Every child matters - GOV.UK

1 Every child mattersEvery child mattersPresented to Parliament bythe Chief Secretary to the Treasuryby Command of Her MajestySeptember 2003Cm 5860 Crown Copyright 2003 The text in this document (excluding the Royal Arms and departmental logos) maybe reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it isreproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must beacknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document enquiries relating to the copyright in this document should be addressed toThe Licensing Division, HMSO, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich, NR3 : 01603 723000 or e-mail: by the Prime Minister1 Introduction by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury3 Executive Summary5 The Challenge13 Strong Foundations 25 Supporting Parents and Carers 39 Early Intervention and Effective Protection 51 Accountability and Integration Locally, Regionally and Nationally67 Workforce Reform83 Appendices:Consultation Process and Summary of Questions98 Timetable for Action on Information Sharing1011contents23456 Every child matters Foreword1 For most parents,our children areeverything to us: ourhopes, our ambitions,our future.

2 Ourchildren arecherished and sadly, some children are not so children s lives are different. Dreadfullydifferent. Instead of the joy, warmth andsecurity of normal family life, these children slives are filled with risk, fear, and danger: andfrom what most of us would regard as theworst possible source from the peopleclosest to Climbi was one of those the hands of those entrusted with hercare she suffered appallingly and eventuallydied. Her case was a shocking example froma list of children terribly mistreated andabused. The names of the children involved,echoing down the years, are a standingshame to us inquiry has brought forward proposalsfor change and improvement to the childprotection system . There have been have got better for many. But the factthat a child like Victoria Climbi can stillsuffer almost unimaginable cruelty to thepoint of eventually losing her young lifeshows that things are still very far from can and must be done. Responding to the inquiry headed byLord Laming into Victoria s death, we areproposing here a range of measures toreform and improve children s care crucially,for the first time ever requiring localauthorities to bring together in one placeunder one person services for children, and atthe same time suggesting real changes in theway those we ask to do this work carry outtheir tasks on our and our children s children for whom action by theauthorities has reduced the risk they face, wewant to go further: we want to maximise theopportunities open to them to improvetheir life chances, to change the odds in theirForeword by thePrime Ministerfavour.

3 So in addition, this Green Paper putsforward ideas on a number of related issues,including parenting, fostering, youngpeople s activities and youth justice. All theseproposals are important to children s healthand , nothing can ever absolutely guaranteethat no child will ever be at risk again fromabuse and violence from within their ownfamily. But we all desperately want to seepeople, practices and policies in place tomake sure that the risk is as small as ishumanly possible. I believe that theproposals we are putting forward hereconstitute a significant step towardsthat child matters ForewordEvery child matters Introduction3I was delighted to be asked by the PrimeMinister to lead the development of thisGreen Paper. Over the past year, I have metand worked with a range of practitioners,academics, policymakers and children andyoung people. Their influence has shapedthe paper their ideas and advice have beeninvaluable. Every child Mattersis published alongside adetailed response to Lord Laming s Reportinto the death of Victoria Climbi , and areport produced by the Social Exclusion Uniton raising the educational attainment ofchildren in care.

4 I am extremely grateful toLord Laming and his team for all their workon the inquiry that led to his Green Paper seeks views from everyonebut it is addressed in particular to those vitalgroups of staff and professionals who arecommitted to meeting children s needs. TheGovernment recognises their dedication, theprogress they have made and the lead theyhave given, even while asking new questionsand setting new 1997, we have tried to put childrenfirst. We have increased the focus onprevention through the child povertystrategy, Sure Start, and our work to raiseschool standards. But there is still more to circumstances surrounding the tragicdeath of Victoria Climbi bring home onlytoo powerfully that there is no room have to do more both to protect childrenand ensure each child fulfils their and opportunity must go hand inhand. child protection must be afundamental element across all public,private and voluntary organisations. Equally,we must be ambitious for all children,whoever they are and wherever they live.

5 Introduction by theChief Secretary tothe TreasuryCreating a society where children are safeand have access to opportunities requiresradical reform. This Green Paper builds onexisting plans to strengthen preventativeservices by focusing on four key , we need to increase our focus onsupporting families and carers the mostcritical influence on children s lives. Second,we need to ensure necessary interventionbefore children reach crisis point and protectchildren from falling through the net. Third,we need to address the underlying problemsidentified in the Victoria Climbi InquiryReport weak accountability, and poorintegration. Fourth, we need to ensure thatthe people working with children are valued,rewarded and is the beginning of a long journey,which will present challenges for all of us,but from which we must not flinch. We willbe called upon to make common causeacross professional boundaries and withreformed structures and services to createthe means by which the needs, interests andwelfare of children can be better protectedand advanced.

6 Underpinning this must benot just the resources but an attitude thatreflects the value that our society places onchildren and childhood. Children are precious. The world they mustlearn to inhabit is one in which they will facehazards and obstacles alongside real andgrowing opportunities. They are entitled notjust to the sentiment of adults but a strategythat safeguards them as children and realisestheir potential to the very best of our child matters IntroductionEvery child matters Executive Summary5 Past failings1 The death of Victoria Climbi exposedshameful failings in our ability to protectthe most vulnerable children. On twelveoccasions, over ten months, chances to saveVictoria s life were not taken. Social services,the police and the NHS failed, as LordLaming s report into Victoria s death madeclear, to do the basic things well toprotect past inquiries into the deaths ofMaria Colwell and Jasmine Beckford torecent cases such as Lauren Wright andAinlee Walker, there are striking similaritieswhich show some of the problems are oflong standing.

7 The common threads whichled in each case to a failure to intervene earlyenough were poor co-ordination; a failure toshare information; the absence of anyonewith a strong sense of accountability; andfrontline workers trying to cope with staffvacancies, poor management and a lack ofeffective training. 3 The most tragic manifestation of theseproblems is when we fail to protect childrenat risk of harm or neglect. But the problem ofchildren falling through the cracks betweendifferent services goes much further. Toooften children experience difficulties athome or at school, but receive too littlehelp too late, once problems have reachedcrisis point. 4As Lord Laming s recommendations madeclear, child protection cannot be separatedfrom policies to improve children s lives as awhole. We need to focus both on theuniversal services which Every child uses, andon more targeted services for those withadditional needs. The policies set out in theGreen Paper are designed both to protectchildren and maximise their potential.

8 It setsout a framework for services that coverchildren and young people from birth to19 living in aims to reduce thenumbers of children who experienceeducational failure, engage in offending oranti-social behaviour, suffer from ill health,or become teenage parents. Executive Summary5We need to ensure we properly protectchildren at risk within a framework ofuniversal services which support Every childto develop their full potential and which aimto prevent negative outcomes. That is whythis Green Paper addresses the needs ofchildren at risk in the context of the serviceswe provide for all we are now6 Over the past few years, we have seen thatprogress is possible: in education, last year we saw our bestever results in all key stages there are 500,000 fewer children livingin households with relative low incomethan in 1997 since 1997 the reconviction rate for youngoffenders has reduced by 22 percent the Government s teenage pregnancystrategy has produced a ten percentreduction in conception rates amongunder 18 year olds since 1998 many of the measures put in place now,including Sure Start and measures totackle low income through welfare towork and tax credits, will only see theirfull dividends in years to come.

9 7 But there is still more to do. Truancyremains a persistent problem. There are stilltoo many 16 to 18 year olds not in educationor training, and the educational achievementof children in care remains far too many fronts, including low income, thegap in achievement between differentsocio-economic classes, and the numberof children who are the victims of crime,we need to do more to catch up withother countries. 8 Overall, this country is still one where lifechances are unequal. This damages not onlythose children born into disadvantage, butour society as a whole. We all stand to sharethe benefits of an economy and society withless educational failure, higher skills, lesscrime, and better health. We all share a dutyto do everything we can to ensure everychild has the chance to fulfil their we want to get to9 Our aim is to ensure that Every child hasthe chance to fulfil their potential byreducing levels of educational failure, illhealth, substance misuse, teenagepregnancy, abuse and neglect, crime andanti-social behaviour among children andyoung we consulted children, youngpeople and families, they wanted theGovernment to set out a positive vision ofthe outcomes we want to achieve.

10 The fiveoutcomes which mattered most to childrenand young people were: being healthy:enjoying good physicaland mental health and living a healthylifestyle staying safe:being protected from harmand neglect enjoying and achieving:getting themost out of life and developing the skillsfor adulthood6 Every child matters Executive Summary making a positive contribution:beinginvolved with the community and societyand not engaging in anti-social oroffending behaviour economic well-being:not beingprevented by economic disadvantagefrom achieving their full potential in Government has built thefoundations for improving these outcomesthrough Sure Start, raising school standards,and progress made towards eradicating childpoverty. Chapter Two sets out our plans tobuild on these successes through: creating Sure Start Children s Centresin each of the 20 percent most deprivedneighbourhoods. These combine nurseryeducation, family support, employmentadvice, childcare and health services onone site promoting full service extendedschoolswhich are open beyond schoolhours to provide breakfast clubs andafter-school clubs and childcare, andhave health and social care supportservices on site increasing the focus on activities forchildren out of school through thecreation of a Young People s Fundwith an initial budget of 200 million increasing investment in child andadolescent mental health services(CAMHS)to deliver a ten percentincrease in CAMHS capacity each yearfor the next three years.