This free resource provides a collection of some of the latest information in relation to consultations, research, statutory guidance, government policy, tools and resources for practitioners and families, with links to related sources.

Statutory Guidance  

Department for Education(DfE) Working together to safeguard children - revised December 2023. Part of the wider children's social care reform

This revision to the guidance focuses on strengthening multi-agency working across the whole system of help, support and protection for children and their families, keeping a child-centred approach while bringing a whole-family focus, and embedding strong, effective and consistent multi-agency child protection practice. Click here for the statutory guidance. The Department for Education has also produced Working Together to Safeguard Children. 2023: Summary of Changes: read here NSPCC have also produced a CASPAR briefing on the changes read here.

Department for Education (DfE): Children's Social Care: National Framework - part of wider children's social care reform

This statutory guidance is the national framework document for those who work in local authority children’s social care. It shows what they must do to comply with the law and must be followed unless there’s a good reason not to. It includes relevant information for all safeguarding partners and agencies who work with children’s social care.  It should be read alongside Improving Practice with Children, Young People and Families (Information here) which includes advice for local authority senior leaders, practice supervisors and practitioners on how to embed the framework in practice. 
Local authorities have a 12-month period, from 15 December 2023 to 20 December 2024 to embed the framework in their practice. Click here for framework

 Guidance  

Ofsted: Inspecting Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) - updated 2nd February 2024

This document sets out the framework for Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS), last updated in February 2024. Click here for guidance. For detail on the updates made in February 2024 see Summary of Framework changes here.

Practice Guidance 

BASW: Age Assessment Practice Guide

The purpose of this guide is to address best practice for age assessments within the current system. With the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act in 2022 and the Illegal Migration Act in 2023 this task has become more crucial than ever. Read the guide here.

Policy Paper

Department for Education: England's First Kinship Care Strategy - part of wider children's social care reform

The strategy shines a spotlight on the incredible kinship carers - grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and wider family networks - that provide loving homes to children who cannot live with their parents, and who will now receive greater financial stability and support from local authorities and schools. Read the strategy here.

Department for Education: Children's Social Care: Data and Digital Strategy - part of the wider children's social care reform

This strategy sets out the DfE long-term plan for transforming data in children’s social care.
It gives information on: the foundations needed to support the children’s social care data and digital strategy
What the DfE will do between 2023 and 2025 to support change Strategy available here.

Department for Education: SEND and alternative provision roadmap

Explains the actions the DfE will take to create a national system underpinned by national standards. Please see the roadmap here.

News Item 

Home Office: Tougher laws to protect children from child sexual abuse

Children will be better protected from sexual predators under plans being brought forward by the Home Secretary. Read here

DfE, DHSC: Family Hubs now open in 75 areas

Family hubs now open in local authorities across half the country as new Little Moments Together campaign launches. Please read the press release here.

Correspondence

Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: National review into child sexual abuse within the family environment: terms of reference

The letter from the Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel announces a review into child sexual abuse within the family environment. Read the correspondence here.

Blog

Ofsted:  How the children's social care reform will affect inspection

The Department for Education (DfE) has published several documents, read here   as part of the children's social care reforms. They set out how the early implementation of the reforms will work. This blog gives some early views on what these will mean in practice and how they will affect inspection.  To read the blog click here 

Blog

Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing:Response to the recommendations made by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the Panel) review into safeguarding of children with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings (published in April 2023).

 This response is in relation to the  abuse and neglect of disabled children in three dual-registered children’s homes and residential special schools. The settings have closed; as criminal investigations are ongoing. The Panel’s report highlights system-wide issues which allowed abuse to be concealed for too long.  The response sets out the steps that the government are taking to address the failings identified by the Panel. Read the statement here

Report

Ofsted, CQC and HMICFRS: Ofsted, CQC, HMICFRS discuss multi-agency response to children and families who need help - webinar

Ofsted have released a recorded webinar on Ofsted, CQC and HMICFRS discussing the thematic JTAI: Joint Targeted multi-agency response to children and families who need help. Watch the webinar here. 

Home Office: The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change

'The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change’ is the second report on the family justice system from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner which seeks to improve the Family Court and its ability to effectively engage with domestic abuse. The commissioner’s report makes 10 recommendations to achieve the change needed to fulfil the provisions of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Please read the report here.

Supported Lodgings Schemes

Supported Lodgings National Network

The Supported Lodgings National Network is a collection of local authorities and organisations who provide supported lodgings schemes cross England.  By working together, the Network aims to strengthen the quality and use of supported lodgings across the country by sharing best practice and facilitating connections.

Please see more information here.

The Network has three online training sessions for hosts which are free to access. The Network is soon to be undertaking a large-scale survey of young people with lived experience of supported lodgings which will be launching on the 24^th April.

You can sign up to the Network here.

Guidance

CQC: Mental Capacity and Access to alcohol in care homes 

CQC have worked with the University of Bedfordshire to produce guidance for care home managers and members of the public on the availability and management of alcohol in care homes.  This guidance focuses on both the benefits of having alcohol available to care home residents who want it, as well as how to mitigate potential risks.  Read the guidance here

Department of Health and Social care: Care data matters: a roadmap for better adult social care 

This strategy outlines how social care data is collected, shared and use at both national and local levels. Please see here for guidance.

Skills for Care and Department of Health and Social Care: Delegated Healthcare Activities- Guiding Principles 

Skills for Care, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and partners have co-developed voluntary guiding principles to support person-centred, safe and effective delegation of healthcare activities.

 These principles are designed to be adapted locally to complement existing best practice and local protocols. Please read here. 

CQC: Starting  our local authority assessments- updated guidance published 

Updated Guidance that was added in December 2023 for Local authorities around the assessment framework. Click here for guidance.

Article

Guardian:  Modern Slavery in Social Care surging since the visa rules eased

Unpublished figures show that 800 people working in care homes or people's homes were charted as potential victims of modern slavery due to people paying huge amounts to agents and care companies. Read more here.

Short Film

Edge: Edge DoLS rights film 

This new film from Edge explains the duty to inform patients under an urgent or standard DoLS authorisation of their rights. It is less than 2 minutes long and free to access. View here.

 List of Pet friendly Care homes across the UK 

A useful list of pet friendly care home - From the Cinnamon Trust

Click here to see the list.

Resource 

Research in Practice - Supporting social  work with carers- resources and tools 

Commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care and developed by Research in Practice with carers, the social work with carers resource and tools offer  variety resources to use. Please view here. 

Report 

LeDer: 2022 LeDeR Report into avoidable deaths of people with learning disabilities 

Report published in November 2023 by LeDeR on the findings of the 2022 statistics around deaths whether avoidable or not of people with learning disabilities and autism.  The report concludes that things are improving for people with learning disabilities and autism however for people from ethnic minorities from this group, there has not been an improvement as they die younger and there is a need to improve care pathways to improve prevention and better management of conditions.  The was also the concerning effect of excess deaths of people with learning disabilities in heatwaves. Read more here.

Definitions

Open Justice Court of Protection: Who's who in the Court of Protection 

Definitions of who is who in the Court of Protection. Click here.

Video/ Resource

UK Trauma Council: Childhood Trauma, War, Migration and Asylum

Free evidence based resources to help children and young people affected by war, migration and asylum as well as the professionals supporting them in both educational and community settings. The resources have been co-produced with young people with lived experience of seeking asylum and those who support them. the resource can be played in different languages. See more information here.

Research in Practice: 

This resource was developed by the Innovate Project exploring how services are addressing harms that young people may experience beyond family life. The resource explores innovation, safeguarding and trauma informed practice. For resource please see here.

Statutory Guidance 

GOV.UK Discharge from Mental Health Inpatient settings

This statutory guidance published in January 2024   sets out how health and care systems should support the discharge of people from mental health inpatient settings including all learning disability and autism inpatient settings for children and young people. Please see here for more information 

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