Child Protection

An interim report from the Munro review of child protection offers some early recommendations for change in such areas as inspection, performance monitoring, and referral and assessment. The final report, due out in April, will examine these issues in more detail. Themed around the child's journey "from needing help to receiving it," this interim report takes a long hard look at the proliferation of reporting and documentation, observing dryly that the core guidance, Working together to safeguard children, "is now 55 times longer than it was in 1974," when it was first published. Separating out the statutory guidance from professional advice is one key task recommended, along with changes in the role and practice of Special Case Reviews and a focus on leadership in most areas and at all levels. Local Government Improvement and Development, along with the London Safeguarding Children Board, has produced a strategic quality assurance framework for safeguarding children.