US philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) defined fanaticism as ‘redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim'. Well, if the aim is to protect vulnerable children, then we need to be asking some serious questions about central government's response to the grim toll of child murder across the country. Because if we continue with the mantra that ‘every child matters', then the reality is that the children who really need help disappear from official view. We may well be asking the impossible from specific individuals and departments. What we really need now is a concerted focus on a specific problem – how to remove children from harm by violent adults – rather than generalised policy statements. The response from the DfES since the public outcry over Haringey has seen a huge centralisation of decision-making over child protection, just at the time when we want local councils to be working more effectively with police and health organisations in their areas. The recent decision to send all directors of children's services on an intensive retraining programme at the National College of School Leadership is an object example of how national politicians look for quick results. The college may have many strengths but I am not sure if one of them is knowing how to use local intelligence to detect criminally-minded parents. One big challenge for local councils is how they can use information provided by concerned neighbours and family of children at risk to make informed decisions about the welfare of vulnerable children. None of this will be easy, especially at a time of diminishing resources. It may well be that in the short term, we see more children in the care of the local authority . If that is the case, then local councillors in their role as ‘corporate parents' really need to think about the future for those children. Paul Wheeler is director of the Political Skills Forum
