Like a piercing, bitter English winter, Chancellor George Osbourne's "autumn statement" was eye-wateringly harsh. It is, without doubt, children and young people growing up in the most deprived households who are being asked to bear the brunt.
For more than a few years it has been blindingly obvious to all of us working in children's services that early intervention and prevention has to be the best way of improving children's lives.
In her inaugural speech as president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services for 2021/22, Charlotte Ramsden said: “Crucially, we need better residential care, with placements that meet children’s actual needs.
You can understand if school leaders feel a little put upon. Not content with being tasked to prepare the next generation for the challenges of a rapidly changing world, policymakers are increasingly turning to schools to solve some of society's wider problems.
The outstandingly depressing budget of 2009 has left children's services in limbo, braced for the tightest of public spending squeezes and a likely change of government.
It was an "exceedingly drawn-out" appointments process, according to one Welsh politician. But Keith Towler came through the interviews, both with young people and politicians, to secure the position of children's commissioner for Wales, just under a year after the untimely death of his predecessor Peter Clarke.
All the directors and local politicians I've spoken to of late agree that the impact of the cuts has only just begun to be felt, and that there is much pain yet to come. This is a hard message for colleagues in services at risk and for the young people they serve.
With the publication of the Staying Safe Action Plan last week, the government has been at pains not to be seen to wrap children up in cotton wool. In presentation terms, the document's front cover depicts children happily participating in watersports, climbing and running. Meanwhile, the Department for Children, Schools and Families' press notice on the safety plan leads heavily on the proposal to encourage teachers to take pupils on outdoor school trips by providing advice and diminishing bureaucracy.
Teenagers' temptation to experiment with drugs is on the rise. According to the Department of Health, back in 1998, 29 per cent of 15-year-old boys and 1.5 per cent of 11-year-olds were found to have used drugs over the course of the year. Fast-forward to 2005 (the department's latest available figures) and those numbers swell to 34 per cent and six per cent respectively.
Management of children's services will increasingly be a shared undertaking between local authorities that are striving to make savings, if a survey of council decision-makers is anything to go by.
While I often disagree with Michael Gove on the "how", I applaud his passion for making things better. As he said in his letter to the education select committee: "Regardless of our party affiliation or political principles, we all share a fierce determination to make opportunity more equal." I share that determination.
A careers advice firm that recruits volunteers from the business community will co-ordinate efforts to establish Jobcentre Plus in English schools, it has been announced.
The underachievement of white working-class children has justifiably become a cause for national concern. Plenty of schools are making great strides to tackle the issue. Nevertheless, it has led to declarations, most recently from Communities Secretary John Denham, that social class is the most significant factor in determining school achievement rather than ethnicity.