
Appearing before the education select committee, Anne Longfield said it is necessary to gauge the impact of "immense changes" in the sector in recent years.
"There is an urgent need to look at sharing best practice in innovation, but also seriously look at how changing children's services are impacting on children. I think there is a need for a stocktake on children's services and the impact on children," Longfield said.
During the past five years funding for councils has dropped significantly, while the number of children in need of support has been on the rise.
In 2008, there were 39,100 children subject to a child protection plan, but the figure now stands at 49,700.
Longfield said there is a need to look at how these changes are affecting children. The requirement for councils to change the way they deliver services in order to cope with government cuts is a “step into the unknown” for many of them, she added.
"There is an immense change going on in children's services. It's a change in the nature of those services but also being done at a time when there's immense pressure, limitations on budgets and an increase in demand too," she said.
She also called for how local authorities can better share best practice in innovation to be examined.
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