Residential Children's Homes: Services (Hansard, 2 December 1998)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hayman)
My Lords, the Government are determined to improve the quality of services offered to children in residential homes. We recognise the need to improve the training and qualifications for staff employed in such homes and to ensure that they have the appropriate knowledge and skills for this very important work. We have put in train a number of initiatives to achieve this.

§ Lord Northbourne
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that encouraging Answer. Does she agree that it is an absolute scandal that, more than seven years after the implementation of the Children Act, fewer than one-third of childcare staff working in children's homes have any relevant qualifications whatever?
As regards the present training for the Diploma in Social Work, does she agree with the view expressed by the Residential Forum, which in a recent report stated that: Courses leading to Dip. Social Work often fail to provide residential childcare workers with the range of skills and knowledge that they need to undertake the work of residential childcare"?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord that we need to take action in order to improve the number and proportion of staff working in children's homes who have qualifications. That is why we are funding the development of post-qualifying training in childcare for professional social workers and for other residential childcare staff to NVQ level 3. We are doing so specifically in order to improve the skills of those working in this sector.
As regards the content of the courses, I know of the report to which the noble Lord drew my attention and will consider it carefully. We have launched a national training strategy with a training organisation for personal social services. We are seeking to ensure that in the early days it concentrates on childcare as one of its priorities.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, can the Minister confirm that only about 100 newly qualified staff enter residential children's homes each year and that about the same number of staff leave? Can she tell us what qualifications the new entrants have?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I cannot answer my noble friend's question about the qualifications of the new entrants. I shall certainly write to her on that point. It is important to state that through the residential childcare initiative we have made progress in relation to officers in charge of children's homes. Now 89 per cent. of officers in charge have a qualification.
493 It is important to recognise that the Government are supplying additional funding—£2.5 million in the first instance, rising to £3 million after three years—particularly for residential childcare workers to attain NVQ level 3. We are also providing funding to train top social service managers, which should have tangible benefits for residential childcare and help to implement the Quality Protects programme.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, is it not a fact that it takes considerable time to train sufficient people? Although qualifications may be very important, some people may have relevant past experience. Is anything being done to bring back those who used to work in this sector in order to fill the void?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, the noble Baroness makes the important point that we must look at the range of skills which are necessary to fulfil these important tasks. Because of the emphasis which is being put on the issue in the wide debate, I would not wish to diminish the importance of a level of formal training. However, an NVQ is employment-based training and there is no reason why it should not apply to people who are returning to this kind of work, perhaps after a career break.

§ Lord Peston
My Lords, my noble friend used the word "funding" on a number of occasions. Will she clarify her answer? Are your Lordships to understand that the funds being made available are dedicated or, in the common parlance, ring-fenced? In other words, will they be used precisely for the purpose of training people to work in respect of the needs of children in care?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, an overall £39 million training support grant for the next three years will be ring-fenced. Within that, the initiatives for childcare training will be separately ring-fenced. Inside that, the money for NVQ level 3 training for residential childcare has another barrier around it.

§ Baroness Masham of Ilton
My Lords, if bad things go on within a home will staff be able to take those problems beyond its management so that something can be done without their losing their jobs?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, the experience of recent years, the Utting Report and the Government's response to it have shown that it is important that staff who have concerns about serious issues regarding the welfare and safety of children in their care should have the opportunity to raise them.
The noble Baroness will be aware also that in the White Paper on social services launched this week, we announced our plans to set up new independent commissions for care standards in every region of the country which in future will register and inspect all children's homes, whatever their size. Each one of those independent commissions will have a children's rights officer with a specific responsibility for safeguards in that area.

§ Baroness Linklater
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the needs of looked-after children are extremely 494 complex and difficult, especially in the case of young adolescents whose behaviour, needs and problems may be particularly challenging? Therefore, the training, in terms of the quality and experience of people in the profession, is of the highest importance. Does the Minister agree therefore that every effort should be made to increase the recruitment of mature and experienced staff?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, as I said in response to the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner of Parkes, we must look at the experience of staff who work in this field because, as the noble Baroness points out, they may have very challenging and difficult roles to fulfil. There is a proper balance to be struck between those who have had particular sorts of life experience and formal training needs. We shall look to the NTO—the training organisation for personal social services—to work with employers and others. We need to look at what is the right content and profile of the people we need to undertake that work.