News & Updates
Independent Review of Children’s Social Care: Final Newsletter June 2022
Posted on
Goodbye from Josh MacAlister, review chair
We’re now a month on from the publication of our final report on 23 May. This is the final update from the review as the team now winds down and the focus moves to how government, local authorities, charities, businesses and individuals will take forward the recommendations from the review.
It’s been a privilege to lead this review and especially to meet with and listen to those that children’s social care exists to serve – children, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and care experienced adults. I was also honoured to have worked with our amazing Experts by Experience Board who were generous with their time, advice and in ensuring the review remained rooted in the real life experience of those who experience the system first hand.
Just this week, around 100 care experienced young people descended on Parliament to demand change from their MPs.
They, more than anyone, understand that children’s social care needs a big system reset to get behind and alongside those who can ensure children grow up with the thing we sometimes struggle to say in public policy – love.
I hope many more will join the call for change and will start to identify what they can do now, rather than wait for the government to respond. There are calls throughout the report which I hope will inspire public services, charities, businesses and individuals to step up for children.
To everyone who has contributed to the review over the past year I would like to say a final thank you. I’m passing the baton to all of you now to help make change happen – there are many counting on you to succeed.
Josh
The final report – useful links
A reminder that the final report is on our website:
There are also a lot of supporting documents. In particular the recommendations annexes go into a lot more detail on recommendations:
What happens now?
The Government has committed to responding by the end of the year, the Department for Education will lead on the government’s response to, and implementation of, the review’s recommendations. As is normal for government business we would expect there will be opportunities for people to contribute via consultation once the Government has decided how it wants to take the recommendations in the review forward.
As for the review team, we are currently winding down and will officially close on 30th June – when the inbox will no longer function. For anyone with queries about the review’s implementation, ways to contact the Department for Education are listed here:
https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe
For future reference
The review’s website, which hosts the final report and many other publications from the review, will continue to be available for the coming months. However, in time the main reports on the website will move to gov.uk and the website will close.
We have uploaded a number of recordings from across the 15 months of the review to our youtube channel – here you can find:
| · A webinar on the main themes of the review with Josh MacAlister and David Akinsaya held earlier this month· Explainer videos offering a rundown of the main points in the report relating to: the reform plan; family help & child protection; homes for children & young people; and the care experience.· Short films from our experts by experience Chloe and Charmaine· Recordings from our three ‘focus on’ events late last year· A short animation encouraging people to step up for children |
We have also captured recordings of some of the broadcast interviews, with Josh or with young people with care experience, which went out on publication day.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL28dmDSwM8NiuGZ_gaf6Jw
A final ‘in case you missed it’
| · ‘Lives in Care’ a documentary series on BBC Radio 4 where young people share their experiences of care: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00180kr |
| · An Adoption and Fostering care review podcast special, featuring an interview with Josh: http://www.alcoates.co.uk/p/the-adoption-fostering-podcast.html |
| · A final blog from our Experts by Experience board reflecting on the review: https://childrenssocialcare.independent-review.uk/the-final-word-from-the-expert-by-experience-board/ |
| · A blog from Policy Lab about their work with the review: https://openpolicy.blog.gov.uk/2022/06/09/an-independent-review-of-childrens-social-care-appreciating-the-wider-family-context/ |