... she is best known for is her influential government-commissioned review of child protection in England in 2010-11.The Munro review of child protectionIn the final report of her review, Munro wrote that she wanted child protection to move from being “a system that has become over-bureaucratised and focused on compliance to one that values and develops professional expertise and is focused on the safety and welfare of children and young people”.
On one level, she has succeeded; several of her recommendations remain in place today.
Children whose referrals are accepted now receive a single assessment, rather than separate initial and core assessments, each with their own timeframes, as previously.
Working Together to Safeguard Children, whose 2010 version stretched to almost 400 pages, is now less than half that length with much less prescriptiveness from central government.
The same statutory guidance advises that local safeguarding partners consider the “principles of the systems methodology recommended by the Munro review” when commissioning local child safeguarding practice reviews. This involves moving from a blame culture to identifying the underlying issues shaping professional practice.
Ofsted inspections are unannounced, not scheduled. And there are chief social workers for children’s and adults’ services within the government and principal social workers for each service in every local authority.
Yet 10 years after Munro’s report, another government-commissioned report concluded that the “underlying problems” she identified remained, based on feedback from over 1,000 practitioners, academics, leaders and people with lived experience.
Continues at https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2024/05/21/the-legacy-of-the-munro-review-child-protection