Paperwork 'hampering children's social care'

A MAJOR inquiry into child protection in England warned that paperwork was hampering proper social care and called for an end to a "tick-box culture".

The independent report, led by Prof Eileen Munro, calls for watchdog Ofsted to be stripped of the power to evaluate reports into the deaths of abused or neglected children, and the scrapping of pre-planned checks on children's services in favour of unannounced visits.

The Munro Review of Child Protection was launched in the wake of a number of high profile cases that highlighted failings in the protection of young people, such as the Baby P case and the Doncaster torture case where two young boys were brutally attacked by two brothers aged 12 and 10.

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Prof Munro said: "The development of bureaucracy was done with very good intentions. It's a matter of when it gets too much, it gets out of balance. People have got over-controlling all the way down the system.

"They think, 'If you can control it more, we can make children safer', whereas in fact it is doing the opposite."

Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, was 17 months old when he died in August 2007 having sustained more than 50 injuries at the hands of his abusive mother, her boyfriend and their lodger.

The brothers in the Edlington case were in foster care and known to social services at the time of the attack. They were jailed indeterminately after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm, robbery, and forcing the victims to perform sexual acts on each other. A serious case review concluded the attack had been "preventable".

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Prof Munro stressed the importance of increasing the expertise of social workers so they are better equipped to handle vital judgment calls. The report also found that too much time and effort is spent preparing for inspections and meeting the requirements for Ofsted evaluations of serious case reviews.

Children's Minister Tim Loughton said yesterday: "Prof Munro has identified areas where professionals' time is being wasted and children's needs are not being properly identified."

He added: "I welcome her approach to getting help to the neediest children and families as early as possible, and recognising that child protection is not just the responsibility of social workers."