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Councillors in Reading unanimously approve bringing children’s services back in-house

2 mins read
Children’s services in Reading are set to be brought back in house after being outsourced for the last six years.
The borough will not renew the children's services contract with Brighter Futures for Children

Since 2018 children’s services in the borough have been managed by Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), a not-for-profit company wholly owned by the council and run by an independent board of directors.

But members of the council’s policy committee this week have unanimously backed not renewing its contract with BFfC when it expires at the end of March 2026. Instead, children’s services will be delivered directly by the council and supported by an improvement board.

This was one of four options presented to councillors, which had included renewing the relationship with BFfC, retendering the contract to a third party, or operating a hybrid model involving part of children’s services run by the local authority.  

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