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Congratulations to you and
everyone who is helping you with this Meredith Kiraly |
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Dear Editor I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate and support MP for Taunton Jackie Ballard's comments during the 'Safeguards for Children' debate at the House of Commons on 17th March. Firstly I would agree that there have been "too many reports and too many investigations that have all identified actions that could be taken to safeguard our children". I recognise that investigations and reports are necessary after cases of abuse, but the question must be asked 'Why after all these reports and strategies is there still premeditated abuse and abusive bad practice being perpetrated ?' When Jackie Ballard went on to say that " … we all want to believe that the abuse had happened 10,20 or more years ago could not happen now". I fear that she has made a very accurate observation. We are deluding ourselves if we hide our heads in the sand and say that everything is better now. Premeditated abusers have not gone away. I would agree wholeheartedly with Jackie Ballard when she said that " many actions are still needed in many care settings to drive up standards". Training and staff development are vital in order to provide a professional and safe resource for children being looked after away from home. I would also give my support to the new proposals in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill. However I feel strongly that all these initiatives will not safeguard children and young people unless there is a National Register of child care workers linked to a National Database. I recognise Stourbridge MP, Ms Shipley's reservations about the possibility of a positive National Register allowing for devious premeditated abusers to infiltrate it and therefore being allowed to continue in practice. As Jackie Ballard pointed out the ICSE has spent considerable time producing a framework for a National Register of Child Care Workers, which includes safeguards against just this problem. The Register could quite clearly stop the present ease with which abusers can change identity and move into new situations to abuse again. Given the proper resources and back up this Register could be set very quickly by ICSE. Then hopefully we would not be faced again with the outrageous scenario of the twenty eight care workers being searched for all over the country after the North Wales inquiry. In my view we have a simple choice to make. Either we allocate resources for training which is realistic for proper staff development and a National Register with a database and sufficient resources to operate it efficiently or we allow the abuse of children and young people to continue. I urge readers of children.uk to give their full support to the campaign for the registration of workers with young people and children which the magazine supports. Yours sincerely |