A report on decision-making in children’s social care has revealed a range of factors that influence decisions and outcomes, including behavioural aspects and source of referral. The Department for Education report, Decision-making in Children’s Social Care – Quantitative Data Analysis, sets out findings of a project involving analysis of data on 123,131 episodes of care for around 49,000 children referred to children’s social care at three English local authorities. Its aim was to better understand the current decision-making process, and to detect trends and patterns. It calls for the development of standardised decision-making guidance that could help practitioners make more structured, evidence-based judgements.
Decision-making guidance for children’s social care called for
