City of York Safeguarding Children Board (CYSCB) host a conference in York on 21st November to explore the issue of child neglect. The event will be attended by over 200 childcare professionals. The keynote speaker is childcare expert, Professor Eileen Munro. Professor Munro conducted a wide ranging national review into frontline child protection practice in 2011 on behalf of Secretary of State for Education; Michael Gove.

Her review proposed some significant changes in the way in which social workers are trained and how their skills are developed. It also recognised that Government targets and Red Tape needed to be scrapped. Ministers are currently working to implement a number of the recommendations from Professor Munro’s report.

Roger Thompson, the Independent Chair of the CYSCB said, ‘Child neglect inflicts a considerable cost on society. It leaves a legacy of criminality, mental ill-health, substance misuse, domestic violence. More importantly, neglect damages the lives of children and acts to limit their potential. The CYSCB recognises that all agencies need to further improve the way we identify and respond to neglect. It was for this reason that we have undertaken a comprehensive two year thematic review which is to be launched at the conference. The key message of the review is that some children have to live with neglect for far too long before action is taken. We need to identify these children sooner and ensure our interventions are more effective’.

Pete Dwyer, Director of Adult, Children and Education said, ‘Professor Eileen Munro is a leading expert in child protection and the conference offers a unique opportunity to listen to her ideas for national improvement in the expertise, status, and continuing professional development of social workers and the wider children’s workforce’.