient to ensure the safety and well being of the child, care proceedings can be instigated to enable the child to LOOKED AFTER , if professionals believe that a child is unable to live safely with his/her parents/carers;

Reason for being looked after When a child starts to be looked after their primary need is collected and the proportions of children in each primary need group (ie physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect) each year have remained fairly stable. However, we have seen the proportion of children looked after due to abuse or neglect fall slightly from 62% in 2014, to 61% in 2015 and to 60% in 2016. Over the same time period the proportion of children in need due to absent parenting has risen from 5% in 2014, to 7% in 2016, reflecting the rise in unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Numbers of looked after children There are 15 million children aged under the age of 19 in the UK The number of looked after children has continued to rise; it has increased steadily over the last eight years. There were 70,440 looked after children at 31 March 2016, an increase of 1% compared to 31 March 2015 and an increase of 5% compared to 2012. The rise this year reflects a rise of 1,470 in unaccompanied asylum seeking children, compared to a rise of 970 in all looked after children. At 31 March 2016, 56% of children looked after are male, 44% female and these proportions have varied little over recent years.

Over the last year we can see a rise in the numbers from some minority ethnic groups, in particular ‘Any other ethnic group’, ‘African’ and ‘Any other Asian background’ (excludes Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi). This is likely to reflect the increase in the numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children. In 2016 the number of children in foster care continued to rise; of the 70,440 looked after children at 31 March 2016, 51,850 (74%) were cared for in foster placements – the same proportion as last year.

In conclusion During the past 20 years research has highlighted difficulties in sustaining good practice in care planning and reviews for looked after children (Thomas 2011 and Bijleveld et al (2013) The biggest challenges have been: Ensuring planning and review are centred on what is best for a particular child Ensuring decisions made are fully implemented Enabling young people to take a full part in planning and review

Statistics with regard to the outcomes for Looked after children, which in general are not favourable, show that the task of achieving this balance in a timely manner for children (ie is it better for the child to be removed or to remain in the care their parents) is complex. One factor for consideration is the quality of compensatory care which is necessary for children to recover from a disrupted childhood is not always sufficient. The challenges in ensuring Looked after children receive the child focused recommendations agreed in LAC reviews or child protections conferences, especially in a context of austerity, are clearly too great to be met by one person Social workers, IROs and managers have to work together to promote good, effective and ethical practice in the best interests of all children;

Professionals need to work together to ensure the voice of the child or young person is heard at every stage in the care planning process; and that the wishes of the parent (who invariably does not want their child to be removed) are not prioritised above the needs of the child. Finally the care package/plan agreed for children unable to remain in the care of their parents needs to meet their complex, emotional, social and physical needs; In my experience, by the time social services take the decision to become involved, the best interests of children have usually been seriously compromised.