“All children should be able to live happy, rewarding, and fulfilling lives.” Truer words were never spoken. “Children’s social care can change lives for the better.” Again, I wholeheartedly agree. “We must innovate, learn and reform services to improve the outcomes of children, young people and families.”
You can’t argue with Government rhetoric. However, on closer inspection there are many aspects of the latest announcement on how to reform children’s social care that just don’t stack up.
But let’s start with a positive. The National Kinship Strategy is the ‘jewel’ at the heart this latest announcement. Something that’s been desperately needed for some time, ‘Championing Kinship Care’ outlines the practical and financial support the Government will provide kinship families. It is backed by a £20 million investment and sets out how the Government will provide further support for kinship carers, including a financial allowance pathfinder and expanding the role of virtual school heads to champion the outcomes of children in kinship care.
As someone who managed a number of kinship care teams during my career in social care, I would have been very happy to see this in practice. What’s more, as an employer, it’s important that we ensure we are also kinship care friendly – something that as an organisation we intend to look at more closely. If there’s one downside to this, it’s how limited it will be in the short term, with only eight local authorities signed up to strategy. This kind of initiative should be rolled out nationally and be available to everyone from day one.
Beyond the kinship care strategy, there’s really nothing new in the rest of the reforms. It feels more like political gamesmanship, rather than anything that will create lasting change to a system that desperately needs repair. As one might say: “it’s like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.”
On the surface, the four outcomes laid out in the Children’s Social Care National Framework seem to be saying the right things:
- Outcome one – children, young people and families stay together and get the help they need.
- Outcome two – children and young people are supported by their family network.
- Outcome three – children and young people are safe in and outside of their homes.
- Outcome four – children in care and care leavers have stable, loving homes.
But the reality is, this is no different from the Children Act 1989 – one of the best pieces of legislation in the world, with its principles still standing strong after 34 years.
The ‘enablers’ contained in the framework – multi-agency working is prioritised and effective; leaders drive conditions for effective practice; the workforce is equipped and effective – are equally unoriginal. In fact, I cannot remember a time during my 30-year career in children’s social care when these weren’t the overall aim. It’s what all organisations should be doing.
The issue in children’s social care is not that people are failing to understand legislation, or not wanting to provide the best quality of care and protection. The issue is that local authorities are running at 50% capacity. What we need is people – talented people – and a stable workforce to enact real change.
Across the entire social care spectrum, the problem boils down to recruitment and retention. Until a time when local authorities are properly resourced and social care is seen as an attractive career option – one that pays well, where people have reasonable caseloads, and where they are armed with the right tools to make a real difference – then we will never see sustainable change. After all, culture beats policy all day long.
What the latest Government reforms do is increase the administrative and reporting responsibilities without providing more resources to an already under pressure workforce.
With a general election on the horizon, there is yet more danger that any progress could be lost in a changing of the guards. Labour has yet to show their hand on plans for social care, but one thing is for sure, the last time they came into power following a long Tory stay, the country was in a far better financial state.
As local authorities across the country face serious budgetary questions, there is a wider systematic problem that needs to be addressed about how local government is funded. Sadly, any new Government will simply not have the money to throw at the problem this time around.
