Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
The national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, set up to commission reviews of serious child...
Conclusion
The national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, set up to commission reviews of serious child safeguarding cases, has consistently highlighted cases in which poor coordination between services, including insufficient joined-up leadership and a lack of appropriate and timely information-sharing around cases, were a contributing factor.40 The Department for Education told us that the Panel publish the findings from its review of individual incidents, as well as lesson learnt from the findings of multiple reviews. We asked the Department for Education how these lessons get disseminated and acted on.41 It highlighted that this is a challenge as it only takes one person to miss a lesson learnt for there to be a risk of serious failure. However, it recognised that it currently relies on local authorities building lessons into local practice and that it could do more to incorporate lessons into national care standards to make it easier for people to act on lessons learnt. The Department will reflect on this as it considers its response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.42 34 C&AG’s report, para 1.10 35 Qq 23–25 36 C&AG’s report para 1.7 37 Q 23 38 Qq 24, 25 39 Q 29 40 C&AG’s report, para 2.12 41 Qq 98, 99 42 Q 99 14 Support for vulnerable adolescents Adolescents’ mental health services
Government Response Summary
The Department for Education published 'Stable Homes, Built on Love' which sets out plans to transform children’s social care. The government is funding national facilitators to support local areas in improving practice. A new Child Protection Ministerial Group has also been established.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4a: PAC recommendation: • Government should set out within six months how it will ensure that learning from national reviews is built into day-to-day practise, including supporting appropriate and timely data sharing, by those working with vulnerable adolescents. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, published by the Department for Education in February 2023 sets out plans to transform children’s social care, ensuring the system improves and makes better use of evidence and data. This responds to the National Review findings, following the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and the Independent Review for Children’s Social Care. 4.3 The department is strengthening its child protection response by supporting agencies to share data and work together in a more integrated way. The government funded national facilitators are currently supporting local areas to develop the way that they use learning to improve practice. This is in addition to existing single agency support and means organisations can work together more effectively to protect children. To enhance this further, the Panel is introducing a support offer to maximize the impact of learning from safeguarding reviews. The department has also committed to developing Practice Guides, to help leaders design services in a way which embeds the best evidence and learning on what works. 4.4 To address specific challenges that adolescents face the department has funded the Tacking Child Exploitation Programme. This will develop multi-agency practice principles and improve local area responses when safeguarding adolescents from extra-familial harm. The department is also prioritising the development of a highly skilled social work workforce and are introducing an Early Career Framework, based on learning and best practice, as a programme of support for child and family social workers to set the groundwork for professional confidence and competence. 4.5 The DfE has set up a new governance structure to make sure that child protection and safeguarding are championed across government. The Child Protection Ministerial Group has been established where joint action or resolution is needed. The Group is attended by Ministers from Department of Health and Social Care, Home Office, Department for Levelling- Up Housing and Communities, and Ministry of Justice.