Children and Social Work Bill [HL]

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Tuesday 14th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to discuss children’s social work. I admire those professionals in social work and education who dedicate themselves to their key and ever more complex tasks and who feel pressures of many kinds. There are, of course, implications for them in this Bill. I hope that the Minister can today reassure the House that there will be adequate resources, including training, to sustain the intentions of the Bill. What are the financial implications, for example? Does anyone know?

I congratulate whoever wrote the Explanatory Notes to the Bill. They are excellent: concise, clear and informative. Congratulations, too, to the voluntary sector and others for their thoughtful briefings. I will comment on the principle of corporate parenting, which I am glad to see in the Bill but which I think needs more clarification. For example, the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, has raised the issue of kinship carers. The Bill raises complex issues for these carers, and I ask the Minister if he will meet the Kinship Care Alliance to explore them. Kinship carers deserve clear and supported status.

I shall talk about education for 16 to 18 year-olds and refer to the importance of early years education. I shall take as my benchmark for good principles and practice the experience of young migrants, including those who are unaccompanied. Such children, I am glad to say, are automatically children in care. They have extreme needs. I have learned a great deal from being on the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee, which is currently engaged in an inquiry into unaccompanied minors. It has powerfully raised the importance of good practice in social care and education.

Clause 1 is all about corporate parenting principles. The Children Act 1989 spelled out such principles in relation to children in need. In this Act, children who had suffered harm and suffering were included, as were age, sex and background. Also included were vulnerability, religious persuasion, racial origin and linguistic background. I suggest that we look at those principles again: I think they need consideration.

Social care applies across the whole spectrum of children, but to immigrant children, who have suffered unspeakable trauma, it is even more significant. They have, as one of those giving evidence to our committee said, been focused during their journey on survival. By the time they get to their destination country, they are entirely depleted and have to face a whole set of new challenges. Many children have terrible journeys in life without travelling. I certainly want to expand Clauses 1 and 2 to include a strong emphasis on mental health and language skills. A report from the Children’s Rights Alliance last year stated powerfully that,

“the mental health of children is worsening”.

Clause 2 requires local authorities in England to publish information about support and services offered to care leavers to help them prepare for adulthood and independent living. This is fine provided that the young people have the confidence and skills to use the services and if they have the support of a mentor, personal adviser or responsible member of staff in the school they have come from. It is good to see that such support people are to be designated in social services and in schools. I note that an adviser in a local authority for young people aged 21 and under 25 must be requested. Again, young people may need not just information, but the skill and confidence to make such a request. Assessment is key. A forward plan for the child is key. Monitoring of the child’s progress is key. All this requires consistent and highly trained staff with the time and the requisite support. Will this be guaranteed?

The EU committee inquiring into unaccompanied migrant children showed how vital it is for a child to relate quickly to education and community support, including language teaching. During interviews with a group of unaccompanied young migrant people this came out strongly. I asked one young man from Afghanistan what had helped him to integrate. He said, “Cricket”. I think he was a spin bowler.

Clauses 4, 5 and 6 discuss education. I remain concerned by what is meant by educational achievement. I recall that we discussed this during the passage of the Academies Bill under “coasting schools”. Some definition of coasting, which would presumably include what we mean by achievement, was promised after consultation. Has this consultation happened? If so, what were the results?

For vulnerable, damaged children in particular, but also for every child, education must be not only about academic achievement but about developing self-confidence and communication skills, and encouragement to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Advice and information, as set out in the Bill, is simply not enough. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, that early years education is crucial and we know that the most vulnerable children are likely to receive the worst care. There may be a role here for “virtual heads” to be responsible for two, three and four year-olds to promote achievement.

I remember a short debate on life chances, instigated by the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, in your Lordships’ House a few weeks ago—I was delighted to see him speaking today. From the Benches opposite, the noble Lord, Lord Holmes talked about sport—his example was boxing—as contributing to,

“self-belief, self-discipline and self-worth”.—[Official Report, 11/5/16; col. 1753.]

The noble Baroness, Lady Jenkin, talked in that debate about the importance of soft skills, such as confidence and social skills. I would add relationships, self-esteem, communications skills, resilience, health skills, including sexual health, and economic skills. Such skills are essential in education, not only for their own sakes, but to enhance academic learning. They are important for every child, especially children who have suffered chaos and distress.

There is a great deal of good practice in schools. I see it and hear about it. Its impact is visible and I remain mystified as to why the Government do not pull all this together and insist that all schools offer such important education which is vital for all children. The Government stated recently—last week, I think—that their guidance on keeping children safe will state that governing bodies,

“should ensure children are taught about safeguarding, including online, through teaching and learning opportunities”.

Surely this could be extended to include those soft skills to enable children to protect themselves and have positive relationships.

There are particular complications around 16 to 18 year-old migrant children and other vulnerable children. I give the example of Kent. Local authorities are legally liable for providing education for children and young people in care. However, for 16 to 18 year- olds, there is no statutory obligation on colleges or training providers to offer places to Kent County Council. The situation, they say, is getting worse due to academisation, as academies have no link with the local authority. Colleges are sometimes reluctant to accept vulnerable children because this would mess up their indicators for attainment.

I know that others have spoken and will speak about Clauses 15 to 19, so I will be brief. These are worrying clauses with potentially negative outcomes. They could mean that local authorities or trusts can, on application, be exempt from all the legislation and processes set up to protect children. The encouragement to innovate and provide different ways of working should surely not allow us to throw away the hard-won work on child protection. I hope that clarification on these clauses will be forthcoming.

I know that noble Lords will consider this Bill very carefully. In collaboration with our wonderful children’s sector, we have always supported the welfare of children. I am confident that we can improve the Bill and I look forward to further discussions.