Monday, May 24, 2004

BRITAIN TO BECOME THE NEW SPARTA?

(In ancient Sparta -- the first Fascist State -- children were the property of the State and the State was responsible for their upbringing)

Proposals in the UK government's Children Bill: "Every child will have a file on the database, and teachers, doctors or other professionals will be expected to flag any 'cause for concern' on that file. This will include, not just child protection concerns, but issues such as whether exam results are lower than expected, or whether the family lives in poor housing. If two flags of concern are recorded, professionals will pool the information they hold about the child and his family, and decide what intervention is necessary.

When we are being watched, we detach a little from ourselves in order to check what others might see. Placing families under surveillance alters the whole dynamic of family life, and may force parents into what one father called 'defensive parenting'. It is likely that it will cause parents - and children - to think twice about asking for help from professionals, at the risk of opening their family life to scrutiny. If their toddler falls and bangs her head, perhaps parents will feel that 'erring on the side of caution' means not taking her to casualty. It is hard to see how scaring parents away from sources of advice can help their children....

But just as the state should protect children whose parents abuse their power, it is parents' duty to protect their children from an over-mighty state. Where parents are not abusive, however muddled, fallible or imperfect they may be, they are the people responsible for raising their children. The alternative is a state vision of child rearing, and history tells us how dangerous that is. The Children Bill has made far too many parents feel that they are being subjected to some kind of state takeover bid.

What will be the effect on the child protection system of the information sharing proposals in the Bill? If the system is struggling at the moment, it is likely to collapse under the weight of the data that is to be collected. If staff shortages and lack of resources are already causing local authorities to struggle to allocate child protection referrals, how will they cope when every failed SATs test, unauthorised absence or attendance at casualty is reported as suspicious? It is a fair bet that professionals will want to report every tiny incident, rather than risk accusations of negligence.

In other areas, meanwhile, parents are begging for help, particularly those parents whose children have special needs - and their requests are often met with silence by official agencies. I was recently carrying out research into the experiences of families where children have learning difficulties or chronic health problems, and was deluged with replies from families who were not receiving even the most basic help that they needed. Some had faced allegations that they were inadequate - or, worse, the cause of their child's problems...."

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