As child poverty increases, social workers must be supported

Teachers report more children turning up for school hungry and unready to learn, by Lisa Nandy

Relationships are vital for children and most will look first to their family. For others, though, it might be their social worker, teacher, independent reviewing officer, nurse or any other member of the diverse children’s workforce to whom they turn. That is why I believe that we fail children if we fail to support the people who work with them.

Yet for some time these frontline workers have been under significant and increasing pressure, so that now, in places, the system is creaking at the seams. With rising numbers of children in care, nearly eight in every 10 social workers say their caseloads are unmanageable. Teachers report more and more children turning up for school hungry and unready to learn, while charities such as the NSPCC report that neglect is going unnoticed.

The government has failed to acknowledge that what happens outside schools has a huge impact on children’s ability to do well within them. Since the coalition took office, out-of-school support for children has taken above-average cuts through the early intervention grant and local authority budget settlements, youth services have shrunk or disappeared, and financial support for low-income families has diminished. It is hardly surprising, then, that child poverty is projected to rise and frontline workers are under more pressure.

Immediate action is a moral imperative. Ministers need to remind other agencies of their responsibilities to children so that the crucial job of keeping children safe does not revert simply to social workers and teachers. Despite supporting the adoption reforms, pressures on social workers must not be allowed to increase further, which is why I have urged caution in applying new targets. Speed is important, but it should never be at the expense of the quality and sustainability of child placements.

Finally, we must take seriously requests from frontline social workers for more help with paperwork – reducing it when it is unnecessary and offering support when it is essential. By doing that, they can spend more time with children to better understand their priorities; putting young people’s voices at the heart of the decisions taken with and for them.

There is much that can be done immediately, but there are no quick fixes. In the long term, reshaping public services so that they are preventive and not solely crisis management will make the biggest difference for frontline staff and for children.

Lisa Nandy is Labour MP for Wigan and shadow children’s minister