Children’s social care 2022: recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic

  Ofsted has recently published a report entitled “Children’s social care 2022: recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic”. The report says: “The COVID-19 pandemic has put specific pressures on the children’s social care sector, and exacerbated existing challenges. Throughout, those in the children’s social care sector have worked to adapt in their roles. They have continued […]

DfE names new ministers following mass resignations

  The Department for Education has appointed its new ministers following a mass resignation of Conservative frontbenchers in response to Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher affair.   MP for Braintree James Cleverly has been appointed as Education Secretary following the promotion of Zahawi and resignation of Donelan. Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire since […]

Cap on care costs: sixth council picked to trial system

  The government has selected a sixth authority to trial its social care funding reforms, including the cap on care costs, before their full implementation next year.   Oxfordshire council will join Blackpool, Cheshire East, the London Borough of Newham North Yorkshire and Wolverhampton as trailblazers for the reforms.   The changes, under the Care Act […]

Wales basic income: Pilot will give care leavers £19,000 a year

  A £20m experiment offering a basic income to young people leaving care will launch in Wales on Friday. From 1 July, the Welsh government will offer about 500 18-year-olds £19,200 a year before tax – no strings attached. One care leaver said the cash would be a “safety blanket” and others hope it will […]

Foster carers given more money to help with the cost of living

  On Friday 17 June, it was announced that foster carer allowances at Oldham Council are to be uplifted above the National Recommended Fostering Allowance for all carers by 4%.  The announcement, which took place at a foster carer celebration event ran by Oldham Council, also confirmed that mileage rates for foster carers are being […]

Children in care ‘moving between placements a thousand times every week

  Children in care are moving between placements a thousand times every week in England, according to fresh analysis of Government figures. Children’s care placements have changed more than 220,000 times between 2018 and 2021, according to charities’ analysis of figures on looked-after children published by the Department for Education (DfE).   This is the […]

Children in care

  The University of Liverpool has published a study which explores correlations between rising child poverty and children entering care in England. Researchers studied 147 local authorities in England and found that between 2015 and 2020, after controlling for employment rates, a one percentage point increase in child poverty was associated with an additional five […]

Care review chair calls for teachers to consider fostering pupils

  Care Review chair Josh MacAlister has set out an argument for one per cent of all teachers to foster a child at their school. In his recommendations to the government, MacAlister called for the recruitment of 9,000 new foster carers in England over three years. “Family group decision making processes should identify adults known […]

Council’s failure to add social work capacity means children at risk of harm face delays, Ofsted warns

  A council’s response to children at immediate risk of harm has “deteriorated” after senior leaders failed to speedily put in place extra funds to boost social work capacity, Ofsted has warned. A focused visit to Tameside in April, primarily looking at the council’s ‘front door’, found that additional investment promised after inspectors’ last trip […]