Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services Review: final report

This report concludes that since 2004 there has been significant progress within all services contributing to mental health and psychological wellbeing. Key recommendations include:

• high-quality and timely assessment and support for those who need it
• better transitional arrangements for young adults who are approaching 18 and who are being supported by CAMHS
• more accessible information about children's mental health and psychological wellbeing for all professions
• better infomation for parents, children and young people on mental health and the services available.
• a national multi-agency support team

Following the report's publication, the government announced the establishment of a National Advisory Council on Children's Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing to ensure that the recommendations in the review are addressed.

The report and the government response are available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

child mental health

National Advisory Council on Children's Mental Health and Well-being

As recommended in the final report of the national review of child and adolescent mental health services, ministers have announced the establishment of a National Advisory Council. Its remit will be to ensure that promoting mental health and psychological well-being remains a national priority; the recommendations in the national review are effectively addressed; and government is held to account for its progress.

More information is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

child mental health

Heads up: Mental health of children and young people

I Joy, M van Poortvliet and C Yeowart; New Philanthropy Capital

This report aimed at charity donors outlines the meaning of 'mental health problems' for children and young people, and the extent of their occurrence. It also summarises what is known about what improves children's mental health; current government policies; and the role of charities.

The report is available from the NPC website.

November 2008

child mental health

Child Safety Education Coalition established

A Child Safety Education Coalition will be set up by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in partnership with the National Children's Bureau, funded by a three-year grant from the DCSF. The coalition will focus on ensuring child safety provision is available across England, evaluating existing provision and targeting vulnerable groups.

More information is available from the DCSF website

November 2008

safety

Ofsted annual report

This annual report finds a general improvement in services, but some gaps are highlighted, for example:

• there were concerns about the safety, welfare and educational achievement of looked-after children: 8 per cent of children's homes were inadequate at their most recent inspection.
• 4 per cent of childcare settings, 9 per cent of secondary schools and 4 per cent of primary schools were judged inadequate
• there is patchy support for literacy and numeracy in later years
• there were some shortcomings in the support for children and families who are involved in family court proceedings and where the welfare of children is, or may be, in question

The report can be downloaded from the Ofsted website.

November 2008

schools, childcare, early learning, children in care

Laming progress report on safeguarding

Following the conviction of the adults accused of causing or allowing the death of Baby P, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, has asked Lord Laming to prepare an urgent report of progress being made across the country to implement effective arrangements for safeguarding children.

More information is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

safeguarding children

Children and Young Persons Act 2008 receives Royal Assent

The Children and Young Persons Act legislates for the recommendations from the Care Matters white paper and includes provisions in relation to well-being of children and young people, private fostering, child death notification to Local Safeguarding Children Boards and appropriate national authorities, the powers of the Secretary of State to conduct research and applications for the discharge of Emergency Protection Orders.

The Act is available from the OPSI website.

November 2008

children in care, safeguarding children

Pre-school, school and family influences on children's development during Key Stage 2 (Ages 7-11): Final Report from the Primary Phase (EPPE 3-11 Project)

K Sylva et al.; Department for Children, Schools and Families

The Effective Pre-school and Primary Education 3-11 project (EPPE 3-11) is an ongoing study of children between the ages of 3 and 11 years. This report shows findings consistent with previous reports: pre-school helps to combat social disadvantage; primary schools affect development; and home background is also important. Higher parents' qualification levels are strongly associated with children's attainment and social behaviour for children at age 11. A stimulating home learning environment at age 3-4 years is also linked to long-term gains in children's development. The influence of the home-learning environment on children's development is similar in strength to their mother's qualification level.

The report is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

early learning, educational achievement, inequality

Childcare futures

Daycare Trust

This report contains papers on the future of childcare from the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families; Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats; and Maria Miller MP, Shadow Minister for the Family.

The report is available from the Daycare Trust website.

November 2008

childcare, early learning

Raising the Bar: What next for the early childhood education and care workforce?

Daycare Trust

This report reviews pay and conditions in the early childhood education and care sector, concluding that although government has made substantial progress in improving the qualification levels of staff in the ECEC sector, and also in extending the range of routes to achieving qualifications, these are extremely low in comparison with similar positions in other parts of the children's sector; although they are now expected to be 'educators' as well as 'carers'. The report calls for government subsidy to enable higher wages to be paid without pricing out parents.

The report is available from the Daycare Trust website.Raising the Bar

November 2008

childcare, early learning, workforce

Consultation: The roles and responsibilities of the Lead Member for Children's Services and the Director of Children's Services

Department for Children, Schools and Families

The statutory guidance under consultation will replace the 2005 publication "Statutory guidance on the roles and responsibilities of the Director of Children's Services and Lead Member for Children's Services". The guidance aims to explain how these roles are distinct and complementary, and how working together as a team, they can be most effective in driving clear improvements in outcomes for children and young people.

The consultation is on the DCSF website. The deadline for responses is 10 February 2009

November 2008

local strategy

Statutory guidance: Children's Trusts

Department for Children, Schools and Families

This guidance sets out what a Children's Trust is, what it does and how it relates to other local partnerships; identifies the challenges that now need to be addressed; and gives guidance on how the priorities in the Children's Plan can be driven forward across the whole system of the Children's Trust. It will be updated after 18 months if proposed legislative changes to strengthen Children's Trusts go ahead as planned, including extension of the statutory 'relevant partners' to include maintained schools and colleges and JobCentre Plus.

The guidance is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

local strategy

Legislation on Children's Trusts Boards

The government has announced that new legislation will be introduced to require every local authority to have a multi-agency Children's Trust Board with responsibility for improving the safety and well-being of all children and young people in the area.

More information is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

local strategy

2008 Secretary of State report on progress towards disability equality across the children's and education sector

Department for Children, Schools and Families

This report reviews progress since the disability equality duty was introduced in December 2006. It find some progress and good practice in schools developed through disability equality schemes, but not all schools have yet taken account of the duty to formulate disability equality schemes. Some 70 per cent of all permanent exclusions are of pupils with special educational needs (SEN).
Bullying is a significant barrier for disabled children and young people, and recent DCSF guidance has been welcomed. The DCSF is currently considering how best to measure progress in this area. Other issues include the educational achievement gap between disabled children and others.

The report is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

disabled children

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act given Royal Assent

Key elements of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 include:

• Same-sex couples are recognised as legal parents of children conceived through the use of donated sperm, eggs or embryos. This recognises, for example, the civil partner of a woman who carries a child via IVF as the child's legal parent.
• Replacing the current legal requirement upon fertility clinics to consider 'the need for a father' with the requirement that they must consider 'the need for supportive parenting'.
• Sex selection of offspring for non-medical reasons is banned. Sex selection is only allowed for medical reasons - for example to avoid a serious disease.

The Act is available from the OPSI website.

November 2008

fathers, sexuality

Family Law Review: interim report

Centre for Social Justice

This is the interim report of the Family Law Review from the Centre for Social Justice. As such it sets out areas for further investigation rather than firm conclusions. These include the desire to encourage marriage rather than give more rights to cohabiting couples; fair financial distribution after divorce; the 'need for a father' in assisted reproduction; pre- and post-separation family support; and possible rights for grandparents in adoption procedures or contact after parents separate.

The report can be downloaded from the Centre for Social Justice website.

November 2008

couple relationships, family break-up, family courts, separated parenting

Religion, beliefs and parenting practice: a descriptive study

J Horwath, J Lees, P Sidebotham, J Higgins and A Imitiaz

The research explores differences and similarities in parenting beliefs and practices between members of the same and different faith communities; records the views of parents and young people as to the influence of religious beliefs and practices on family life, parent-child interaction and 'good enough parenting'; and identifies ways in which faith communities, religious authorities and voluntary and statutory agencies could better support families.

The report can be downloaded from the JRF website.

November 2008

religion, ethnic diversity

A review of how fathers can be better recognised and supported through DCSF policy

Department for Children, Schools and Families

This review found that recognition of fathers was highest in 'top level' policy documents such as Green and White papers, policy statements and reviews and strategy papers and policy documents relating to 'workforce and service delivery'. This mostly related to particular services such as children's centres, schools and teenage pregnancy services. However, most local authorities did not appear to have taken a strategic lead on supporting fathers in family services in their area. Barriers and enablers to engaging with fathers were identified.

The report is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

fathers

Service needs and delivery following the onset of caring amongst children and young adults: evidenced based review

S Becker and F Becker; Commission for Rural Communities

This review provides an overview, synthesis and analysis of research and other evidence on 'young carers' and 'young adult carers' in the UK, with a particular focus on specific issues confronting rural young carers/young adult carers and rural service providers.

The report is available from the Commission for Rural Communities website.

November 2008

disabled parents

National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan: Annual progress report

This report covers progress made during the financial year 2007-2008 against the following objectives:

• To increase the early identification of - and intervention with - victims of domestic violence by utilising all points of contact with front-line professionals
• To build capacity within the domestic violence sector to provide effective advice and support to victims of domestic violence
• To improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence
• To support victims through the criminal justice system (CJS) and to manage perpetrators to reduce risk.

The report is available from the Home Office website.

November 2008

domestic abuse

Further Government response to the report on Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and "Honour"-Based Violence

On 13 June 2008 the Home Affairs Committee published its Sixth Report of Session 2007-08, Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and "Honour"-Based Violence. The government responded in July and has since updated the response with more details on government plans in this area.

The report is available from the Committee website.

November 2008

domestic abuse

National Academy for Parenting Practitioners Strategic Plan 2008-10

The National Academy for Parenting Practitioners sets out in this report plans to create, commission and deliver training for parenting practitioners; support service development; research the evidence base for parenting support training; and share information.

The plan can be downloaded from the NAPP website.

November 2008

parenting programmes, workforce

Pre-Budget Report

Measures in this year's Pre-Budget Report include:

• measures to help families at risk of repossession;
• bringing forward the increase in the child element of the child tax credit by £25 above indexation to April 2009.
• bringing forward the increase in Child Benefit from £18.80 to £20pw for the first child to January 2009; and
• setting out that the Prime Ministers announcement to legislate on the commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020 will be taken forward through a child poverty bill in 2009.

Full information on the Pre-Budget Report is available from the HM Treasury website.

November 2008

tax and benefits

London's children: Our future capital

Ministerial Working Group on Child Poverty in London

London has a particularly high and persistent rate of child poverty, which is largely due to the fact that fewer parents are in employment in the capital. The Ministerial Working Group on Child Poverty in London brought together ministers and a range of other leaders across London. This report sets out agreed actions and a shared target of increasing parental employment by more than 3 percentage points by 2013. The three main associated goals are to increase:

• the maternal part time employment rate; (not only increasing the number of part time jobs available, but ensuring that these are high quality jobs with clear progression routes);
• the take up of Child Tax Credits by eligible working families, and
• the use of formal childcare, measured through the number of families benefiting from the childcare element of Working Tax Credit.

The document is available from the Every Child Matters website.

November 2008

poverty, childcare, work-life balance, flexible working

Time and Income Poverty

T Burchardt; Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion

Time and money are two of the main constraints on what people can achieve in their lives. The focus of this study is individuals who are significantly limited by time and income constraints, for example, those who could escape income poverty only by incurring time poverty. The recommendations focus on childcare; employment rights and flexible working; and pay, leave and benefits. The report finds that in reality employers can very easily refuse flexible working requests, and that part-time work can mean a reduction in hourly pay for doing the same job.

The report can be downloaded from the CASE website.

November 2008

poverty, childcare, flexible working

Getting on, getting ahead

Prime Minister's Strategy Unit

This discussion paper provides a high level overview of the trends and drivers of social mobility. Social mobility was lower for those born in 1970 than those born in 1958, but for following generations it appears to have remained broadly stable. Using evidence from GSCE results the paper suggests that it may start to rise in future. The report identifies four key areas where the Government can have the most significant impact on improving social mobility: early years provision of childcare; education; post-16 education and training; and workplace skills.

The report is available from the Cabinet Office website.

November 2008

inequality, educational achievement

What is needed to end child poverty in 2020?

D Hirsch; Joseph Rowntree Foundation

In this brief report, current issues around child poverty are summarised, particularly the findings of these seven related papers:

• Can work eradicate child poverty? (D Simmonds and P Bivand)
• Childcare and child poverty (J Waldfogel and A Garnham)
• Ending severe child poverty (J Strelitz)
• Addressing in-work poverty (P Kenway)
• Tackling child poverty when parents cannot work (M Evans and L Williams)
• Parental qualifications and child poverty in 2020 (A Dickerson and J Lindley)
• The effects of discrimination on families in the fight to end child poverty (M Davies)

All reports are available from the JRF website.

November 2008

poverty, welfare to work, childcare

Ending child poverty: 'Thinking 2020'

G Cooke, P Gregg, D Hirsch, N Jones and A Power; Department for Work and Pensions

This report contains the write-up of the event, Ending child poverty: 'Thinking 2020', along with four think-pieces on:

• Escaping disadvantage through parenting and school support
• Ensuring communities are safe, sustainable places where families can thrive
• Financial support to end child poverty
• Increasing employment and raising incomes

The report can be downloaded from the DWP website.

November 2008

welfare to work, tax and benefits, local environment

Consultation: The Social Fund: a new approach

Department for Work and Pensions

This consultation invites views on a range of proposals to improve the help given give to people through the Social Fund. The focus of debate is on partnership with third sector organisations such as Credit Unions to deliver the loans to Social Fund customers as well as financial advice and other financial services.

The consultation is available from the DWP website. The deadline for responses is 23 December 2008.

November 2008

poverty

Social Security Advisory Committee 21st Report

This report reviews the committee's work from August 2007 to July 2008 and the issues that have been considered. The committee broadly support the use of conditionality in welfare reform, but questions whether this approach has universal applicability. In particular the state needs to provide a decent level of financial and other support to those individuals who cannot personally respond to this approach. The chairman describes the committee as being "disappointed that more evidence has not been presented to show that sanctions and compulsion are effective in generating long-term sustainable employment." The committee would also like to see greater progress on the concept of a single working-age benefit.

The report is available from the committee website.

November 2008

welfare to work, tax and benefits

Some are more equal than others... Public attitudes to health inequalities and social determinants of health

A Christopoulos et al.; National Social Marketing Centre

People higher up the social hierarchy tend to feel happier, more optimistic and enjoy better health. Although, on a 'social ladder' with a ten-point scale, most people placed themselves close to the middle, 69 per cent felt that it 'is important to reduce income differences between the richest and poorest in society'. People from lower social groups were more likely to feel this, but were also more likely to feel that all children growing up in Britain today have an equal chance of living a long and healthy life.

The report is available from the NSMS website.

November 2008

inequality, attitudes to poverty

The impact of parental involvement on children's education

Department for Children, Schools and Families

This paper summarises the evidence on the impact of parental involvement on children's education, the stages at which it is known to have an impact on children, and the types of activities that are shown to be influential. It focuses on parents' involvement in supporting the individual child at home.

The report is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

parents and schools

Promoting young people's social and emotional wellbeing in secondary education: Consultation on the evidence

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

NICE is inviting registered stakeholders to comment on the evidence gathered to inform development of guidance on promoting social and emotional well-being in secondary education. Stakeholders are invited to identify any major gaps in the evidence, to raise queries about its interpretation or applicability, and to comment on issues relating to equality or cost-effectiveness. NICE plans to issue draft guidance in July 2009.

The consultation is available from the NICE website. The deadline for responses is 15 December 2008.

November 2008

child mental health, emotional literacy

Choice advice: An evaluation

B Stiell et al.; Department for Children, Schools and Families

This is an evaluation of the Choice Advice services to support parents in the school admissions process in 15 case study Local Authorities between September 2007 and July 2008. The study found that when best practice factors were present, the Choice Advice service can play a small but important part in making the admissions process fairer and easier to navigate.

The report is available from the DCSF website.

November 2008

school admissions, parents and schools

Learning from the best: Lessons from the outstanding providers identified by Ofsted, 2006-07

Ofsted

This short report sets out some best practice key messages identified by service providers assessed by Ofsted as providing 'outstanding' services during its 2006-07 inspection cycle. The messages are drawn from a series of conferences to which outstanding providers were invited and the report is published by Ofsted to help disseminate good practice.

The report is available from the Ofsted website.

November 2008

childcare, schools

Anti-bullying guidance for schools

This guidance has been launched by the National Healthy Schools Programme in partnership with 11 Million, the organisation led by the Children's Commissioner for England, Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green. It includes practical advice, case studies and reflections from schools themselves, and pays particular attention to the effectiveness of different anti-bullying approaches. It also highlights the minimum criteria that primary and secondary schools must meet to demonstrate a clear policy on bullying and achieve National Healthy School Status.

It can be downloaded from the healthy schools website.

November 2008

bullying

Piloting penalty notices for disorder on 10- to 15-year-olds

J Amadi; Ministry of Justice

This report provides an overview of the use of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) for 10- to 15- year-olds in six pilot forces. Over 4,400 of these fines were issued, almost all in two of the pilot areas. The majority were for theft; causing harassment, alarm or distress; or for destroying or damaging property. There is some concern that the PND scheme for young people is punishing parents/guardians and not offenders, however views from both police and young people suggest that it may catch young people who offend early and deter them from future offending without any serious consequences or long-term implications. Another concern was that the scheme should be more equitable so that poorer families were not punished more.

The report is available from the Ministry of Justice website.

November 2008

youth justice