Children
Tower Hamlets hires new director
Tower Hamlets Council has appointed James Thomas as its new corporate director for children and culture.
Local agencies 'woefully ill-equipped' to stop child abuse
Children are being left at risk because local agencies – including social care – are often ‘woefully ill-equipped’ to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in families, four inspectorates have warned.
Bristol accused of 'abject failure' over SEND care plans
An overhaul of services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is under way at Bristol City Council, after it failed to meet deadlines for families applying for support.
Spielman in fresh illegal schools warning
Ofsted’s chief inspector has made a fresh call for the Department for Education (DfE) to crack down on unregistered or illegal schools.
COSLA conference: Ex-PM Brown says Scottish Government must do more on child poverty
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has launched a scathing attack on the Scottish Government’s efforts to tackle the ‘nationwide epidemic’ of child poverty.
Star pupils
The lyrics to Swinging on a Star were reportedly penned after crooner Bing Crosby made a quip to one of his children.
Working with you, for you
By engaging with and seeking the guidance of its young people, Blackpool Council has been able to secure both funds and a new co-production ethic to improve the lives of its residents. Diane Booth explains
Working with you, for you
Diane Booth explains that by engaging with and seeking the guidance of its young people, Blackpool Council has been able to secure both funds and a new co-production ethic to improve the lives of its residents.
Improvements for Worcestershire children's services
Worcestershire CC’s children’s services have improved since they were rated inadequate three years ago, with families better cared for now, Ofsted has said.
Court ruling defends council but warns others
A crucial Supreme Court judgment has dismissed a family’s claim against a council for housing them next to an abusive household, but stressed authorities may still have a duty of care in other circumstances.
Spending Review should put aside £3bn for children's services - MPs
The Government needs to release at least £3bn of non-ring-fenced funding to local authorities to save children’s services from the ‘crisis’ they are in, MPs have said.
A system ‘that’s failing children and young people’
What lies behind the upward trend in the number of youngsters being moved to live a long way from home, and what can be done to keep more of them in their own communities? Ann McGauran reports.
Council vows to challenge Government's data sharing rules
A Scottish council has vowed to challenge the Government’s restrictive rules on information sharing with local authorities.
Commissioner appointed to Blackpool
An Essex CC director has been drafted in as a commissioner to oversee Blackpool Council’s children’s services after an Ofsted report last year found it was ‘inadequate’.
MPs launch missing children inquiry
MPs have today launched an inquiry into the increasing number of children being placed in homes out of their boroughs.
Hungry kids and foodbanks could become 'normal'
Children arriving at school hungry and families queuing up at foodbanks ‘could become part of the wallpaper’ of everyday life, the president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has warned.
Refocusing on the right interventions
National policy has moved towards the importance of integrated, targeted responses – and Norfolk has developed its new Early Childhood and Family Service with this in mind, says Sara Tough
Councils ‘failing’ children exploited by gangs, report reveals
The same mistakes that led to child sexual exploitation failings are being repeated with gangs, the children’s commissioner has warned.
White Van Man on... childhood
When I was a kid I used to roam everywhere and my folks didn’t care so long as I was back for tea.
Nine out of ten councils blow the budget on children's care
Nearly ninety percent of councils overspent on children’s social care last year, according to figures released by the Local Government Association.
