The BBC reports that Blackpool has the highest proportion in
England of children subject to child protection plans, three times the national
rate.
Other areas with high rates are Nottingham, Coventry,
Salford and the Isle of Wight, while Milton Keynes, Essex, Wokingham, Somerset,
Windsor and Bath are all said to have low rates.
I am not sure how much any of this is ‘news’ because some
variation in rates between different local authority areas (with different
demographic profiles and different levels of social deprivation) is inevitable.
It may be, however, that it is differing practices rather
than differing profiles that account for some of the variation and it would be
useful to see if that was the case and to understand why. Perhaps Ofsted could
conduct some thematic research on that issue? I’m not going to hold my breath,
though, because I expect they are far too busy with other things.
