The government has taken control of Croydon’s children’s services after an Ofsted report revealed “widespread and serious” failures were leaving youngsters at risk. Children were also forced to wait for unacceptable periods of time for help, the report said, leaving them at risk of greater harm. Robert Goodwill, minister for children and families, said: “Keeping children safe is vital, and we take tough measures when councils are failing them. As of June, Croydon had 1,789 children identified as being in need of specialist children’s services, down from 1,839 the previous year. It had 399 children and young people subject to a child protection plan, up from 360 on 2016, while 760 children were being looked after by the local authority.

Source: The Guardian September 04, 2017 21:45 UTC