A new report has called for children's services to be subject to random inspections and Ofsted should lose the power to evaluate the failings of key workers in abuse cases.

That's according to an independent review of the child protection system, which claims that social workers spend too long on paperwork and targets rather than focusing on children.

It means that everyone dealing with children, whether in a nursery nurse job or working in social care, could be subjected to unannounced inspections.

"Too often questions are asked if rules have been met but not whether this has helped children," said Michael Gove, the education secretary who was presented with the interim report. "Everyone in the profession can think of meetings and forms that don't actually make a child safer. While some regulation is needed, we need to reduce it into a small, manageable size."

The report tests the argument that in order to improve services, frontline social workers should have the freedom to work with greater autonomy.

The suggestions will be trialled by giving five local authorities a temporary suspension in a large amount of statutory guidance. The trials - taking place in Cumbria, Knowsley, Westminster, Hackney and Gateshead - will be monitored.