Nursery World - Children short of social workers

Children and families in need in England are a low priority when it comes to being allocated social workers, a report for the Department of Health has found. The report, Building a better future for children: Key messages from inspection and performance assessment, published last week by the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) of the department, said that in some cases, children and families in need were allocated to unqualified staff and that service take up by children with disabilities varied considerably between local authorities.

The report, Building a better future for children: Key messages from inspection and performance assessment, published last week by the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) of the department, said that in some cases, children and families in need were allocated to unqualified staff and that service take up by children with disabilities varied considerably between local authorities.

The report summarised the findings of inspections of children's services, the Victoria Climbie self-audit examination, and information provided in councils' delivery and improvement statements. It said that 'strong local strategic leadership' was needed to ensure that the Government's national priorities for children's services were 'translated into effective services that support families and promote the welfare of children'.

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