Sam White was chief of staff to the Prime Minister while he was leader of the opposition after spending a decade at Aviva as group sustainability and public policy director.
He has also worked in the Treasury.
White replaces Care Review chair MacAlister who stepped down from the role in May after being elected as MP for Whitehaven and Workington.
White said: “I am honoured and eager to take on the role of chair of trustees at Foundations.
-
Progress, but still much to learn – a reflection on the children’s social care implementation plan
-
Care Review - key proposals for the children's services workforce
“I am inspired by the organisation's vision to ensure that children have the foundational relationships they need to thrive in life, and by its commitment to embed evidence in policy and practice to achieve this. With a new government in place, this is a pivotal moment for children and families. I look forward to building on the work that Foundations is doing to drive that agenda forward.”
Foundations was formed from the merger of What Works for Children’s Social Care and the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) in June 2023.
Its five-year strategy, published to mark its launch, stated that Foundations will measure the impact of its work through a series of indicators including:
- An increase in the use of evidence-based interventions and approaches available for children and families.
- An increase in the number of government programmes that promote evidence-based interventions and approaches.
- A decrease the use of interventions and approaches proven to be ineffective or that have no impact on child outcomes.
- Visible improvements in the proportion of local leaders using evidence-based interventions and approaches.
Most recently it published The Kinship Care Practice Guide for local authorities as part of the Department for Education’s updated statutory guidance for councils on children looked after by extended family members and friends.
