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Child Care Articles
Parental Alienation (15 October 2018)
Parental alienation, in relation to family court cases, is difficult to define due to the fact that the degree of impact parental alienation has on a child remains under debate. Broadly speaking, parental alienation occurs when a child begins rejecting one parent largely due to the influence and/or manipulation of the other. Read more...
Sapphire Stait Offers Free Legal Advice to Women at the Birmingham Freedom Project (10 July 2018)
Childcare and Family Solicitor Sapphire Stait has set up a free legal advice clinic at the Birmingham Freedom Project in Kings Heath, Birmingham, providing legal advice on family and childcare matters to those women who have been affected by domestic abuse. Read more...
Children put forward for adoption on the rise – what this means (29 June 2018)
According to the Freedom of Information (FOI) inquiry conducted by Professor Andy Bilson of the University of Central Lancashire, which took results from 70 local authorities in the UK, the number of children adopted and the number made subject to section 47 enquiries has increased by 50% in 5 years. Read more...
The Government announce £6 million funding for children of alcoholics (24 April 2018)
The government have pledged to fund £6 million towards support for children with parents who are alcoholics and has planned to create programs to offer that support and advice for children whose parents suffer from alcoholism by including fast access to mental health service and offering treatment programs to help parents overcome their addictions. Read more...
The Ministry of Justice Announces Changes to Current Legal Aid System for Victims of Domestic Violence (10 January 2018)
Since the changes introduced by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 came into force on 1st April 2013, many vulnerable people have not been eligible for legal aid funding for legal services in certain family law matters such as contact and residence disputes. The rules stated that in order to be eligible for legal aid in certain family law matters, the client needed to show that either they have been the victim of domestic abuse or that social services have concerns about their children due to the opponent’s behaviour. The Legal Aid Agency is strict in terms of what they accept as evidence of domestic abuse. A requirement of showing evidence of domestic violence within the previous 2 years was initially imposed, which was extended to 5 years in abuse cases. Read more...
The Impact of Parental Mental Health on Children who are the Subjects of Care Proceedings (16 October 2017)
The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry have done much in recent times to raise awareness of mental health and dispel the stigma attached to it, by speaking about their own personal experiences. Is this enough to provide reassurances to parents with mental illness whose children are the subject of care proceedings? Read more...
Warwickshire launches new online guides for parents and carers (30 August 2017)
Warwickshire County Council has launched three free online guides for parents, funded by the council’s Smart Start Programme Read more...
Calderdale Council wins Ofsted approval for services finding homes for children in care (21 August 2017)
Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire has said that an Ofsted inspection found looked after children who are waiting for a new family were well supported by Calderdale Council’s Children’s Services team Read more...
Oxfordshire conference focuses on strengthening work of CiCCs (15 August 2017)
Oxfordshire’s Children in Care Council (CiCC) has said a conference to highlight issues affecting looked-after children and those leaving care has enabled the council to hear the viewpoints from young people in the care of other councils Read more...
Bradford Council secures funding for SEMH school to boost SEND provision (9 August 2017)
Bradford Council has secured government funding to build a new social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) special free school Read more...
Staffordshire County Council has eight million hours of free childcare on offer (8 August 2017)
Staffordshire County Council says that it has eight million free childcare hours on offer to working parents of three- and four-year-olds from 1 September Read more...
Barnet Council launches academy to recruit, train and retain more social workers (3 August 2017)
Barnet Council in northwest London has launched an innovative “academy” aimed at recruiting, developing and helping retain social workers Read more...
Bradford Council hails success of SEND conference (3 August 2017)
Bradford Council has said that a major education conference held in Bradford focusing on serving the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND) has been a success Read more...
Buckinghamshire consults on early help and joined up services for children and families (28 July 2017)
Buckinghamshire County Council is calling for feedback in a ten-week consultation on a proposed new approach to supporting children and families with early help Read more...
Children’s Minister announced £30m funding to help vulnerable youngsters (12 July 2017)
Minister for Children and Families Robert Goodwill has announced funding for 24 projects as part of the Children's Social Care Innovation Programme Read more...
Welsh government re-commits to tackling child poverty (22 June 2017)
Welsh Assembly (WA) Communities and Children’s Secretary, Carl Sargeant, has said a whole government approach to tackling inequality is essential to alleviating child poverty Read more...
Bradford Council considers proposals to improve SEND services (21 June 2017)
Bradford Council is to consider new model for supporting children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and will consider new proposals to improve outcomes for SEND children across the district Read more...
Parents and carers of young children with autism in Wolverhampton invited to take part in EarlyBird Plus programme (19 June 2017)
Parents and carers of young children with autism in the Wolverhampton area are being encouraged to find out more about a national programme designed to improve their understanding of the condition Read more...
Figures suggest improving social care services for children and young people in Dudley (12 June 2017)
Dudley Council in the West Midlands has said that the number of children being looked after in care has fallen by nearly 9% in Dudley over the last two years, according to new figures Read more...
Dudley Council expands children centre to set up North Dudley Family Centre (6 June 2017)
Dudley Council in the West Midlands is expanding an existing children’s centre at Coseley, to help more vulnerable children and their families Read more...
Southwark Council start campaign to raise awareness of the risks of child sexual exploitation (2 June 2017)
Southwark Council have asked local residents to take part in a survey to find out how much the general public know and understand about child sexual exploitation. The aim of the survey is to collate information so they know how to effectively target their campaign, making it as effective as possible Read more...
Telford & Wrekin Council plans new Children’s and Adults case management ICT system (31 May 2017)
Telford & Wrekin Council has announced it will proceed to the next stage of procurement of a new Children’s and Adults case management ICT system, subject to Cabinet approval Read more...
Medway Council decision to consult on children’s centres “called in” (30 May 2017)
Medway Council in Kent has said that a decision made on 9 May about children’s centres in the borough has been “called in” by the Medway Labour Group and will now go to the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 30th May Read more...
Barnet Council becomes first London authority to partner with Unicef (30 May 2017)
Barnet Council in Greater London has entered into a three-year partnership with Unicef – and is the first London authority to do so Read more...
Sheffield City Council prosecutes 17 people for Blue Badge fraud (30 May 2017)
Sheffield City Council has prosecuted 17 people for Blue Badge fraud, after they wrongfully used parking badges issued to disabled relatives to park free of charge in Sheffield Read more...
Welsh government commits to giving children in care parity in educational opportunities (25 May 2017)
Welsh Assembly (WA) Education Secretary Kirsty Williams has said that children in care must have the same educational opportunities as their peers Read more...
Buckinghamshire County Council marks Foster Care Fortnight with event to encourage more foster carers (15 May 2017)
Buckinghamshire County Council is holding a further fostering session in May to mark Foster Care Fortnight, which runs from 8 to 21 May Read more...
Welsh government commits to giving children in care parity in educational opportunities (11 May 2017)
Welsh Assembly (WA) Education Secretary Kirsty Williams has said that children in care must have the same educational opportunities as their peers Read more...
Bracknell Forest Council launches Foster Care Fortnight road show (9 May 2017)
Residents in Bracknell Forest, Berkshire are being encouraged to get involved in Foster Care Fortnight, which launched on 8th May Read more...
Darlington Borough Council consults on proposed changes to children’s SureStart centres (25 April 2017)
Darlington Borough Council in County Durham, northeast England, is inviting families who use SureStart children’s centres in Darlington to comment on proposed changes to the way the services are offered Read more...
Tax-Free Childcare launched for parents of children under four years (25 April 2017)
Tax-Free Childcare for children under the age of four has been launched from this week, meaning that working parents can start applying for two new government childcare schemes launching this year: Tax-Free Childcare, which begins immediately – and 30 hours of free childcare, which starts in September Read more...
Essex County Council welcomes DfE approval for special needs free schools (18 April 2017)
Essex County Council has welcomed approval from the Department for Education (DfE) for special needs free schools in Essex Read more...
Bexley Council seeks parents’ and carers’ feedback on SEND services (10 April 2017)
Bexley Council in Kent is seeking the experiences of parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities in an online survey available until 14 May Read more...
Wolverhampton’s children’s services judged “Good” by Ofsted (10 April 2017)
City of Wolverhampton Council has announced that Ofsted has judged its children’s services to be Good with the help and support available to vulnerable children, young people and families in the City ranked in the top 20% nationally Read more...
Reading Borough Council introduces CSE awareness training for taxi and minicab drivers (7 April 2017)
Reading Borough Council is to introduce training on child safeguarding issues before taxi drivers and minicab drivers are awarded a licence Read more...
DWP announces £30m in new support to help workless families and improve children’s quality of life (6 April 2017)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced new plans to help workless families break the cycle of disadvantage Read more...
Cornwall Council’s One Vision Partnership Plan to improve children’s services is formally approved (6 April 2017)
Cornwall Council has announced that its “One Vision” Partnership Plan, which aims to change the way services work together to improve the lives of children, young people and their families in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, has been formally approved by the council’s Cabinet Read more...
Dorset County Council pledges to improve support for SEND families (4 April 2017)
Dorset County Council has said it will work with its partners to continue to improve support for children and young people in Dorset who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Read more...
City of Wolverhampton Council hosts fostering event to help place more children in care (4 April 2017)
The City of Wolverhampton Council is inviting the public to find out more about fostering children in care at an event on Friday, 7 April Read more...
Hillingdon Council to assume management of all children's centres from April and will adopt “hub and spoke” model (31 March 2017)
Hillingdon Council in Greater London has agreed to introduce new arrangements for the delivery of its children's centre programme Read more...
Bracknell Forest Council shares £11.6m funding to improve children’s services (30 March 2017)
Bracknell Forest Council in Berkshire has been awarded a share of £11.6 million by the Department for Education (DfE) to support vulnerable families Read more...
Peterborough City Council to launch new Family Safeguarding Service (30 March 2017)
Peterborough City Council is to pilot a new Family Safeguarding Service after being awarded £2.8 million in funding from the Department for Education Read more...
Cardiff Council launches Disability Index of services for young people with disabilities and additional needs (28 March 2017)
The City of Cardiff Council has launched a Disability Index, which details services available for disabled children and young people in Cardiff Read more...
Hillingdon Council to agree new model to deliver children’s services (15 March 2017)
Hillingdon Council in Greater London has said that future plans for a children's centre programme will be decided at Hillingdon Council's Cabinet meeting on Thursday, 16 March Read more...
Barnsley Council takes action against child sexual exploitation to mark CSE Awareness Week (14 March 2017)
Barnsley Council has announced that it is teaming up with Sheffield Futures and Barnardos to talk to town centre businesses and Barnsley residents about child sexual exploitation (CSE) during national CSE Awareness Week Read more...
Swansea Council trials free childcare in seven communities from September (14 March 2017)
Swansea Council has announced that seven communities in Swansea have been chosen for a free childcare trial, with families set to benefit from 30 hours a week of free early years education and childcare, under a pilot programme that could be extended city-wide Read more...
Bath & North East Somerset Council considers best way to commission children’s services (13 March 2017)
Bath & North East Somerset Council says it is currently exploring the best way to commission its Children’s Centre services as efficiently as possible, to ensure that the service is sustainable in the future Read more...
Removal of the Five Year Limit for Domestic Violence Claims is a Victory for Victims of Domestic Abuse (8 March 2017)
The news today that the Government are scrapping time limits for obtaining appropriate written evidence of domestic abuse victims is a victory for all those who have been victims of domestic abuse. This will go a long way in ensuring that vulnerable persons are eligible for legal aid, particularly in cases involving children in which a period of time has passed since incidents of domestic abuse Read more...
Removal of the Five Year Limit for Domestic Violence Claims is a Victory for Victims of Domestic Abuse (8 March 2017)
The news today that the Government are scrapping time limits for obtaining appropriate written evidence of domestic abuse victims is a victory for all those who have been victims of domestic abuse. This will go a long way in ensuring that vulnerable persons are eligible for legal aid, particularly in cases involving children in which a period of time has passed since incidents of domestic abuse Read more...
Welsh Assembly announces £1m funding to help care leavers become independent (3 March 2017)
Welsh Assembly Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant, has announced funding of £1 million to local authorities across Wales to help young people who have been through the care system. Read more...
Settlement conferences in public law children cases - realistic? (21 February 2017)
A pilot scheme took place between June and October 2016 in selected courts across the UK, introducing the concept of ‘settlement conferences’ in both public and private law child matters and testing their use and effectiveness over these 5 months. Read more...
Hillingdon Council praised for SEND services by Ofsted and CQC (20 February 2017)
Hillingdon Council has been praised by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for its work with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Read more...
Islington Council to work on identifying violent behaviour in schoolchildren to break cycle of domestic violence (14 February 2017)
Islington Council in north London says that identifying violent behaviour in schoolchildren may help stop the cycle of domestic violence Read more...
Somerset Council launches first county-wide fostering awareness week (25 January 2017)
Somerset Council is urging more people to consider becoming foster parents as part of Somerset’s first county-wide fostering awareness week being held from 23 January to 29 January. Read more...
Extra funding for child safeguarding project in Gateshead (23 January 2017)
A new Gateshead project helping young people at risk has secured extra funding from the Gateshead Community Safety Team. Read more...