Red tape is hindering child protection, says Munro review

10 May 11
Local authorities should be allowed more freedom to develop their own child protection services and let social workers decide what is best for children, according to a major review published today.

By Helen Mooney

10 May 2011

Local authorities should be allowed more freedom to develop their own child protection services and let social workers decide what is best for children, according to a major review published today.

The final report of the Munro Reviewof Child Protection, by social policy expert Professor Eileen Munro, calls for targets and red tape to be scrapped and an end to a ‘tick-box culture’, which has lost the focus on the needs of the child.

The review, commissioned by Education Secretary Michael Gove, focused on whether bureaucracy and targets were getting in the way of good practice.

Munro’s report says: ‘Helping children is a human process. When the bureaucratic aspects of work become too dominant, the heart of the work is lost.’

She argues that the system has become preoccupied by individuals ‘doing things right’ rather than ‘doing the right thing’.

‘A one-size-fits-all approach is not the right way for child protection services to operate. Top-down government targets and too many forms and procedures are preventing professionals from being able to give children the help they need and assess whether that help has made a difference.’

The review recommends that a chief social worker – similar to a chief medical officer – should be appointed to report directly to government and liaise with the profession. Centrally prescribed time scales for formal procedures, such as social work assessments, should also be scrapped.

Munro said that experienced social workers should be kept on the front line even when they become managers so that their experience and skills are not lost.

She also wants local authorities to designate a ‘principal child and family social worker’ to report the views and experiences of the front line to all levels of management.

Munro recommends that the inspection framework looks at the role of all local services that play a part in child protection – including health, education, police, probation and the justice system. She also reiterates a recommendation in her interim report for inspection to be carried out on an unannounced basis to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.

Commenting on the review, an Ofsted spokeswoman said: ‘It is particularly encouraging to see the recognition of inspection as a key contributor in driving improvement in child protection and the importance inspection plays in providing independent scrutiny of children’s services as a whole.

‘We welcome Professor Munro’s recommendations that inspection should examine the contribution of all agencies to the protection of children, and should focus on the child’s journey, the rights, wishes, feelings and experience of children and young people, and the effectiveness of help provided.’

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