The Labour government has started to share plans about how it will implement its manifesto commitment to “working with local government, support children in care, including through kinship, foster care, and adoption, as well as strengthening regulation of the children’s social care sector”. Other commitments that impact children’s policy, particularly in relation to education, include changes to school inspections announced and plans to require free breakfast clubs in every primary school. The appointment of a minister for children and families, Janet Daby MP, who has direct social work experience as a former fostering manager is an exciting prospect for the children’s sector.
Funding
Looking ahead to the Budget on 30 October, one of the most significant issues that agencies working with children and families face is the underfunding of children’s services, local authorities and other services that support families. The Local Government Association highlighted this year that councils face a £6bn funding gap and the Treasury has laid out its own concerns about the state of public finances. All sectors are wondering whether there may be tax rises or spending cuts, or potentially both. CoramBAAF members will be watching closely to see how changes will impact local authority budgets over the coming years – the message is clear: additional funds are needed to ensure that children and families get the care and support they need.
New legislation
There will be a Children’s Wellbeing Bill that will impact children’s social care and education and is likely to strengthen multi-agency working in child protection and safeguarding. Under the bill, there will also be greater powers for local authorities to improve inclusive education and a register of children not in school.
In the Adoption Barometer Survey 2024, 10% of respondents said they were home educating their children, an increase of 40% on the previous year. It will be important to gain a greater understanding of the children who are not attending school, particularly those in adoption, fostering and kinship arrangements. There will also be a Mental Health Bill which proposes to ensure that detention and treatment under the Mental Health Act only takes place when necessary and end the use of police stations and prison as space where people, including young people, can be detained for welfare reasons. These two bills will be significant pieces of legislation but what of other areas of policy and practice?
Kinship care
There have been positive steps recently to recognise the important role that kinship carers play and in supporting those carers to meet the needs of children. The first ever National Kinship Strategy was launched in 2023 and key elements of that strategy that have been followed up include a new definition of kinship care, the recruitment of a kinship ambassador and renaming the Adoption Support Fund to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in recognition of the need to raise awareness of eligibility and increase applications for funds for therapeutic support.
Updated guidance has been considered and the Law Commission plans to review the law on kinship care. CoramBAAF is holding a conference on 14 October to explore these areas and to support the continued development of practice.
Fostering
One area of key concern for the sector is the depletion of the foster carer workforce as the number of carers leaving outstrips those joining. Talking to carers, they report a variety of challenges which have made some want to leave foster care. This can include too many changes in staff; not being included in meetings with professionals; not feeling valued and feeling that they have not been treated fairly. Foster carers also often share how rewarding it is to see the impact of the love and care they give to the children but they also highlight how challenging it can be. Most foster carers I meet want more recognition of their vital role and a greater level of support. CoramBAAF has called for the development of a National Fostering Strategy to improve the experiences of foster carers and children they care for.
Adoption
Adoption has seen some significant changes over the past years. A move towards more openness in adoption is welcome but this will need to be supported with additional training and resources for professionals in enabling plans for children who are adopted to stay in touch with their birth families where it is safe to do so.
The work of the 2021 National Adoption Strategy has continued and been further developed. We await a response to the Public Law Working Group consultation which covered contact with birth families; access to records; adoption with an international element; adoption by consent and other areas of policy and practice.
While there are some valuable policy developments afoot, only a well-funded children’s social care system can ensure that professionals have the capacity and resources to deliver for the most vulnerable children and support carers in their important role.
- James Bury is head of policy, research and practice at CoramBAAF
