Manx Care's response to children at risk of exploitation remains 'insufficiently robust'

Findings from a recent Ofsted inspection have been published

Services for children on the Isle of Man need 'significant improvement' and child exploitation is a major concern.

A new report, from Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills), has found that risks in relation to children at risk of exploitation in the Island 'are not always fully identified, understood and assessed'. 

The external regulator was invited to carry out inspections of the services operated by the Children’s and Families Service, which are delivered or commissioned by Manx Care, in April and May this year.

It assessed them over a two-week period - covering children’s residential care and wider children’s social care services.

Inspectors found that language used by professionals both within children’s services, and across agencies, about exploited children can, on occasion, be expressed in victim-blaming terms.

They noted that while awareness is 'increasing among staff and professionals, more needs to be done to improve practice'.

They also found that not enough is being done to minimise the risk of exploitation for children both within the care system and when they first leave it.

CHILDREN'S HOMES

The first part of the inspection process focused on the Island's 11 children's homes including one secure children's home.

Whilst Ofsted emphasised that in some areas Manx Care staff evidenced an 'ethos of nurturing and love' for the children in their care, it also identified several system-wide recommendations and areas for improvement.

Safeguarding of children was of particular concern, as was the lack of legislation and guidance for care leavers, the impact of substance misuse, and a lack of effective independent oversight and scrutiny of children’s care.

For instance, in the short-term home - which is intended to accommodate children whilst their needs are assessed - the inspector found 'known high risks for children, such as substance misuse, child sexual exploitation and going missing, were evident'.

The inspector 'could not ascertain whether risks for children were understood or professionally managed in this home due to the poor practice'.

Examples given of this poor practice included concerns not being escalated when children were thought to have used drugs, and one occasion when a child told staff that they had been having sex for money to enable them to buy drugs. 

Records held at the site did not make it clear to the inspector whether this latter concern was escalated, pursued out of professional curiosity, or whether or not additional safeguards were put into place.

Elsewhere, in the respite home, inspectors found that when children sustain bruising, the process for exploring whether such injuries are of concern is 'poor'. Staff were said to identify and record this information in isolation and 'scrutiny of any concerning bruising or repeat injuries is not evident'.

SOCIAL CARE

The second part of the inspection process focused on the Island's wider children's social care services.

Ofsted found that the identification, tracking and planning for children who may be at risk of exploitation needs to improve as soon as possible.

Inspectors found the Island's early help operational guidance is not up to date. 

They noted that it does not cover 'emerging areas of need, such as child exploitation, resulting in gaps in practitioners’ understanding of such significant areas of need'.

Indeed, they stated: 'The response to children at risk of exploitation remains insufficiently robust. Services and systems are being developed, such as exploitation assessments, but interventions are not started soon enough.

'There is inconsistency in the quality and effectiveness of work in response to risks of exploitation, which means that the effectiveness of social work intervention is variable and for some children risks continue to escalate.'

The body's concerns around child exploitation are heightened when specifically considering children who go missing from care.

They noted that there is 'an insufficient focus on understanding why children go missing and a lack of action planning to reduce risk'. 

The report states that opportunities are missed to discuss with children where they have been, and with whom, to help evaluate any potential or actual harm they may have been exposed to. 

'While some exploitation assessments are being undertaken to help consider risk relating to criminal or sexual exploitation, these are not sufficiently embedded within social work practice.' - Ofsted

 SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Inspectors found that senior leaders within Manx Care 'have a good understanding of their service and the areas of practice which need to improve, though the pace of improvement has been too slow and is not quick enough to ensure timely, effective responses to need and risk for children on the island'. 

During the visit, inspectors noted that leaders did respond 'swiftly and appropriately to any issues identified relating to the well-being of children'.

The report states that despite inspectors finding some evidence of progress, this visit has 'identified a number of areas which require significant improvement'. 

These included:

• gaps in information sharing
• the understanding and use of parental consent
• the paucity of accommodation options for care leavers
• the timely completion of permanence for looked after children
• the services available for disabled children
• the response when exploitation concerns about children emerge.

The report notes that 'managers have acknowledged that there is significant work to be undertaken to improve these key areas influencing outcomes for children and families, but deficiencies in resources in some areas continue to hamper progress'.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Ofsted report broke down its findings into four key areas for improvement provided in full below.

Service delivery for help and protection

• The consistency of information-sharing among partner agencies.
• The evaluation of the impact of parents withdrawing consent to assessments.
• Services for disabled children.
• Tracking and interventions for children who are the subject of pre-proceedings.
• The identification, tracking and planning for children who may be at risk of exploitation.
• The recognition and identification of children in private fostering arrangements.
• The assessment and response to 16 and 17-year-old children who are homeless.

Service delivery for children in care 

• The provision of education for children in care when suspended or unable to access full-time education.
• The voice of children in care being heard and influencing service delivery.
• Permanence planning for children.
• Life-history work for all children in care.
• Recruitment of foster carers.

The legislative and strategic approach to care leavers

• Pathway planning for care leavers.
• The accommodation options for care leavers.
• Opportunities for care leavers to access education, training and employment, including apprenticeships and access to higher education.
• Care leavers’ participation in their own pathway planning and in service design.
• The healthcare offer, both for mental and physical health, to care leavers.
• Assessment, planning, review and support for care leavers post-18 during their transition into adulthood, including practical and financial support.
• Performance management and quality assurance information to ensure effective oversight of the provision for care leavers.

Leadership

• A strategic analysis of the social care needs of children on the island.
• Performance management and quality assurance by the DHSC of children’s social care services delivered by Manx Care.
• Quality assurance systems within Manx Care.
• Oversight, scrutiny and challenge by the corporate parenting board.
• The development of a coherent workforce strategy.
• Being outward-looking for examples of effective practice in other jurisdictions and their relevance for social work practice on the Island.

RESPONSE

In response to the findings from Ofsted Manx Care said: "It is important to note that a number of the report’s findings had already been identified and shared in the service’s self-assessment, which the team presented to Ofsted prior to their visit. This meant that none of the findings were a surprise to the service and a number of them were already being addressed by the time the report was completed. 

"The regulator stated that whilst there was work to do, there were significant positive developments across services. They acknowledged that staff were motivated and knew their children, with a nurturing ethos being evident."

Regarding the potential for exploitation of young people Manx Care added: "[We were] already developing a multi-agency response to this, which was in its infancy during the Ofsted visit, and continues to progress.

"Homelessness in those aged 16 and over is an Island-wide issue requiring an Island-wide response. This is being addressed strategically across services, and Manx Care continues to assess and support these young people as effectively as possible within the limited housing resources available. 

"There were a number of positive developments identified throughout the Ofsted visit, acknowledging that there had been a lot of work undertaken in a short period of time. It was identified that Manx Care colleagues did their best for children and young people despite some deficiencies in Island-wide resources."

Teresa Cope, Chief Executive for Manx Care, added: "We have accepted all the findings and recommendations in the Ofsted report and a comprehensive action plan is in place which is being monitored by our board to oversee the improvements within the service."

Julie Gibney is the Assistant Director for Children and Families Social Work - she spoke to Chanelle Sukhoo: 

Last week, we heard from concerned parents who raised many of the issues highlighted in this report.

Elsewhere, Children's Champion MLC Kerry Sharpe has also highlighted the issues facing care leavers on the Island.

The Ofsted report is available in full HERE.