The Department for Education has agreed to omit clauses 32 to 34 of the Children and Social Work Bill which is due to have its Report Stage on 7 March. The ‘different ways of working’ provisions would have empowered the Secretary of State, at the request of a local authority, to make regulations exempting that […]
National minimum weekly allowances for foster carers
The Government has issued revised figures for the minimum weekly allowances paid to foster carers in 2017-18. Full details of the revised allowances and other financial information for foster carers are provided on the Gov.uk website […]
Views, experiences and perceptions of children in care and care leavers – call for evidence
The National Children’s Bureau and Research in Practice have launched a call for evidence to identify methods used to seek the views, experiences and perceptions of children in care and care leavers and outputs from any activities. The results will be considered by the Children’s Commissioner for England to help inform a future “State of […]
Education Committee fostering inquiry: second evidence session
The Education Committee has held a second public evidence session as part of its inquiry into fostering in England. Questions were put to representatives from local authorities and independent fostering providers with the aim of understanding the relationships between the two and exploring how well the foster care system is currently functioning. The Committee is […]
NICE child abuse and neglect consultation
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has launched a consultation on draft guidance aimed at helping people who work with children to spot and stop abuse and neglect. The guidelines include physical, mental and sexual abuse as well as newly recognised forms of abuse such as Female Genital Mutilation, sexual exploitation, child trafficking and […]
Disabled children in England: data analysis
The Council for Disabled Children and the True Colours Trust have published a report looking at what can be learnt from national data on the numbers of children with complex needs or life-limiting conditions. It is the first such analysis in over a decade and estimates that numbers of disabled children have increased dramatically by […]
Initial family and friends care assessment: a good practice guide
A good practice guide on initial family and friends care assessments has been launched by the Family Rights Group in partnership with an expert working group, which includes CoramBAAF. The guide sets out principles underpinning these assessments (commonly known as viability assessments), best practice in conducting them, and lists the factors that social workers need to consider including […]
Eradicating Child Sexual Abuse toolkit
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has published a free online toolkit designed to help agencies and communities prevent children and young people from being sexually abused. The Eradicating Child Sexual Abuse (ECSA) toolkit recognises that child sexual abuse is a worldwide problem and provides resources and strategies that professionals can use to develop plans that meet […]
Separated children joining families in UK: fact sheet
The Migrant Children’s Project, Coram Children’s Legal Centre has produced a fact sheet about children who come to the UK to join family members through the Dublin lll regulation. The fact sheet is aimed at professionals working with families and single adults who are joined by a child relative under these provisions. Topics covered include supporting children […]
Children in care are not just numbers: we must challenge the stigma
All too often, children in care are seen as dangerous, delinquent or damaged goods. The circumstances of their early life, which are likely to include trauma, abuse and neglect, are commonly forgotten. Instead, we see communities protesting against residential care homes being built in their neighbourhood. We think children in care are there because they […]