By Charlotte Webster-
New guidance outlining how social workers and other professionals should support children in care and care leavers has been published by the Department for Education.
The documents are focused on supporting the education of children in care and previously looked-after children. It expresses the commitment to strengthening arrangements for learning from the cases involving the serious harm of children to swiftly inform child safeguarding policy and practice at all levels. It also said progressed can be learned from failings of the past
It also recommends extending personal advisers up to 25 for care leavers.
”Social workers are central to solving the challenges we face in children’s social care, or that investing in them is absolutely key”,the publication said.
Nadhim Zahawi, the children’s minister who authored the documents, announced extra funding for the implementation, and money for new projects for care leavers.
He made reference to the ”What Works Centre’’ , designed to improve outcomes for children and their families by developing a powerful evidence base, and supporting its translation into better practice on the ground. It aims to identify the most effective interventions and practice systems and support their implementation by practitioners and decision makers.
It will join the world’s first network of What Works Centres, which support policy makers, practitioners and commissioners to make decisions based on strong evidence of what works.
The document seeks to establish a credible, trusted voice on what works in children’s social care, which is ”integral to social work practice and development”.
It also added that Virtual School Heads in charge of promoting the educational achievement of looked-after children should ensure appropriate training needs for professionals responsible for promoting young people’s education
Zahawi said the government was making “great strides” with the support available to children leaving care.
“As part of this we have changed the law to require councils to publish a local offer for care leavers and extend personal adviser support to all care leavers to age 25,” he said.
He added: “Leaving care can be difficult and we want to improve the support available to these young people so they are not navigating life’s milestones alone. The programmes we are announcing today will help care leavers make the transition to adulthood more smoothly, improving the opportunities available to them whether in education, employment or training”.