OFSTED has inspected services for children in Derbyshire and rated them ‘good’. The report looked at how well children in the county are kept safe and the quality of services for looked-after children and care leavers.

Front-line social workers should regain the freedom to decide what is best for children in a shake up of England’s child protection system, an official review says.

Essex County Council’s efforts to improve the performance of its beleaguered children’s services department have been praised by Ofsted inspectors.

There is a national shortage of social workers, with 10% of posts unfilled and both recruitment and retention causing problems.

A CARE home in Birmingham where a resident was left injured because of “potential neglect” has been told it must improve by the care services watchdog.

Not a single person identified with autism or asperger’s syndrome during a community survey in England actually knew they had the condition, research led by the University of Leicester reveals.

Child deaths from abuse have fallen dramatically over the past 30 years, new figures show. With social workers frequently vilified after the death of a child at the hands of adult guardians, the findings – published in Archives of Disease in Childhood – act as tribute to the success of child protection policies and those who implement them.

Elderly and vulnerable people will face increased costs to their care as councils face budget cuts. More than 80 per cent of councils are increasing care charges, according to a survey carried out by shadow health minister Emily Thornberry.

Social care funding needs fixing, the head of England’s largest housing association, Jane Ashcroft, tells David Brindle

Local infrastructure body believes more charities would then win service delivery contracts