The final Munro report on Child Protection (published in May 2011) is recommending reduced prescription in the way that social work is recorded on the IT systems supporting and facilitating practice – with a higher degree of professional discretion as to what is recorded, when and the local formats used for this purpose.

Munro is specifically recommending:
• Simplification of Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) and The Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their families (2000) so that they are reduced to the key principles and requirements underpinning the guidance. Munro states that professionals need to be given “responsibility for how to implement the principles in practice.” - see Munro report paragraph 3.11.
• Removal of the distinction between the initial and core assessments and the timescales associated with these. (Munro is recommending that there is a new simplified National Performance indicator set. She is suggesting that timescales in this area should now be measured by the “Average number of working days taken to decide whether a child is ‘in need’ and offer to help from the point of contact/referral” so that the CIN Census “Provides an indication of how quickly the assessment and provision need takes place, without setting a target number of days.” – see Munro report Appendix B).
• Local responsibility to draw on research and theoretical models and to use these in the design of local recording formats
• Removing a prescribed approach to IT systems and recording formats

Munro has suggested that IT systems supporting social work practice will need to “be able to adapt with relative ease to changes in local needs” – see Munro report, paragraph 7.17.

Munro states that “With the reduction of prescription, leaders in local authorities will have more autonomy but also more responsibility for helping their staff to operate with a high level of knowledge and skills” – see Munro report paragraph 13.

The freeing up of local recording practice and discretion as recommended by Munro is likely to receive a favourable response from front line social work practice as, in effect, she is suggesting a complete rethink of the approach to recording and system implementation that surrounded the implementation of the Integrated Children System. Further updates will be given in the light of the Government response to the Munro recommendations.