🧵Our charity's name comes from Article 39 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This entitles all children to recover from abuse and other serious rights violations in environments which nurture their health, self-respect and dignity.

1/6 The Home Secretary's pledge (on behalf of whole government) to strengthen reporting duties in respect of child sexual abuse and exploitation must be backed by significant resources and comprehensive arrangements to help children to *recover*.

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🧵 Ofsted has updated its children's social care data.

Includes this information ⬇️ about establishments potentially operating as children's homes, but not registered.

Let's ponder on the 'many' of the 83 settings where registration wasn't deemed necessary. 1/10 This would have been because the children living there - children in care - were not actually receiving any day-to-day care or consistent supervision. Children would have had full responsibility for their meals, their health and handling their £. If they wanted to stay out 2/10

🧵Two weeks today, secondary legislation comes into force which guarantees that children in care in England always live in places where they receive day-to-day care - but only if they are aged 15 or younger. Government has done this by specifying the 'other arrangements' 1/14 that can be made for children this age, and they all involve care.

The Children Act 1989 sets out where local authorities must try and find homes for children in care, starting with a parent or someone with parental responsibility, then a person who has an order from the 2/14

@Mr_Al_Coates here's a quick tour from the exemption clauses to now (after @tom_perkins4 prompt - thanks!).

In May 2016, a Bill was introduced into Parliament which contained clauses allowing councils to opt out of any number of their children's social care statutory duties 1/ for up to six years. These were duties from 1933 to even those contained in the Children and Social Work Bill itself. The Secretary of State was to be empowered to force councils who were struggling to meet their statutory obligations to opt out of those obligations. There 2/

We heard this afternoon that our legal action against the MoJ's authorisation of pain-inducing restraint during children's journeys to/from secure children's homes (also only made possible by wonderful support from others) has succeeded. 1/4 Tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of 14-year-old Adam Rickwood dying. This young boy hanged himself after being inflicted with a pain-inducing technique - the so-called 'nose distraction' - in a child prison run by Serco. We're not finished with this particular legal challenge 2/4

The High Court has just started to hear our case - Article 39 v Secretary of State for Education- arguing that Statutory Instrument 445 was made unlawfully. Wonderful to see so many supporters of the #ScrapSI445 campaign watching the (virtual) hearing. Updates to follow... Jenni Richards QC from @39PublicLaw starts with discussion of Article 39's work as a small charity fighting for the rights of children institutional settings. Highlights that our concerns are shared by a number of organisations - full list here: article39.org.uk/scrapSi445/

What has become of our care system? Serious case review newly published by NSPCC. About Sasha who entered care for the second time aged 17 (she had been the subject of a CP plan as a young child, and had also been in foster care aged 6-7). Now, there were serious concerns 1/7 that she was being exploited, she had reported substance misuse, violence from former boyfriend, anxiety and panic attacks and was no longer doing well academically. On becoming looked after, Sasha was placed in an 'independence unit' "with five hours staff support per week; 2/7

NEW: Government changes law overnight (again) for vulnerable children. This time affecting those detained in secure training centres. During COVID-19 'transmission control period' (Coronavirus Act) G4S & MTC duties to provide children with education & activities are diluted 1/2 Children's right to weekly visits can be suspended. Expiry date = *25 March 2022*. Children's time out of their cells to reduce from 14 to 1.5 hours. They will, however, get "daily opportunities to access fresh air". 2/2

We heard this week that Alan Wood was appointed Independent Advisor to the Chair and to the Separation Taskforce. This followed one of the most critical reports in recent times from the prisons inspectorate about the scandalous mistreatment of children. The appointment and 1/10 work of the task force was news to us. So what, you may be thinking. But this matters. The taskforce is developing government policy. A full critique of the report needs more than a series of tweets. Suffice to say Wood observes "the disparity is stark" between secure 2/10

This is one for all those who care about children in care (there are around 78,000 children living in foster homes, children's homes and unregulated settings in England right now), and about government transparency and accountability. Last Friday, 24 April, around 100 changes 1/ to the law were imposed without any public consultation or time allowed for Parliamentary scrutiny. The changes affect children in care, and children who currently live with their families and could come into care. They also affect parents. We count 65 removals or weakening of 2/