The latest document is SFR45/2013 but I had to make a lot of use of Google to unearth the precursor documents to reveal the historical perspective.
I’ve already provided some of the data on the increase in numbers of children subject to a Child Protection Plan (up 47% since 2000) and the number of Initial Child Protection conferences (up 37% since 2010) and the number of Section 47 inquiries (up 42% since 2010).
Now here are some more interesting and scary figures extracted from various documents.
Year ending 31st March:
|
All referrals to children’s services
|
Initial Assessments completed
|
Core Assessments completed
|
2005
|
552,000
|
290,000
|
74,100
|
2006
|
569,300
|
300,200
|
84,800
|
2007
|
545,000
|
305,000
|
93,400
|
2008
|
538,500
|
319,900
|
105,100
|
2009
|
547,000
|
349,000
|
120,600
|
2010
|
603,700
|
395,300
|
142,100
|
2011
|
615,000
|
439,800
|
185,400
|
2012
|
605,100
|
451,500
|
220,700
|
2013
|
593,500
|
441,500
|
232,700
|
% Change 2005/2013
|
7.5%
|
52%
|
214%
|
Notice that while the number of referrals has not increased dramatically, the number of Initial Assessments completed is up a substantial 52% over the period and the number of Core Assessments completed has more than tripled (up an alarming 214%).
That suggests that most of the Baby Peter effect is NOT because referrers are becoming more jumpy, but rather because children’s social care management and staff are becoming more risk averse.
We need to ask ourselves whether that is in the best interests of children and young people. There appears to be a lot more assessment going on, compared with 2005, but is it resulting in children being made safer or simply in children’s social care staff being more busy and overworked?
