We must protect the children
Every year, about 500 children are killed in the UK at the hand of their parent or someone living in their household and many more injured. Thousands of others are abused, physically, sexually or psychologically and many more experience emotional abuse causing lasting harm.
Over the years there have been many attempts by governments and other child welfare agencies to stop the abuses, injuries and deaths. None has solved the problem.
Every so-often we have a high-profile case that hits the news media and causes an outcry, Victoria Climbie, Baby P (Peter) and others. I have always believed these abusive situations arise not because of a failure of children’s services, the police or medical practitioners, but because of inadequacies in the parenting skills of the parents and carers, and those who live with them. It would be hard to say the person who neglects or abuses a child is 100% responsible for the neglect, abuse, emotional harm or death of the child but it is equally wrong to blame the authorities charged with child protection duties, there are so many factors involved in each case that it is nearly impossible to ‘pin blame’ on anyone. In point of fact, I believe it serves little or no purpose to ‘blame’ anyone. A child dies and our priority must be to find out why and how such deaths can be prevented in the future.
Supervision
As Foster Carers looking after children for the Local Authority via a private fostering agency, my wife and I are subject to monthly visits by a social worker from the Local Authority, a visit from an agency Social Worker, an Annual Review and an un-announced visit and a health and safety interview. In addition to these visits Ofsted regularly inspect both our agency and the local authority, when these take place they can ask to see our home, meet with the children we care for and interview us to make sure we are looking after the children, keeping them safe, providing them with everything they need and helping them to develop into good citizens.
Children in our care have a CLA (Child Looked After) Review each year with an independent Reviewing Officer as Chair, also present are the foster carers, social workers from LA and Agency a representative from the child/ren’s school, the child’s Counsellor (if they have one) and where necessary a representative from the ‘Virtual Head’s Office’ (children in care often need additional educational support the VH provides this and more.)
While I am happy to follow these procedures, comply with the rules and obey the powers that be while caring for someone else’s children on behalf of the state, I do find it rather strange that as a highly trained, highly experienced, ‘Licensed’ Foster (Parent) Carer the state requires my wife and I to fulfil all these conditions but natural parents have no supervision. I find it incredible that with statistics like those above there is still such resistance to ‘Parental Supervision’ in natural parental situations.
I can almost hear the shouts of objection from mums and dads up and down the country, “they are my kids, why should I have to have someone checking up on me? Why should I be subjected to the embarrassment of having a social worker visit my house – I’m a good parent, I’d never hurt my child/ren.” I am sure this is true of most parents, certain that most mums and dads never do (intentionally or unintentionally) anything that would hurt their child/ren. But statistics show 500 children per year in Britain are killed by their parent or someone living in the household. 500 young lives extinguished in the UK and something must be done to reduce, slash, and remove that statistic from our annual report!
I can almost hear the shouts of objection from mums and dads up and down the country, “they are my kids, why should I have to have someone checking up on me? Why should I be subjected to the embarrassment of having a social worker visit my house – I’m a good parent, I’d never hurt my child/ren.” I am sure this is true of most parents, certain that most mums and dads never do (intentionally or unintentionally) anything that would hurt their child/ren. But statistics show 500 children per year in Britain are killed by their parent or someone living in the household. 500 young lives extinguished in the UK and something must be done to reduce, slash, and remove that statistic from our annual report!
Parental Training
Foster Carers are not just people who have volunteered to care for other people’s child/ren – we undergo extensive ‘vetting’ to ascertain our suitability, temperament skills and abilities, this is followed by going before a ‘Panel’ similar to an adoption panel for their approval, further both pre and post approval we receive training in Skills to Foster, keeping ourselves safe, Non-violent Crisis intervention, Child Psychology and a wide range of other skills.
After receiving all of this training, we are still asked to accept supervision of our care of these children. And rightly so! Most of these children have been subjected to some sort of neglect, abuse or harm it is our job to provide them with a safe place where they can be/feel safe and recover from the effect of what they experienced.
Natural Parents get none of the above. No Training, no Skills to Parent, No Vetting to ascertain their suitability as parents, no pre or post birth training, except pre and anti-natal training (even this is by consent and voluntary) there are no checks on the health and social wellbeing of the child/ren after the final medical/health check by the health visitor, from then-on a natural parent only takes a child to the doctor or hospital when/if s/he is ill or injured, even this is by parental choice no one can compel (without a court order) a parent to take their child to see a doctor or other health professional. (As foster Carers) we are required to seek medical advice for illness or injury where the child’s health, mobility, school attendance or general health is affected I.e. anything more than a scratch or a cold.
Fulfilling all these rules and guidelines is fine with us, but the question has to be asked if we, Professional Parents have to do all this to keep children safe, happy, secure and healthy, why do not natural parents have to be at least guided by a similar set of ‘good parenting ground rules?’
Why do we allow ‘unsupervised’ ‘unexperienced’ ‘untrained’ and frankly ‘un-suitable’ people have children and then allow them to raise them without any supervision whatsoever?
Medical, Criminal, Social and Suitability Checks
Let me state at this juncture that I am in favour of every citizen receiving a Medical Health Check-up every year from Birth to Death. I believe it would ultimately save millions for the NHS and would save many lives across the population.
When child/ren come into care it is usual for them to have a Medical Health Check every year, this is done to enable an accurate record of the child’s health to be kept, to prevent illness and/or injury being noticed and to fulfil the family court’s responsibility to ensure the child is safe – and consequently to demonstrate to natural parents that no harm has come to their child while they are in the care of the Authorities!
If every child in the UK was required to have an Annual Medical 1st birthday, through-out childhood and continuing on into adulthood, many of the un-noticed cases of abuse would be detected. The medical Health Check should be more than a simple physical examination and should include psychiatric & psychological tests, eyes, teeth, blood, stool and urine tests, and a short session of play therapy. This annual examination wouldn’t be stressful for the child/ren if done in a non-invasive way and carried out for every child in the country, indeed it would be welcomed by parents and childcare professionals alike because it would confirm their child/ren’s health and/or pick-up any illnesses, disabilities, brain injury, defect or mental health issue in the early stages so treatment would be more likely to be effective. This has to be a good thing.
In conclusion: I believe Britain should create a ‘Department for Safeguarding Children’ every child living in the United Kingdom would come under its protection from birth to 21 years of age. Whether native born or immigrant regardless of parental income. If this was implemented many thousands of children would experience a childhood with a much-reduced level danger of becoming a victim of abuse, neglect or harm, and with a better health outcome too.
