SOCIAL WORK & CHILDREN’S SERVICES
South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright was forced to quit over the Rotherham scandal.
requires not a light touch, but quite a heavy touch, and ongoing, therapeutic intervention and support.
“The nature of the damage that it creates, in these particular instances, means you need a lot of ongoing support.”
Under-resourced
The Jay report also found that, at times, even when frontline staff raised concerns in Rotherham, those were not acted on – allowing devastating child sexual exploitation to go unchallenged.
Cameron stated that, on the whole, there are a lot of dedicated social workers out there who’re very committed to doing their very best for children. But one of the biggest issues facing them is with regards to resources.
“Children’s services and the police are under- resourced at the moment, which is a major issue,” he said. “You have to have in place a system [where senior managers] recognise the demands on frontline workers, and how they’re going to reasonably support them from a resource position.
“We’re all realistic about the fiscal difficulties for local authorities and police services across the UK. But you either commit to services or – what are the consequences if you don’t?”
Senior managers must drive culture changes that ensure frontline team leaders, social workers and police officers can and must report any concerns, he said.
“Sexual abuse always needs to be fully
investigated, whatever community it is occurring in. Cultural sensitivities should never stand in the way of protecting children.”
He added: “There needs to be a culture that says ‘you must pursue the protection of children irrespective of the background and history of the victim and irrespective of the background and history of the perpetrator as well’. People need to be freely able to undertake the very best child protection practice without political interference.”
Agencies must invest in training for social workers and police officers to help them identify, manage, intervene and support children who are subjected to child sexual exploitation.
A criminal offence of ignoring abuse
The NSPCC says it should be a criminal offence to cover-up, conceal or ignore known abuse, and that all professionals working with children should be required to report or face sanctions – but this must also be matched by a willingness to act.
The charity wants all councils to adopt best practice steps, such as the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘See Me Hear Me framework’.
But it must be backed by stronger action from Local Safeguarding Children Boards to scrutinise and challenge and hold local leaders to account. It is not enough to have training plans, policies and procedures in place – these must live beyond the page and change the way services operate.
“In the case of Rotherham, it is important
Calls to the charity’s adult helpline have doubled in the last four years as public awareness of the extent of abuse has increased. And calls have increased even further in the aftermath of Rotherham.
“We must now ensure there is never a repeat of this truly distressing and depressing saga by taking action as soon as suspicions of child abuse are raised,” concluded Cameron.
ChildLine T: 0800 1111
Help for adults concerned about a child T: 0808 800 5000 W:
www.nspcc.org.uk/help-and-advice
public sector executive Oct/Nov 14 | 31
we get those strong messages out to all communities that this type of behaviour is totally unacceptable,” said Cameron.
“It is about changing attitudes, and how men view women, and how men in certain sections of communities view certain girls.
“We offer the only national helpline for children in distress. ChildLine provides a confidential, safe place for any child to turn when they are in trouble. We are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help children. We will always listen, particularly when no-one else will.
“Our national adult helpline also provides a place for adults to come when they are worried about possible sexual abuse of children. This too is available 24 hours a day.”
John Cameron FOR MORE INFORMATION
© Lynne Cameron, PA Wire
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