Response to Care Matters: Time for Change, White Paper June 2007
Education of Looked after Children
The White Paper focuses heavily on promoting a better education for children in care; trying to raise standards of attainment and improve rates of attendance.
Proposals in the white paper to bridge the gap include:
- A requirement for Local Authorities not to move children into a different school in Years 10 or 11 unless there are exceptional circumstances to do so. The Government has pledged that transport should not be a barrier to this requirement and the local authority concerned should provide free travel where necessary
- £500 a year for children who are not reaching the expected standard to try to give them access to extra tuition.
- Introducing a bursary of £2000 for all children who go onto further education.
We welcome these proposals. Moving children during these important two years certainly must have an impact on studying and if children are kept in the same school then they are more likely to achieve higher grades and secure a better future for themselves. Any financial help that children in care receive for their education is welcomed.
The Role of the Independent Reviewing Officer
There have been clear concerns raised that the IRO role has not been carried out properly in respect of challenging local authority decisions. In the response to the Green Paper the Government was asked to consider making IRO’s independent from the Local Authority. The Government has decided not to do this.
The changes proposed are:
- The Local Authority will be required to name an IRO for each child and a requirement that the IRO spends time individually with that child before any review.
Such a requirement we feel should help in building a relationship between the child and the IRO. From our own experiences in acting for Young People in care we have seen that some young people do not feel that they should attend Statutory Reviews as they feel that the IRO is another social worker, they do not see the IRO as acting in an independent role. We feel that it would help significantly if each child were to know in advance who their IRO is and have a chance to meet with them in person prior to any review. This should enable the child to air their views in advance to the IRO if they are not confident enough to talk at the review, and help to view the IRO as someone who acts independently from their Social Worker.
- Defining what is meant by a significant event at which time the IRO must act.
This is an important provision, which we feel should help in alerting the IRO to when they need to step in, thus hopefully reducing any current confusion. It should then provide children with a further opportunity to have that event considered and give them a chance to put their views to the IRO. This should help ensure that when important changes to the child’s care are proposed that these proposals are properly scrutinised, with all involved given a chance to speak.
These proposals however, do not go far enough. Whilst IRO’s are employed by the local authority there is a question over whether they will fully use their powers to challenge the decisions of the Local Authority. In order for these powers to be used effectively we feel that the IRO’s need to be fully independent
The Role of the Independent Visitor
The Green Paper had proposed that independent visitors be renamed to Independent Advocates. We felt that this would be a confusion of two very distinct and separate roles. We are pleased to see that the White Paper has rejected the change of name.
Currently Independent Visitors are only available to those children in care who have no contact with their parents. The White Paper sets out plans to legislate to extend the opportunity to all children in care. This would become available where they would ‘benefit significantly from such a relationship.’
We feel that an independent visitor would be helpful to all children in care if they wish to see one, irrespective of the contact they may have with their parents. Due to complex family relationships and history it may be that a child in care does not feel that they can talk openly to their parent(s). We support the plans in the White Paper to extend the current system of Independent Visitors.
What is not clear in the White Paper is the point at which the independent visitor would be available to those children who do have contact with their parents. The Paper talks about when they would ‘significantly benefit,’ however such a situation is not defined. It appears unlikely that a child will be offered an independent visitor as part of their care unless they show a need for one. It is our view that all children should be offered the chance to meet with an independent visitor as a matter of course.
Advocacy
The White Paper is disappointing on its discussion on the importance of advocacy being available to children in care. The paper pledges to:
‘Where children in care intend or do make a complaint, local authorities should provide access to independent advocacy services in line with the Get it Sorted guidance.’
We believe that this is not good enough access to advocacy for young people. We feel that they should have the opportunity to have access to advocacy services not just when they want to make a complaint. Children in Care should be, at the very least, told of the existence of their advocacy service and how to contact them.
This White Paper does make improvements to the current care system. The education provisions and extension to the role of the independent visitor are to be welcomed. This paper however, does not go far enough. IRO’s are not currently challenging the decisions of the local authorities. We feel that in order for IRO’s to start challenging decisions they need to be independent of the very bodies they question.
Statistics taken from Time for Change, Impact Assessment for White Paper on Children in Care. Department for Children, Schools and Families. TSO Publication