Child Protection Set For Radical Overhaul

The Government is set to invest £80m to reform England's child protection system.

An official review by London School of Economics professor of social policy Eileen Munro, called for targets to be removed and red tape to be ditched in order for front-line social workers to regain the freedom to decide what is best for children.

The review was commissioned by Education Secretary Michael Gove to determine whether bureaucracy and targets have been getting in the way of good practice.

Prof Munro commented: "Helping children is a human process. When the bureaucratic aspects of work become too dominant, the heart of the work is lost."

The professor also stated that by developing social workers' expertise, more children would be able to stay with their families.

She recommended a chief social worker - similar to a chief medical officer - should be appointed to report directly to Government and liaise with the profession.

Her report sets out how the system can move from one that has become too bureaucratic to one that values and develops professional expertise.

She also called on the Government to revise social worker statutory guidance - said to be 55 times longer than that issued nearly 40 years ago.

Prof Munro also wants the Government to ensure local areas have the freedom to innovate, with local authorities taking more responsibility for helping their staff to operate with a high level of skill and knowledge.

Children's Minister Tim Loughton said the review presented some wide-ranging and radically different proposals for reform.

"It is now up to the Government and the children's sector to work together to look at the recommendations in detail and assess the implications of their implementation in practice for the long term, not as a short term fix.

"To do this, the Government will be working closely with a group of professionals from across the children's sector and we will respond to Professor Munro's recommendations later this year."

(JG/KMcA)