Date published: 25 May 2022 by Giulia Monasterio

Rainbow Trust welcomes many of the findings found in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care and supports the need for an immediate reset of the social care system boosted through additional funding.

We back the call for greater early intervention to prevent avoidable crisis situations, the need for a more consistent and integrated approach whereby children are not needlessly passed between services, as well as the need for greater integration of the wider family and friends into the decision-making process.

We are also pleased that an emphasis has been placed on the importance of improving disabled children’s experiences when transitioning into adult services where many fall between the cracks and struggle to get the consistent support they require. As the review states, it is important that adult services support the planning process well in advance of transitions and to do so, the government should ensure that local authorities have the facilities and tools to record and complete in good time how a disabled child will transition into adult services.

However, Rainbow Trust echoes many of the concerns raised by the Disabled Children’s Partnership, especially that the review did not make more specific recommendations to ensure that families living with childhood disability can access the support they need from social care to be able to live a life which is as fulfilled as possible. Rainbow Trust hopes that following on from the SEND Green Paper consultation the government sets out adequate steps and guidance towards improving support for families with a disabled or seriously ill child.

Rainbow Trust Chief Executive, Zillah Bingley, said:

“Reform of children’s social care is urgently needed. It is clear the system is overwhelmed and stretched beyond its limits leaving many families unable to access the care they so desperately need. It is right that the review calls for an urgent reset to the system and draws attention to the importance of including the wider family and children’s voices in the decision-making process.

Rainbow Trust has been working tirelessly to listen to both the immediate and wider family network of the families we support to ensure that our care is shaped by their needs as a whole. We recognise that for support to be effective it needs to be led by the individuals who experience it first-hand and a coordinated approach between professionals and families will ultimately lead to better outcomes for the child.

Rainbow Trust will be submitting our recommendations to the SEND Green Paper Consultation and hope the government will listen to our comments as well as adopt many of the recommendations outlined in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. We urge the government to ensure the voices of the children and families who will feel the consequences are at the heart of the decision-making process and help to shape any long-term social care plans”.