On 21 May 2026, the UK Government published a plan to improve Children’s Social Care, titled ‘Delivering the Children’s Social Care reset’, following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. The Government describes the Act as a major and ambitious reform of child protection and children’s social care policy in England.
The aim of the plan is for there to be focused reforms around improving child protection, supporting families earlier, stabilising placements for children in the care system, and strengthening support for kinship carers (family members who are caring for children), foster carers, children in care, and care leavers.
The plan includes the following principal measures:
- Family Help services: Each local authority will be required to deliver a Family Help service, intended to provide earlier and more targeted support to families so that children can remain safely at home, where possible.
- Multi-agency child protection teams: New teams will bring together social workers, police, health professionals, and education professionals to improve safeguarding.
- Kinship care support: Support for kinship carers will be strengthened. Kinship carers are family members who have been assessed to care for children, usually grandparents, aunts and uncles, elder siblings or close-family friends.
- Foster care and Regional Care Cooperatives: The Government intends to increase foster care capacity with the aim of helping more children in care access stable foster placements.
- Care leaver support: From 2029, care leavers will receive support through a national Staying Close offer, covering areas such as accommodation, employment, and healthcare up to the age of 25.
- Corporate parenting responsibilities: Public bodies will have new corporate parenting responsibilities, intended to improve joined-up support for children in care and care leavers
These reforms are supported by significant public investing the Families First Partnership Programme, legislative commitments and a focus on expanding and refurbishing placements for children in care.
Support for Adoption, Special Guardianship and Sibling Contact
The Government confirmed that adoption support remains part of the reform programme. It will continue funding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, consult on its long-term future, and introduce a new universal parenting support offer from autumn 2026.
The article also notes the revised legislation that local authorities must promote contact between siblings in care where this is in the children’s best interests.
The article can be accessed in full here – Government sets out next steps for children’s social care reforms – GOV.UK
Sydney Edwards, a Solicitor in the care department at Staffordshire Family Law, reflects of the significance of the reforms in children’s social care.
‘The Implementation Plan for Children’s Social Care is a step in the right direction for well founded reforms in children’s social care. With a focus on earlier intervention and targeted support for greater family based care, the aim is to work with families for children to remain at home where it is safe to do so. This coupled with stronger safeguarding practices, and improved stability for children can only be in their best interests. This plan really does maintain the focus on ensuring that the best outcome is reached for children where social services become involved with families’.
If you, or your family require family law legal advice, where social services are involved, please contact Staffordshire Family Law Solicitors on 01785 336617 or by email at family@sflsolicitors.co.uk. Our friendly support team will be on hand to arrange an appointment with Sydney, or one of our other care department specialists, to provide pragmatic and clear advice within an initial free consultation.