Vulnerable child care
Lack of consistent prescribed care for highly vulnerable children due to insufficient care package reviews and staff training.
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
PFD report
99match
Asher Sinclair
A highly vulnerable child was not provided prescribed 2:1 care, their complex package lacked proper review or quality checks, and critical parental concerns were ignored, compounded by inadequate staff training.
Matched on
terms: care, child, vulnerable
Committee recommendation
95match
#31 - Crucial sibling relationships for children in care unprotected due to lack of separation data.
Sibling relationships are crucial for many children in care and, for some, may be the only family relationships they have. They must be protected and supported as much as possible. The lack of any data on the extent of sibling separation makes it difficult to understand the main causes of the problem and devise effective strategies to reduce...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
91match
#55 - Disabled children are overlooked in social care, lacking access to essential short breaks.
Too often, disabled children are overlooked in the social care system. Parents struggle to understand and access the support available and face a confusing “postcode lottery” of support between local authorities. There is an urgent need to improve access to short breaks, respite care and holiday provision; it is unacceptable that over half of parents are unable to...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
91match
#52 - Introduce opt-out independent advocacy for all children in care, including disabled children.
The Department for Education must take forward the recommendation of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care to introduce an opt-out model of independent advocacy for all children in care. It must also act 90 on the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s recommendation for all children with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings to have access...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
91match
#45 - Develop universal standards of care applicable to all children's homes, including supported accommodation.
The Department for Education must follow the recommendation of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care and develop universal standards of care that apply to all homes, including supported accommodation, ensuring that children in all settings receive care where they live. (Recommendation, Paragraph 105)
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
87match
#58 - Introduce national eligibility criteria for disabled children’s social care and communicate to families.
The Department should introduce national eligibility criteria for disabled children’s social care and ensure that local authorities are clearly communicating these to families. (Recommendation, Paragraph 144)
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
87match
#51 - Too few children, especially disabled, access entitled independent advocacy support in care.
It is essential that children in care have a voice when important decisions are being made about their lives. Currently, too few children are accessing the advocacy support they are entitled to, with an average referral rate of just 5% across local authorities. It is also essential that disabled children and children with special educational needs, particularly those...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
87match
#36 - Extend Pupil Premium Plus and priority school admissions to all kinship care children.
The Department for Education should extend Pupil Premium Plus funding and priority school admissions to all children who meet the new statutory definition of living in kinship care. (Recommendation, Paragraph 85)
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
87match
#19 - Publish national children's social care sufficiency strategy and mandate local out-of-area placement reduction plans.
The Department for Education must publish a national sufficiency strategy for children’s social care as a matter of urgency and publish data on the extent to which sufficiency requirements are being met on an annual basis. It should also require all local authorities to develop and publish strategies for reducing the number of out-of-area placements and work with...
Matched on
terms: care, child
HSSIB recommendation
82match
Mental health inpatient settings: Supporting safe care during transition from inpatient children and young people’s mental health services...
Providers of inpatient children and young people’s mental health services can improve patient safety by ensuring there is not a blanket approach to safeguarding mitigation measures based on a person’s age, and that mitigation measures are individualised and based on behaviours and risks.
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
82match
#59 - Conduct review of disabled children’s short breaks availability and fund local authority provision.
The Department should conduct a review of the availability of short breaks, respite care and holiday provision for disabled children to understand where the shortages are most acute. It should work with the Ministry of Housing, 91 Communities and Local Government to fund local authorities to be able to offer this provision to all families who are entitled...
Matched on
terms: care, child
HSSIB recommendation
82match
Keeping children and young people with mental health needs safe: the design of the paediatric ward — HSSIB
It may be beneficial if NHS organisations ensure that systemic risks associated with caring for children and young people with high-risk behaviours on the paediatric ward, including the safety and wellbeing risks to patients and staff, are escalated to integrated care boards for consideration.
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
81match
#22 - 1st Report - Courts and Tribunals Bill
The youth court occupies a distinct position within the magistrates’ court system, dealing with serious cases involving some of the most vulnerable defendants in the criminal justice system. As 90% of children and young people are tried in the youth courts, any reforms to the magistrates’ court appeal process are likely to disproportionately affect them. Care must therefore...
Matched on
terms: care, child, vulnerable
Scottish FAI
81match
Dawn Fiona Byrne McKenzie
1. Staff and carer training needs should be reviewed to ensure that all first time foster carers approved to take children in middle childhood or adolescence should receive Crisis Prevention and Intervention training prior to taking up their first placement. 2. Prospective foster carers when being asked to consider a placement should be given as much information as...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
78match
#33 - Kinship care is essential, but carers require adequate financial and employment support.
Kinship care is an essential part of the care system and the evidence is clear that children in kinship care have an overall better experience than children in other types of care. We welcome the Department for Education’s focus on kinship care, but this must be underpinned by the right policies to support kinship carers. In particular, kinship...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
78match
#17 - Out-of-area placements traumatise children, despite some local authorities limiting numbers.
Too many children are being sent many miles from home, which has a traumatic and lasting impact on their lives. We were saddened to hear that a care-experienced young person had chosen not to pursue higher education as a direct result of being placed out of area. However, there are some strong examples of good practice and some...
Matched on
terms: care, child
PFD report
73match
Enric Elliott
Vulnerable young mothers who book late for maternity care are often excluded from the Family Nurse Partnership due to rigid gestation limits, despite late booking indicating increased risk.
Matched on
terms: care, vulnerable
PFD report
73match
Rebecca Hayward
Inexperienced staff conducting assessments for vulnerable individuals with homelessness and substance misuse issues lead to inaccurate plans, and Care Act re-referrals for changing accommodation are resisted.
Matched on
terms: care, vulnerable
Inquiry recommendation
73match
FR-6 - Amend Children Act 1989
The Inquiry recommends that the UK government amends the Children Act 1989 so that, in any case where a court is satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that a child who is in the care of a local authority is experiencing or is at risk of experiencing significant harm, on an application by or for that...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
70match
#11 - Significant concerns exist regarding B&B suitability for temporary accommodation, particularly for children.
There are particular concerns about the use of B&Bs as temporary accommodation, regarding the suitability of the environment and location, safeguarding in mixed settings, and a lack of support from wider public services. Children in B&Bs often face particular challenges, such as not having the space for their physical development, and going to school hungry since B&Bs are...
Matched on
terms: child
Committee recommendation
70match
#38 - Review educational support for adopted and previously looked-after children, including statutory framework.
The Department for Education should review the educational support available to adopted children, assessing the impact of the extension of policies to previously looked-after children and whether any further extensions are needed. This review should include: the introduction of a statutory framework for previously looked-after children; requiring local authorities to publish a local offer for previously looked-after children;...
Matched on
terms: child
Committee recommendation
70match
#37 - Adopted children's early trauma impact on education receives insufficient recognition and support.
There is too little recognition of the impact of the early trauma and separation experienced by adopted children, and of the support they need to thrive in education and beyond, with over half of adopted children feeling that they didn’t receive the support they needed at school. (Conclusion, Paragraph 92)
Matched on
terms: child
Committee recommendation
70match
#20 - Collect DfE data distinguishing out-of-area child placements by reasons of interest versus capacity.
The Department for Education should collect data on the proportion of children who are placed out of area because it is in their own interests compared with those placed out of area due to capacity issues, so that the situation can be properly monitored and any improvements can be recognised. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47)
Matched on
terms: child
PFD report
69match
Steffan Bonnot
Inadequate and undocumented disclosure of a child's background information to prospective foster carers caused anxiety and posed a risk to informed placement decisions.
Matched on
terms: care, child
PFD report
69match
Shannon Quinn
Multiple failures in multi-agency communication, inadequate staff training, and poor risk management regarding ligature use, patient observations, and resuscitation significantly compromised care for a patient with complex mental health needs.
Matched on
terms: care
PFD report
69match
Samuel Alban-Stanley
Inadequate support and psychosocial interventions were provided for a child with Prader Willi syndrome and high-risk behaviours. Poor communication between agencies also prevented coordinated care.
Matched on
terms: care, child
PFD report
69match
Terence Davenport
A patient remained in an unsuitable acute hospital due to a lack of care beds. Poor information sharing between authorities also failed to recognize a safeguarding risk, endangering residents and staff.
Matched on
terms: care
PFD report
69match
Locket Williams
Insufficient in-county psychiatric inpatient beds for children persist, with new units inadequate for demand or specific needs. A new suicide risk assessment system lacks clear alerts on medical records, risking clinicians missing vital information.
Matched on
terms: child
PFD report
69match
Marcia Grant
A shortage of foster placements, combined with inadequate documentation, poor communication of risks, and a failure to assess risks to carers, led to an unsuitable child placement.
Matched on
terms: care, child
Inquiry recommendation
69match
WATE-(10) - Assign field social worker to every looked after child in and after care
An appropriate915 field social worker should be assigned to every looked after child throughout the period that the child remains in care and for an appropriate period following the child's discharge from care.
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
69match
#54 - Evaluate existing reunification practices and publish national guidance based on local authority good practice.
The Department for Education should evaluate existing reunification practice and publish national guidance on reunification, drawing on the good practice that already exists in many local authorities. (Recommendation, Paragraph 133) Disabled children’s care
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
69match
#32 - Strengthen legislation for sibling contact, collect and annually publish data on separation.
The Department should strengthen the legislation relating to sibling contact to ensure that children in care are placed with siblings whenever it is in their best interests, and that where they cannot be placed together, regular contact between siblings is facilitated and sustained. The Department should collect data on sibling separation in all forms of care and publish...
Matched on
terms: care, child
CQC action
69match
Kettering General Hospital
The service should ensure children and young people receive the right care in a timely manner.
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
69match
24-009-954 - Bristol City Council
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s response to her complaint and safeguarding concern relating to her ex-partners child and girlfriend. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
68match
21-006-448 - Torbay Council
Summary: Ms X complains about the Council handling since it placed two grandchildren (Child Y and Child Z) in her care. The Council was at fault for delays in providing support to Child Y, responding to Ms X’s complaints and completing recommendations made during the children’s statutory complaints process. The Council has agreed to apologise, make payments (to...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Inquiry recommendation
66match
R10 - Observe 'Welfare of Children and Young People in Hospital'
We recommend that the Department of Health should take steps to ensure that its guide, "Welfare of Children and Young People in Hospital", is more closely observed. (para 5.8.8)
Matched on
terms: child
PFD report
65match
Mary Stroman
A child's recommended long-term therapeutic placement was delayed and ultimately overturned by Children's Services, despite multi-agency support, due to a perceived failure to meet statutory accommodation thresholds.
Matched on
terms: child
PFD report
65match
Jeremiah Obaka
Lack of a consistent, agreed policy between the local authority and care agency regarding actions when service users do not respond or cannot be found.
Matched on
terms: care
PFD report
65match
Ezra Boulton
Critical issues include a lack of continuity in antenatal care, insufficient safe-sleeping advice provided post-natally, and midwives' unawareness of criminal implications of infant overlay with alcohol/drugs.
Matched on
terms: care
PFD report
65match
Ewan Brown
A lack of joint police-health policies for vulnerable missing persons, absence of multi-agency meetings, inadequate police mental health training, and poor information sharing protocols hindered effective risk assessment and search efforts.
Matched on
terms: vulnerable
Inquiry recommendation
65match
15 - Research high child remand population
The Inquiry was told that children should only be placed in custody as a last resort. However, it was concerned to hear evidence that some children are remanded in custody because of a lack of appropriate community provision. Given that the proportion of children in custody on remand is so high, this is an issue of significant concern....
Matched on
terms: child
Inquiry recommendation
64match
R61 - Statutory adult safeguarding function
Vulnerable children and adults are inherently more susceptible to abuse or neglect than other people. Adult safeguarding should be formally recognised as a statutory function, equivalent to child protection.
Matched on
terms: child, vulnerable
CQC action
64match
The Princess Royal Hospital
The trust should ensure that they complete audits to monitor effectiveness and care for children on neonates.
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
64match
25-007-928 - North Yorkshire Council
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the police interviewed children without parental consent, and the Council misadvised the school. This is because we do not have the power to investigate the actions of the police. For those complaints within our jurisdiction, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
64match
25-010-400 - Sheffield City Council
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to ongoing family court proceedings which have led to her children being removed from her care. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint until the court proceedings have concluded.
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
64match
22-003-225 - Cumbria County Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has delayed to a complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
64match
21-006-071 - Kingston Upon Hull City Council
Summary: There was fault in how the Council dealt with Ms B when it placed her siblings in her care. The Council has completed the statutory children’s complaints process, which means the issues have been independently investigated, and a Panel has reviewed the investigation. The Council has acknowledged there was fault and agreed a means to remedy this....
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
64match
23-020-148 - Cumberland Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delay on the Council’s part in completing the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services matters. This is because there is insufficient outstanding injustice to warrant investigation.
Matched on
terms: care, child
LGO / SPSO decision
64match
24-012-792 - London Borough of Harrow
Summary: Miss Y complains the Council did not properly investigate the injuries her child obtained whilst in Council arranged foster care. We find procedural fault which creates uncertainty about the Council’s consideration of the injuries. The Council will pay £500 in recognition of that distress and remind staff of the protocols when considering allegations made against those working...
Matched on
terms: care, child
Committee recommendation
62match
#6 - Care leavers experience a confusing patchwork of differing local authority entitlements.
Care leavers face a confusing patchwork of entitlements when they leave care. This is made more complex by the differing offers in each local authority and the fact that they are having to navigate this at a young age, often with little or no support. Our witnesses supported the view that a National Care Offer would help with...
Matched on
terms: care