Blog: Could Labour’s aspirations transform child social care?

Martin Murphy, Technical Director for Children’s Services at Consultancy+, examines the new government plans to break down the barriers holding back young people and what that means for those working with children and young people.

With a new Labour government in power, my thoughts are turning to what their offer might mean for those children and young people who have clearly been impacted by a series of life shocks including the Covid-19 lockdowns, the cost-of-living crisis and budget challenges in both national and local government; and what role we can play in delivering some of that change.

Under Labour, the stated aim for the future for children and young people would focus on breaking down barriers to opportunity.

  • Child development: The government aims to boost child development, with half a million more children hitting early learning goals by 2030
  • School outcomes: Focussing on child attainment, the government will be working to improve young people’s school outcomes over the next decade, and to help them develop the life skills required in tomorrow’s workforce
  • Education and training: The government is aiming to expand high-quality education, employment, and training routes to improve work and study opportunities for young people by 2035

The government has also set out aspirations to reform vocational education, tackle low pay and insecurity, and empower young people to live in decent homes. Several measures to improve mental health support within schools have been set out in their manifesto.

  • Quality mental health support in every school: The aim is to provide children and young people who have struggled since the pandemic with the necessary support to transition back to school and manage personal challenges
  • Mental health hubs: There are plans to establish ‘mental health hubs’ in every community. These hubs would offer open-access mental health services for children and young people
  • Free breakfast clubs: The plan to tackle emotionally based school avoidance, whereby a young person feels they cannot go to school due to a build-up of anxiety, and to improve school attendance will also include the introduction of universal free breakfast clubs for every primary school pupil, partly funded by adding VAT to the cost of private school education

The government’s Child Health Action Plan aims to address health inequalities and improve health outcomes for all children. The plan includes:

  • Cutting waiting lists for planned paediatric services by delivering 40,000 care appointments through round-the-clock NHS efforts
  • Improved mental health support services will be introduced for children and young people in every school
  • Young futures hubs will be established in every community to provide preventive mental health support. Additionally, 8,500 specially-trained staff will be recruited across CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and NHS talk therapies
  • The government aims to improve children’s oral health by delivering 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments annually and a national supervised toothbrushing programme for three-to-five-year-olds in breakfast clubs will also be introduced
  • Crackdown on smoking and vaping: Measures will be taken to prevent children and young people from being exposed to the harmful effects of tobacco and vaping

All these plans and initiatives are laudable and, after the twin shocks of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis, essential to begin to address the health and education needs and inequalities of children and young people in society.

Of course, the plans need fleshing out with clear goals and milestones and focus and funding to match the aspiration.

The challenge, as I see it, is that there are many competing demands on national and local government budgets, as well as family ones. Everyone has been hit hard over the last five years. This is not a party-political opinion, but a statement of observable fact.

As a children’s social worker entering my 38th year of practice, I have worked through the boom times and the austerity of funding for children and young people.

Moreover, as an advocate for young people, I am passionate about improving outcomes and safeguarding, and am looking for new ways to stay involved with and support young people.

Equally, as a father and grandparent, I worry about the world the next generation will inherit. My grandchildren are lucky, they have good support systems, stable homes and good schools in their neighbourhoods but not everyone is that blessed.

My work here at Consultancy+ has given me the opportunity to work with hard working, dedicated social workers up and down the country who are striving tirelessly in local authorities and health trusts to support young people and progress care plans.

The work social workers are doing is complex, stressful and sometimes all consuming.

That we still have young adults coming into the social care profession is testament to those who are committed to helping our most vulnerable, as it’s tough out there!

With my colleagues in Consultancy+, we can help bring together social workers, managers and commissioners to work on solutions for some of the complex challenges highlighted in the new government’s plans.

We can support local authorities with all aspects of social work interventions, including managing case backlogs, diagnostics, ADHD and autism assessments and permanency planning.

So, as the new Labour government settles in and starts to work on its plans for children and young people let’s hope there is a role and funding for dedicated social workers and education professionals to help to support deliver these much-needed changes.

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