WIREDGOV

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, responded to the National review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs, Phase 2 report 

“The treatment suffered by children in settings operated by the Hesley Group is both unacceptable and deeply distressing.

“The findings of the national panel must be an urgent call to action for the entire sector to make sure that children with disabilities and complex health needs receive the support they need in settings where they are safe and well cared for.

“There are clear opportunities through planned children’s social care and SEND reforms to implement these recommendations, if they are adequately funded.

“As this report rightly identifies, supporting these children well requires the commitment of a range of partners. To help ensure this happens, councils should be given additional powers to hold local partners, including health and schools, to account for their role in supporting children with SEND.”

Experts demand major overhaul of safeguarding system to protect children with disabilities from abuse at children’s homes