The Children Act 2004
In September 2003, the Government published the Every Child
Matters Green Paper alongside its formal response to the
Victoria Climbie Inquiry Report. 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.
The consultation on the Green Paper showed broad support for the
proposals, in particular the intention to concentrate on outcomes
that children and young people themselves have said are important,
rather than prescribing organisational change. The Act has been
produced in the light of this consultation and gives effect to the
legislative proposals set out in the Green Paper to create clear
accountability for children's services, to enable better joint
working and to secure a better focus on safeguarding children.
Alongside the Act, the Government has 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 requires local authorities to lead on
integrated delivery through multi-agency children's trusts, to
develop a children and young people's plan, and to set up a shared
database of children, containing information relevant to their
welfare.
Section 52 of the Act places a new duty for local authorities to
promote the educational achievement of looked after children and an
associated power to transmit data relating to individual children
in monitoring this. You can download more information regarding
this from the DCSF website - The Children Act 2004
(link opens in a new window).
Every Child Matters
Every Child Matters, the Government's vision
for children's services, was published in September 2003. It
proposed reshaping children's services to help achieve the outcome
children and young people say are the key to well-being in
childhood and later life.
- Be healthy
- Stay safe
- Enjoy and achieve through learning
- Make a positive contribution to society
- Achieve economic well-being
The Government has legislated for changes in the way children's
services work together. Every Child Matters: Change for
Children explains how the new Children Act 2004 forms the
basis of a long-term programme of change.
This means that the organisations involved with providing
services to children - from hospitals and schools, to police and
voluntary groups - will be teaming up in new ways, sharing
information and working together, to protect children and young
people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life.
Children and young people will have far more say about issues that
affect them as individuals and collectively.
Local authorities have a new duty under the Children Act 2004 to
promote the educational achievement of looked-after children as
well as safeguarding and promoting their welfare (from June
2005).
DCSF Draft Statutory guidance: Duty on local authorities to
promote the educational achievement of looked after children
The Children Act 2004 places a new duty on local authorities to
promote the educational achievement of looked after children. This
consultation on the statutory guidance accompanying the duty
describes the essential actions which local authorities are
expected to take in order to raise the educational achievements of
looked after children.
You can download copies of the Draft Guidance and Kent County
Council's response from the link below.
DCSF Outcome Indicators
This publication covers a range of outcome indicators for
children who have been continuously looked after for at least 12
months and is available online at the
DCSF website - Outcome Indicators for Looked After
Children (link opens in a new window).
The Taking Part Project
The Taking Part project, funded by the Department of Health and
Department for Education & Skills, has been developed and
managed by ContinYou -
BUilding Learning Communities, and piloted by Kirklees
Metropolitan Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and the London
Borough of Greenwich. Taking Part has been used as a strong example
of Every Child Matters in practice.
For further support, visit The Standards Site - Study Support.
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