Child sexual abuse

Source: CSA Centre 

Date: 08 February 2023

The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA centre) has published a new report setting out  
how agencies in England and Wales identified and responded to child sexual abuse in 2021/2022. The report collates data from various agencies including children’s social care, policing and health. Findings include: in 2021/2022, local authority children’s services in England recorded concerns about child sexual abuse in 33,990 assessments of children, a 15% increase on 2020/2021; and police forces in England and Wales recorded 103,055 child sexual abuse offences, the highest-ever level and a rise of 15% on the previous year.

Read the report: Child sexual abuse in 2021/22: trends in official data

Source: DfE 

Date: 03 February 2023

The Department for Education (DfE) has set out its long-term plans for the reform of children’s social care in England.  It is seeking feedback on its implementation strategy, a new national framework for children’s social care and new rules on employing agency workers. Consultation on all three documents will run until 11 May, with the government’s response expected in September. NSPCC Learning has published a news story setting out what the three consultations cover, and the government’s next steps. A CASPAR briefing providing a more indepth summary will be published next week.

Read the news story: Long-term strategy launched to fix children’s social care
Read the consultation documents: Stable homes, built on love: implementation strategy and consultation: children’s social care reform 2023

Children’s social care national framework: a government consultation on principles for practice, expected outcomes and indicators: statutory guidance (PDF)

Child and family social worker workforce: government consultation (PDF)

Cost of living 

Source: BMJ 

Date: 04 January 2022

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has published an article looking at how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting children’s health in the UK. The article explores the pressures faced by families experiencing social deprivation as well as policy interventions to provide support. 

Read the article: How the cost of living crisis is damaging children’s health

Serious case reviews

Source: Research in Practice

Date: 20 December 2022

Research in Practice has published briefings summarising findings from the Department for Education’s (DfE) triennial and biennial analyses of Serious Case Review reports (1998-2019) in England. These briefings have been produced to support learning for professionals and organisations.

Read the briefings: Serious case reviews