Kevin's speech at the Victoria Climbie Foundation Conference held at the Royal College of Nursing on safeguarding children

It’s a great privilege to be here today.

And it was a great privilege to hear Madame Climbié speak just now.

Let me start by thanking her for speaking to us about what, as a parent I know must still be an unimaginably painful subject.

Victoria’s death was a tragedy.

And it was all the more distressing because our public services failed to prevent it from happening.

As we know from the Victoria Climbié enquiry, undertaken by Lord Laming, there were 12 separate opportunities when the police, health services, social workers and child protection agencies all could have intervened to protect her from harm.

When they should have intervened.

But when they didn’t intervene.

We now know the system failed to ask the right questions of itself.

It failed to share the accumulating information and evidence of abuse to build up a complete picture of what was going on.

And ultimately, it failed to protect Victoria from harm in the way that it should have.

Following Victoria’s death, Lord Laming made a series of recommendations.

And in response, the Government launched a very major programme of reforms that has created a much stronger framework for safeguarding children.
 
Significant progress has been made as a result of that.

But I know you’ll also be asking why then can this kind of tragedy still happen.

Like all of you, I was deeply saddened and shocked to hear about the tragic death of Khyra Ishaq in Birmingham.

Her death is currently being investigated by the police so I can’t comment on the specifics of the case.

But I can assure you that we will look in depth at the findings of the serious case review being led by Birmingham’s Safeguarding Children Board.

If there are lessons for the local agencies to learn, they must do so.

And if there are broader lessons for us to learn at a national level, then we will make sure that we do so too.

Because it’s truly shocking to think that a child can suffer unnoticed in Britain today.

It’s quite right that serious questions are being asked.

And I can assure you that I am amongst those asking those very serious questions.

This Government is absolutely committed to doing everything we can to keep children safe, happy and healthy.

In many ways, I believe that Victoria’s legacy is the very essence of Every Child Matters – making sure that the needs of every child are put first.

We all have to recognise the extremely difficult job that professionals in children’s services do – working day in, day out to try to keep children safe.

And in the overwhelming majority of cases, they do a good job.

But we also have to recognise that we need to do better.

Because as Victoria’s case so plainly showed, children’s needs don’t take any notice of professional boundaries.

So it’s only right that the professionals working in children’s services don’t take notice of professional boundaries either.

That means communicating effectively across professional and agency boundaries.  And it means sharing information with the right people at the right time so that a complete picture of a child’s circumstances can be constructed.

The Children Act 2004 put in place a much stronger framework for children’s services, and for safeguarding children in particular.

Since last June, we have had a new government department, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, that is dedicated, as its mission, to putting children’s needs first.

And since last October, we have for the first time ever a broad Public Service Agreement to improve the safety of children and young people.    This underpins our Staying Safe strategy and the Staying Safe Action Plan which was a cross government document that we published in February, following wide consultation and debate.

I believe the Public Service Agreement is really significant because it embodies the kind of truly joined-up approach that we need across government and with our national and local delivery partners to tackle all of the factors that have an impact on children’s safety.

I’ve heard too many instances since I took up my job as Children’s safeguarding Minister last year when parents or other people in positions of care have had problems – whether that’s through domestic violence or substance misuse or mental health or other issues – and where it’s the children who end up suffering.

And the best way to minimise that risk is through early identification of problems and getting the balance right between working with families and intervening directly where a child is at serious risk.

But we can only do so if there is effective communication across professional boundaries with the right information being shared.

And we need to make sure that professionals have the right information-sharing tools at their disposal.

That’s why we’re introducing ContactPoint, which is the new information database for children.

It will help professionals across the whole range of services to see the whole picture – and not allow a child who is at risk of harm to remain invisible, or only partly visible, to those that can help them.

Together with the new PSA, ContactPoint can make a real difference.

But of course, the only way that things will really improve is if there are effective arrangements at local level.

And I know that the word on many people’s lips is accountability.

The Children Act 2004 clarified and strengthened lines of accountability through Directors of Children's Services and Lead Members of Local Authorities.

But the fact is that everyone who works with a child or young person – or with their family – has a role to play in not only supporting their development, but also protecting them.

As the only truly universal service, schools have a major role to play.  Where children are not attending school, ContactPoint will have a major role to play.

And where primary schools are co-located with children’s services like GPs, it can help them to all work together in the way that makes the most sense to the families that use them.

But schools can’t do that alone.

I believe we have a real opportunity through Children’s Trusts to deliver the kind of excellent local partnerships that we need in every area and for every child.

I’m delighted that Maggie Atkinson – the new President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services – will be speaking to you a little bit later because Directors of Children’s Services have a pivotal role to play.  And I know that Maggie is absolutely passionate about making sure the system works at a local level.

But we also need to strengthen the framework around them.

That’s why we’re consulting on new statutory guidance for Children’s Trusts – including specifically whether it’s necessary to introduce further legislation to make sure they work well in every area.

Local Safeguarding Children Boards were introduced a couple of years ago as part of our reforms to strengthen local partnerships and to coordinate local delivery.

I hope you’ll agree that they’re now starting to make a real difference.

But as well as getting better structures in place, I believe this is all helping to bring about a real culture change in the way that services are managed and delivered.

And those changes are having a positive impact on children and families up and down the country – from those who need only basic care and support when they get ill or have a temporary problem, to those with very complex needs who require the full support of a whole range of services to get their lives back on track.

Most importantly, we have begun to create an ethos of collaboration and joint care that transcends professional boundaries – something that has been lacking in the past.

Every Child Matters was a hugely significant response to the terrible tragedy that occurred 8 years ago.

And I think it was the right response to that tragedy.

But we must continue a relentless drive on improving the quality of practice and standards across children’s services.

That involves striving to learn the lessons of each and every case of child abuse.

We must never stop learning about what has gone wrong in individual cases, but also about the very effective practice which is day in, day out, keeping many, many children safe.

That is why we have a system of Serious Case Reviews following serious incidents involving children.

Serious Case Reviews are not about culpability – there are other processes for that, including criminal prosecutions, are there to deal with those who perpetrate abuse.

And where individuals are to blame for malpractice there are employer disciplinary procedures and so on.

But Serious Case Reviews are about learning.

If we can raise the standard and impact of serious case reviews so that they are all at the high standards of the very best, we can have confidence that their findings will make a long-term, sustained difference to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

And then through an academic analysis of Serious Case Reviews every two years, we can ensure that the lessons are fully understood, and are acted upon at national level, and are translated into policy more generally.

In addition, the new statutory Child Death Reviews, the first national system of its kind in the world – introduced in April this year – will help prevent more child deaths in the future by giving us a much clearer picture of what is happening.

Every professional a child comes into contact with must be plugged in to the same system – one of support, one of safety and one of protection.

Every single person who works with children is part of what I call ‘Team Every Child Matters’ – not just social workers, but doctors, nurses, teachers, police.

Every professional is one vital part of a child’s support network.

Some children need more support, some children need less.

But the most important thing to any child is the people in their lives and the quality of their relationships with those people. And children should feel confident that those significant adults will keep them safe.

It is vital that we support those professionals who work with children, to ensure the highest quality of care possible.

So we have sharpened our focus on the children’s workforce, and ensuring that the people around children, building relationships with them, working with them, are trained to the highest professional standard.

The professional development framework that we published last month – for managers and leaders of children’s services – is intended to bring people together in that strategic way I mentioned.

It articulates the abilities and attributes that leaders need in order to deliver integrated services, and helps all those who work with children to work towards senior management positions, regardless of their professional backgrounds.

But we also need to develop the skills of the people who work on the front line. 

After all, they are the ones who have the most direct and personal influence on children and their lives.

Last month, we announced almost £73 million over the next three years to improve the quality of the social care workforce.

That will include schemes to promote the social work profession to high-achieving graduates, to set out clear career pathways in the field, and improve the level of training and support before and during a social work career.

And, looking further ahead, a new Expert Group, which Maggie Atkinson will chair, will support the development of a longer-term strategy for a world class children’s workforce.

The Expert Group will bring together experts of people from all different parts of the workforce – from schools, from health, from police, from early years, from youth and others to help make sure that our strategy is as sustainable, robust and joined-up as it needs to be.  To help create a reality of Team Every Child Matters.

Because we all want to make this place the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up.

And we all want to do everything we can to help keep our children safe.

But while this isn’t everyone’s job, it is everyone’s responsibility: children’s services professionals, community groups, police, fire services, parents, volunteers, the public, Government Ministers and, of course, children and young people themselves.

And our goal should be the kind of child-centred society where everybody takes that responsibility.

Where neighbours just don’t pull the curtains and switch on the TV when they see something happening that they know is wrong.

Where other parents don’t just walk away when they see a child who’s distressed.

And where speaking out isn’t seen as sticking your nose into other people’s business but the right thing to do.

That is the kind of society I want to live in.

And that is the kind of society we are seeking to promote.

A society where every child does matter. Not just the fortunate few. Not just those who are easier to reach. But every single, individual, unique child.

I and my colleagues in Government are absolutely determined to do the very best that we can for every child in the country.

Every Child Matters is undoubtedly Victoria’s legacy.  Her tragic story broke our hearts but strengthened our resolve to act.  It is a legacy which we will continue to uphold and strengthen, so that every child can be secure, successful, and safe.

Thank you.