Well I don't think Maggie Atkinson can claim ignorance of the details around Khyra Ishaq's death, lies it is then.

Question and Answer session from CSF


Newsletter for staff in Children, Schools & Families
CSF MATTERS


'“I listened intently to the Radio 4 piece this morning re: the proposed
review into the Lord Laming enquiry. I would like to know why there was
no national voice defending children's services when all local authorities
pay a subscription to the Association of Directors of Children's Services
and to the Local Government Association? It's their job to limit the
damage to the sector's reputation and put the case forward for social
services and/or local government. NHS has the NHS Confed, doctors
have the British Medical Association but where can social services turn if
it needs to have its voice heard on a national level? Thanks for listening.
Hope you can help.”

Dear Colleague.

Thank you very much for your question. You are right that Children's Services
needs to have an authoritative 'national voice' for the sector. Indeed the
Association of Directors of Children's Services undertakes that role. ADCS has
been proactive in building credibility for the sector with government and other
agencies.'

AND IT WOULD SEEM UNDERMINING THE CREDIBILITY OF PARENTS IN PARTICULAR HOME EDUCATING ONES.

'You may be aware that I am one of the ADCS national policy Chairs,
with the lead for Families, Communities and Young People. I can tell you from
first hand experience that the partnership with DCSF and other government
departments is better than it has ever been. Local authorities are actively
engaged in developing national policy, through formal working groups but also
with informal contacts with key civil servants and Ministers.
The role of ADCS is not just about leading and influencing decision makers,
however. There is also an important role in responding to the media and in
creating a positive perception of children's services with the public. This is
particularly important when there are cases that attract significant media
interest and comment, as happened last week following the death of seven
year old Khyra Ishaq in Birmingham. We need to be able to engage in robust
and constructive debate about the issues that arise - and I have no doubt that
in the light of this case it was not unreasonable to raise questions about the
degree to which child protection and safeguarding had improved since the
Laming Report into the death of Victoria Climbie - equally, however, there is a
need to counteract uninformed and negative perceptions of social work and its
impact. In that regard I had a number of concerns about the way in which the
Birmingham case was reported and the way in which some newspapers
interpreted the comments of Lord Laming and Bether Climbie. I therefore
contacted Maggie Atkinson (DCS - Gateshead), who is the ADCS President,
to discuss how ADCS should respond. In fact, Maggie Atkinson did appear on
the Radio 4 bulletin to discuss Lord Laming's comments. ADCS has since
prepared a position statement that is going to be shared with key officials at
DCSF, the Children's Commissioner, Local Government Association, and the
British Association of Social Workers.

I hope this reassures you that ADCS is providing a national voice, and that
putting the case for social work is at the top of the agenda. You will also find
that I am picking this up as 'issue of the week' in my Director's blog for this
week.

John Harris'

Thanks to Elaine for the headsup on this.

And here is all I have been able to find out so far about the Director's Blog.

Keeping you Informed


CSF is committed to ensuring that all staff across the county council are kept informed of changes that may affect them, future developments and current issues. It also acknowledges the need to listen to what people have to say.
Many measures are taking place in order to ensure that the flow of information is maximised – including the newly-launched Director’s Blog and twice-yearly CSF Roadshows.

Staff in Hertfordshire's schools can access the Director's Blog via The Grid by visiting the link below or the permanent link on the right hand side of this page:

CSF Director's Blog

An issue that remains in the news on a national scale is safeguarding children, particularly following the recent comments of Victoria Climbie’s mother and Lord Laming following the sad death in Birmingham last month of seven-year-old Khrya Ishaq. “Safeguarding children is everyone’s business – not just social workers” is one of the items up for discussion on CSF director John Harris’s blog. In his opinion, safeguarding procedures have changed immensely since 2003 when Lord Laming’s report into the Climbie case was published. He states that there is more to do to ensure that work to safeguard children is delivered in every case and is that he is keen to ensure debate on the subject does not stigmatise social workers.

If you have something to say about this or any other CSF matter, please visit the Director’s Blog and log a comment or question.'

The general public, however concerned, do not seem to be able to access the director's blog, however I would love to be contradicted on that because I definately have a question to ask him.

In the keeness to ensure the debate does not stigmatize social workers we could be forgiven for thinking that it seemed to them that stigmatizing home educators seemed a perfect solution!