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National Childrens Database
As I am sure many of you will be aware a national database is currently under construction- target completion date 2008 which will hold the name, date of birth, school, parents names and occupations, address, Doctor's details and the name of any professional involved with the family (Social worker for example) for EVERY under 18 year old in the country.
The intention of the database is to enable 'secure' access to professional agencies (Social Services, Probation Service, Youth Offending Teams, Schools, CAMHS etc etc. ) to have access to these details should they have involvement with the child and wish to verify if any other professional has been involved. The motivation for the database follows from cases such as Victoria Climbie (apologies for the spelling if incorrect) and the governments Every Child Matters strategy. Looks like George Orwell was about right just got the year wrong! Any thoughts? |
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I have heard of this before and I'm not happy about it, what if this information fell into the hands of paedophiles. I also dont think it'll stop SS making the mistakes that were made in Victorias case.
What do you think of it Flash? |
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That does sound a bit worrying.
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Its frightening on so many levels-
1. To claim that the database is secure is ridiculous- firstly because as we are well aware there are certain individuals within 'professional' settings with dubious reasons for being there, secondly if the Titanic taught us anything- nothing is absolutely safe. 2. An example of how this database will be misued- Firstly you look up an 11 year old girl- lets say my Daughter- you then find out her name and the school she attends. If you then google the name of her school you will now have a photo of her as well (she is on the school council and therefore the website)- You will also have my details, my address and my place of work. Might someone so inclined present themselves at the school with a letter from me (checked against school files looking genuine) explaining how I have asked this person to pick my Daughter up. I too firmly believe the vast majority of schools have better security in place than to allow this to happen but it only takes one- remember Soham and the fact that Police checks werent done (incidentally the Home Office themselves currently estimate that 50% of adults working with children do not currently have a valid Police check in place) My other feeling about this as I work in this area is that anyone who has read the report about Victoria will know that she did not die because agencies didnt know that 'professionals' were involved but because insuuficient responsibility was taken by anyone to intervene more forcefully. It is truly shocking that this is happening and I am increasingky ashamed of the Government I once heralded. Another example of how things are going at the moment- Did you know that Youth Offending Teams and Prison transfer agencies have had to invest in booster seats to fit in their cars as we are sending more and more children to prison! I must now lie down in a darkened room TTFN |
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Doesn't this database already technically exist albeit in a fragmented form. Child Benefit details, education details to name the 2 main ones, and many doctors records are now computerised.
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Yes there is currently extensive info kept electronically on a range of databases but this is the first time that every child under 18 will be recorded with this amount of information in one source.
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Whilst I understand the concerns the one good thing is that the government are actually making some sense of the billions wasted on disjointed IT systems.
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Yes apart from the hundreds of thousands they are spending on this database and the costs local authorities are being put to to train every professional involved with children in using it.
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I do not trust the governments ability to keep any of this information secure.
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And I do not think it will prevent another situation like the Victoria Climbie case. The people responsible for looking after children who need social care should talk to each other...not rely on databases....which at the end of the day need to be updated by humans...so there is still the potential for human error and neglect of duty.
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As Flash said, Welcome to 1984.
The database could easily be hackable and put childrens lives at risk. We also don't know what else this database could be used to store information about, perhaps DNA? :/ |
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Interesting about the SS using it properly too. At the end of the day the SS have to use their own knowledge and judgement as individuals, yet we know many of them get it wrong. Maybe the real problem is human failure ? |
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I guess you don't agree with National Identity cards either ? |
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Yes, I agree, but how many of them will blame the computer system, if I thought this system will protect every child then it would be a good thing but I dont think it will.
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While I agree that technology should be used to make sure children get the care they need.....I also think that technology is a risk while there are people about who can use this method for bad ends...I also don't trust the government to use the technology solely for the purpose they claim for it........and reiterate that it is still subject to human error and neglect of duty by the people who use it in their job.
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The real problem is trusting people who have very limited life experience with children whose needs are specific.....I'm talking about giving caseloads to young social workers just out of Uni.....very little life experience....and low levels of suspicion.
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And NO I don't agree with National ID cards.....they will not do what the government claims they will do.....they will be paid for by us, another stealth tax...and they will be subject to misuse. If the DVLA will sell your details for a pittance, then what will the government do with that vast amount of info.
BUT Hey, that is an entirely different discussion and could be seen as a thread wander. |
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Really interested to read your comments and really pleased that concerns are being raised- I fully accept that technology should be utilised to protect children but the reality is that the safety of kids has nothing to do with this development really. Lancsdave is actually spot I believe in that the information is being gathered for the long run- at the moment there is no issued guidance on what will happen to the info post 18- suspicious me thinks.
Maragret is right in that professionals, human beings, need to talk to each other about any concerns they have when dealing with a child- frighteningly these lessons have not been learned consistently enough. In a recent case in South Yorkshire three children had been kept in one bedroom of their house by their parents, in cages and had been occasionally fed scraps left over from the meals their parents were eating in the rooms downsatirs. These rooms were well furnished and kitted out with the latest hi fi, playstations, flat screen tv etc. The children were eventually taken into care and the parents prosecuted. Not surprisingly all three children were seriously malnourshired had sores down to the bone and all had taken to eating their own faeces to survive. It was therefore somewhat surprising to discover that Social services had been involved with the family for the previous 18 months. I am not a religious person, never have been, but if there is a hell and there is a dude with red horns, forked tail, cloven hooves and a trident I would imagine that these two scum sucking pieces of filth have a front row seat booked come the day of judgement. Its a peculiar world, but hey, Tony's got a database that will sort all of these problems out- why worry? |
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Thats an awful story Flash and one I vaguely remember, I agree that their fancy computer system wont stop that happening.
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Flash - you have answered your own question in that last sentence.....
Tony's got a database that will sort out these problems(I think not) - why worry? Yeah, well the fact that he seems to be able to railroad these laws in worries me greatly. What he and his government should be thinking about is - how to stop young people from stabbing one another - how to treat pensioners and the poorly off a bit better - how to stop the drain of intelligent and educated people from leaving this country - how to make punishments fit crimes,so that the guilty are deterred from their criminal activities - how to stop young people from blighting their lives smoking weed, and using other drugs that this government thought fit to re-classify (making them sound less dangerous) - how to curb alcohol abuse. I think that gives him a fair bit to go at...don't you? |
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Couldn' agree more with you Margret and the simple fact is that one of the answers to the problems you identify- making the criminal justice system work is staring him in the face. Of what am I speaking- Restorative Justice- as a practitioner myself I know it works but there is absolutely no government funding to drive this agenda forward- why? Because politicians think the British people are stupid, would think it is a soft option and would therefore lose them support- patronising and visionless.
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Hello There i must say you could be right in what your saying i think a lot of us would agree in what you say
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