Highlights of the National Children and Adult Services Conference 2021

The pandemic has impacted everything we do and the National Children and Adult Services Conference 2021 was no exception. The event was held online for the second year running.

While we had hoped we could gather in person in sunny Bournemouth, this year’s conference still offered delegates plenty of opportunities to hear from ministers about the latest government thinking and from experts in the field who delivered important messages in sessions, not least in relation to tackling child and family poverty which is blighting the lives, and futures, of millions of children in this country.

The conference opened on Wednesday with speeches from Cllr James Jamieson, LGA Chairman, Stephen Chandler, ADASS President, and our very own President, Charlotte Ramsden. Charlotte began her speech by recognising the resilience of children and families and acknowledging the immense efforts and hard work of the whole local government family during the pandemic. (As you can imagine this was somewhat of a recurring theme throughout the conference). Charlotte touched on the recent Spending Review, the ongoing SEND and care reviews, on Covid-19 and the stark health, educational, racial and geographical inequalities it has laid bare as well as the Association’s hopes for the forthcoming Education White Paper, expected in spring 2022.