‘Local freedoms’ proposed for child protection
Author: Kaye Wiggins, LGC |
The Department for Education has published a slimmed-down set of guidance on child protection, which it says will replace central targets with greater local freedom.
Three new guidance documents, which have been published for consultation today, total 68 pages and would replace more than 700 pages of guidance.
Proposals include scrapping nationally-prescribed timescales for assessments of children in need, and introducing ?a more flexible approach focused on the needs of each child.?
The guidance follows a review of children’s social care by Professor Eileen Munro, which criticised the child protection system for being too focussed on central prescription and compliance.
Children’s minister Tim Loughton said the proposed changes marked ?a new mindset and a new relationship between central government and local services.?
?I trust the workforce to deliver the reforms without the need for excessive central prescription,? he said.
A spokeswoman for the Association of Directors of Children’s Services said it was too early to comment on the proposals, but the organisation would respond to the consultation.