Munro report is “getting to the heart” of child protection issues

BASW – The College of Social Work has welcomed the interim findings of Professor Eileen Munro but urged her to go further in the extent to which her report addresses failings in the child protection system.

Responding to the publication of her interim report on 1 February, BASW – The College of Social Work drew on the contributions of social work members to inform its response. Professional officer Nushra Mansuri said Professor Munro was “getting to the heart of issues in child protection in her interim report but fails to address the lack of priority that local government gives to children”

Suggesting that this prioritisation must be “matched by appropriate resources and funding in both the statutory and third sector,” Ms Mansuri said that overall the report would be welcomed by frontline practitioners.

She said: “We consulted with our social work members as part of this report and in all of our consultations throughout the review period, a return to direct work with children and young people (relation based social work) and multi-agency localised teams have been asked for by our members in proposing solutions so they will be delighted that these areas are highlighted. It will take radical change to make these things happen so we need to know how these changes will be implemented.

The interim report describes a number of measures that would place a greater focus on helping children rather than imposing regulations, inspections and procedures, systems that Professor Munro said have ‘thrown the system out of balance’.

Commenting as the interim report was published, Professor Munro said: “Too often questions are asked if rules and procedures have been met but not whether this has helped children. Everyone in the profession can think of meetings and forms that don’t actually make a child safer.

“Whilst some regulation is needed, we need to reduce it to a small, manageable size. Professionals should be spending more time with children, asking how they feel, whether they understand why the social worker is involved in their family, and finding out what they want to happen,” she added.

The areas of reform focus on the inspection process, developing social work expertise by keeping experienced social workers on the frontline, giving other professionals easier access to social work advice and reducing statutory guidance.

The report supports the role that inspection can play in improving services for children but calls for an end to announced Ofsted inspections, based on a consensus view from sector feedback that the process carries ‘a considerable amount of bureaucratic burden’. Instead, unannounced inspections should be given a broader remit across all children’s services.

Professor Munro highlights the high number of referrals made to children’s social care that are subsequently assessed as inappropriate because social work expertise is not readily available to other professionals. In its final phase, the review will consider solutions such as multi-agency teams that include social workers, co-located in the community alongside universal services.

The review is also considering adopting the systems approach used in the health sector for serious case reviews following criticism that they currently fail to identify or explain the factors that have contributed to poor practice. The hope is that this would provide ‘deeper lessons and improved learning’.

The importance of early identification is also stressed, endorsing the work of three separate reviews in this area.

The Interim Report also highlights:

• The ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ core guidance for multi-agency working, which is now 55 times longer than it was in 1974, should become a shorter manual in which the core principles and rules are clearer to all professionals.

• The role of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards should be strengthened to monitor the impact of practice, training and learning on the child’s journey in the system.

• The role of director of children’s services should continue as the key point of professional accountability for child protection services within a local authority.

• Expertise should be available to support frontline practitioners, building on the Social Work Reform Board’s capabilities framework.

• The public confidence in the profession is undermined by the media’s portrayal and the public need a greater understanding of the complexity of social work.

Children’s Minister Tim Loughton said: “Professor Munro has identified areas where professionals’ time is being wasted and children’s needs are not being properly identified. I welcome her approach to getting help to the neediest children and families as early as possible, and recognising that child protection is not just the responsibility of social workers. I look forward to receiving her final recommendations in the spring.”

The Interim Report is available here http://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/Munrointerimreport.pdf