Child protection should be less about red tape, targets and form-filling and more about looking after the child, an official report says.
Professor Eileen Munro says bureaucracy is preventing social workers from doing the job they have trained for.
And she stresses the importance of having a range of services based in the community to help keep children safe.
She was asked to review England's child protection system by the government.
In her interim report, Prof Munro says regulations, inspections and procedures have thrown the system out of balance.
She says: "Too often questions are asked if rules and procedures have been met but not whether this has helped children."
