"The Chief Inspector should have used this opportunity to question whether the current organisation of children's services is viable. The tragic death of Victoria Climbié led the Government to reorganise local authorities, requiring them to establish Directors of Children's Services (DCS).
"That didn't help education and it certainly didn't help social services. While many DCSs are doing a great job in very tough circumstances, basically the job is unwieldy and not really manageable.
"The NUT absolutely agrees with the Government that Every Child Matters. Children's Services Departments, however, have not been the panacea to protect all children including, of course, the most vulnerable. We would urge the Government to revisit this question. Co-ordination of services is critical but individual local authorities may have better approaches for their local circumstances.
"For vulnerable children the prospect of service not meeting need may well be increased by the ‘one size fits all' approach to children's services."
