On 7 November, the House of Commons Education Committee launched its fourth report, Children First: the child protection system in England.
While the report recognises the positive impact of recent policy developments on child protection services in England, the report calls for changes to ensure that all children are treated as children and their interests are considered first.
The Committees report examines three key themes; neglect, older children as well as thresholds for intervention.
In relation to neglect, the report found that children are left too long in harmful situations and encouraged earlier intervention. The Committee calls for better training for professionals on the ground on child development and the long term causes of neglect.
The report found that system is not meeting the needs of older children and must be reviewed urgently. The Committee expressed concern about children leaving the care system and the range of support and accommodation available to them. The report also looked at the position of children who were victims of child trafficking and noted that there was tension between child protection and immigration policies. The report recommends that immigration policy should be reviewed to take into account children’s wellbeing. “Trafficked children found in criminal settings must always be treated as victims and children first, and not just as criminals” said the report.
The report examines thresholds for intervention and recommends that the referrals process make better use of intelligence from teachers and doctors and other agencies. The report called for earlier use of care proceedings to prevent abuse and neglect of children
This report comes in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse allegations and the Rochdale child grooming case. When launching the report, Gramham Stuart MP (the Education Committee Chair) noted that these recent revelations underline how important it is to get children protection right.
Click here to view UK parliamentary news update on the report: