Easter Holidays!!!

I shall be on holiday for Easter from 22nd March - 10th April (inclusive)...so this will be my last blog post for a while.

If you need immediate help during this time remember that you can always contact one of my colleagues (we all offer similar help & you'll be well looked after!) Their contact details may be found here.

Living In Children's Residential Homes

This new research report from the Department for Education presents the findings from a short study that aimed to provide insight into the nature of children’s residential homes, the characteristics and circumstances of the young people who live in them and on the short-term outcomes for these young people.

The full report is freely available to download here.

After Care: Young People's Views On Leaving Care

A new report from the Children's Rights Director for England and Ofsted looks at the views of 308 care leavers both who have recently left care and those still in care but preparing to leave.

The main messages from care leavers this year were that nearly half of those surveyed felt they left care too early and were not prepared well enough to leave. In total, 46% of care leavers thought they were made to leave care too early. As well as this, 49% thought they had been prepared badly or very badly. Typically young people leave home at around 24 years old, but some care leavers in the survey were leaving care as young as 16.

The full report is available to download here.

Early Interventions: Improving Outcomes

NFER researchers have published a report reviewing the literature exploring the impact of early intervention on outcomes for children, young people and families.

Overall, the evidence showed that the case for investing in early intervention approaches to improve outcomes and to bring about cost savings in the longer term is widely accepted and supported. It is the extent of potential cost savings that increasingly needs to be identified and evidenced to enable policy makers and local commissioners to make informed decisions. There is, however, a paucity of evidence on the cost effectiveness of early intervention approaches within the UK.

The full research report is freely available to download here.

Female Offenders: The Corston Report - Five Years On

Here's some useful material for anyone interested in the needs of female offenders.

Justice Minister Lord McNally visited the Hammersmith-based women’s community centre, Minerva, to see first-hand how significant investment has helped bring about changes in the way women are dealt with in the criminal justice system.

Much has been done to address the needs of female offenders since Baroness Corston led a review on women in the criminal justice system five years ago. One of the key aims of the Minerva Project is to reduce the number of avoidable family breakdowns (specifically in relation to children).

You can read the full press release here.

What Will Budget 2012 Mean For UK Poverty?

Just found a new briefing from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which has some interesting things to say about how potential policy decisions in the 2012 budget will affect poor places and people in the UK. The briefing looks at 6 issues:

• raising the income tax threshold


• tax credits, work incentives and poverty rates


• the 'mansion' tax and housing


• increasing housing supply


• older people


• funding social care

The full briefing is available to download here.

Hate Crime Action Plan: Challenge It, Report It, Stop It

The Home Office has just published a new action plan "Challenge It, Report It, Stop It". The plan is their blueprint to combat hate crime by preventing it happening, increasing its reporting and by working with the agencies within the Criminal Justice System to improve their responses.

Hate crime involves any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a personal characteristic. The definition covers five main strands, in particular - disability, gender-identity, race, religion or faith and sexual orientation.

Panorama: Britain's Crimes Of Honour

At 8.30 pm this evening (Monday 19th March) on BBC1 Panorama looks at the issue of "Honour Crimes". Afterwards the programme will be available on BBC iplayer.

The description of the programme is as follows: Thousands of crimes in Britain are going unreported: beatings, imprisonment - even murder - committed by those closest to the victims, their families. These are crimes of so-called 'honour'.

With access to police investigations, Panorama reveals the shocking details of 'honour' killings, of women driven to suicide and also hears from those on the run, in fear of their lives.

The UK's lead prosecutor on 'honour' crimes says he will not tolerate multicultural sensitivities when it comes to this issue and a leading campaigner accuses her own community leaders of a failure of leadership in not speaking out against this abuse.

You can read an article on this issue by Jane Corbin, the programme's presenter here.

Human Rights Review 2012 Published

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published the Human Rights Review 2012. The review investigates the state of human rights in England and Wales today. The review includes stories and films of human rights being used in real life cases to deal with difficult and distressing situations and idenitifies 10 key areas where local authorities can improve human rights protections.

You can read the review here.

Government Announces Measures To Speed Up Adoptions

Prime Minister David Cameron is setting out proposals to speed up the adoption process in England, ahead of the launch of the government's "Adoption Action Plan" next week.

Local authorities will be told not to delay adoptions "in a search for the perfect match".

The latest government figures suggest there are 6,770 children who have been identified for adoption but have not been adopted.

You can read more about the planned proposals here in BBC News' Education and Family section.

Tightening The Law On Sex Offenders

The Home Office has announced that sex offenders are to face tighter controls, as the government set out plans to close loopholes identified with the operation of the sex offenders’ register.

Government proposals will strengthen and extend the current checks, and will make it compulsory for offenders on the sex offenders’ register to:

• notify the police of all foreign travel, requiring offenders who travel abroad for fewer than three days to notify in the same way as those who travel for longer must do under the existing scheme;

• notify the police weekly where they can be found when they have no fixed abode;

• notify the police when they are living with a child under the age of 18;

• notify the police of passport, bank account and credit card details, and provide identification at each notification, tightening the law so that sex offenders cannot seek to avoid being on the register when they change their name by deed poll.

The Home Office has also published an updated draft ‘sexual offences act (remedial) order 2012’ to ensure that strict rules are put in place for considering whether sex offenders who are placed on the register for life should ever be allowed to be removed. This follows a ruling by the supreme court in April 2010 that those on the register for life should have the right to apply for a review. You can read the full press release here.

'Clare's Law' Gives Right To Ask On Domestic Violence

People in some parts of England and Wales will have more rights to find out about a partner's domestic violence history as a new scheme is trialled.

Police forces in Greater Manchester, Gwent, Nottinghamshire and Wiltshire will run a 12-month trial of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.

The pilot scheme, which will run from summer 2012, will help victims or potential victims of domestic violence by disclosing information about previous violent offending by their partner.

There are two options - the right to ask and the right to know. The first gives people the right to ask police about a partner’s previous history of domestic violence or violent acts, and the second means police can proactively disclose information in certain circumstances.

It comes after calls for a national scheme gained momentum following the tragic case of Clare Wood, who was murdered by her former partner in Greater Manchester in 2009. Her partner had three previous convictions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. You can read more about the pilot scheme on the Home Office's publication's page. The scheme is just one of the ways in which the government is tackling the issue of domestic violence as part of its call to end violence against women and girls action plan.

Lindsay & Orton "Groupwork Practice in Social Work" Book

A couple of you have asked me about this book today:

Lindsay, T. and Orton, S. (2008) Groupwork practice in social work. Exeter: Learning Matters.

It's available as an ebook. Just click on the link above to read it online. You'll need to use your network username and password to log in.

New Commisioning for Personalisation Video Available From SCIE

This new film from Social Care TV looks at two inner London authorities where personalisation has lead to a total rethink of commissioning. The film highlights how the councils have reformulated their commissioning processes allowing people who use the services to be resources in their own right. This has led to imaginative solutions to complex social needs and supported the development of high quality and sustainable local services.

Children's Sector Joint Briefing On Health And Social Care Bill

The cross-sector group convened by the National Children's Bureau Policy Team released a Children's sector joint briefing to peers on 7th February with a proposed amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill.

The amendment is aimed at Local HealthWatch organisations' functions to promote and support patient and public involvement. Evidence has shown that children's views are often not sought or are overlooked within the NHS so this briefing urges Parliamentarians to amend the Bill to make clear that HealthWatch England and Local HealthWatch must effectively involve children in their work.

Click here to view the full briefing.

Delivering Children's Services In the UK & Other Parts Of The World: A Brief Policy Context

C4EO has published a new briefing paper giving a rapid review of the policy context for delivering children's services in the UK and other countries. It aims to articulate the variety of models for children's services delivery that exist internationally and places these in the context of current UK policy and practice.

The key sections present outlines of the different policy and service provision approaches to children's services in the UK and the top performing OECD countries, brief reference is made to other countries, where appropriate.

Click here to read more.

Breaking The Bank: Family Fortunes

Family Action has launched Breaking the Bank: Family Fortunes - a report highlighting the impact of austerity on family life.

The report found family budgets are facing an unprecedented squeeze meaning some parents have less than £2 per person per day to spend on food and many parents had no ability to save for children's future fortunes.

Download the full report to read about the pressures facing families and take a look at some of the messages families are giving the Chancellor ahead of the budget.

New Adverts Aims To Stop Teens Being Victims of Rape

The Home Office is launching cinema, TV and online ads to try to stop teenagers "becoming victims and perpetrators of rape and sexual violence". It is to be shown after warnings that many teenagers don't think it counts as assault if it happens in a relationship and that it only involves strangers. The ads will run for a month online, at cinemas and during youth-focused TV shows like E4's Skins.

According to official figures, a third of teenage girls and about one in six boys say they've experienced sexual violence from a partner. About a fifth of 16-to 20-year-olds also thought it was probably acceptable for a boy to have sex with a girl if he had spent time and money on her. You can view the ad here: