The Children Act
Summary and background
In September 2003, the Government published the Every Child Matters Green Paper alongside its formal response to the Victoria Climbie, Inquiry Report (by Lord Laming). The Green Paper proposed changes in policy and legislation in England to maximise opportunities and minimise risks for all children and young people, focusing services more effectively around the needs of children, young people and families.
Following consultation, the Government published Every Child Matters: Next Steps. This provides details of the consultation response and the wider, non-legislative, elements of change that are being taken forward to promote the well-being of all children.
The Children Act 2004
The Children Act 2004 received royal assent on 15 November and provides the legislative spine on which the reform of children's services is based. It aims to improve and integrate children's services, promote early intervention, provide strong leadership and bring together different professionals in multi-disciplinary teams in order achieve positive outcomes for children and young people and their families.
The new legislation is accompanied by the launch of a major strategy document for English authorities, Every Child Matters: Change for Children, which is intended to set the direction for the major programme of change in the delivery of children's services. These are radical changes and as the strategy document states, success will depend on there being 'local change programmes in 150 local authorities set within a national framework'. Read the Children Act 2004 at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/ukpga_20040031_en_1.
Main provisions of the Act
- A Children's Commissioner
- A new duty on agencies to co-operate to improve the well-being of children and young people
- A duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
- A power to set up a new database with information about children
- Local Safeguarding Children Boards
- Children and young people's plans
- Director of Children's Services and Lead Member
- A framework for inspection and joint area reviews
- New powers of intervention in failing authorities
- A duty to promote the educational achievement of looked after children
- Ascertaining children's wishes
- Additional items include: private fostering, child minding and day care, adoption review panels, grants in respect of children and families and Child Safety Orders.
The Act, controversially, modifies the law on assaults against children, allowing for a defence of reasonable punishment.
The Education Network (TEN) Briefing on the Act
The Education Network (TEN) has produced a briefing which summarises, explains and comments on the Children Act 2004 and lists forthcoming consultation and guidance documents. Read the briefing paper.
The strategy document Every Child Matters: Change for Children is downloadable (with other relevant materials) from www.everychildmatters.gov.uk. This document:
- emphasises that there is no single model for integration and delivery
- provides an overview of the national framework for change
- places the five outcomes, broken down into 25 specific aims, within a framework which local authorities can use to define their own programme for change within the national context
- outlines the essential components of a children's trust, and the 'children's trust approach
- explains the support structure being provided by government nationally and regionally
- gives a timeline of when the statutory requirements come into effect, a summary of statutory requirements and government expectations for local action, publication dates for key documents, and a list of key documents published to date.
