In early 2014, the tri-borough councils in London became one of the first areas to benefit from the Department for Education's £100m, two-year Children's Social Care Innovation Fund.
A report by MPs published this month called for the government to take an extra 3,000 child refugees from Syria currently stranded in makeshift camps in mainland Europe.
If you are looking for evidence of just how tough a job it is to be a director of children's services (DCS) at the moment, the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) conference provided it.
As the curtain comes down on this Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, it is worth reflecting on what we've learnt from the past five years - as it looks increasingly likely that the future holds more of the same.
A number of reports over the past few weeks have highlighted the extent of the problem facing children's services departments in recruiting experienced social workers. Latest Department for Education figures show that over the past year, children's social worker vacancies have risen nearly 20 per cent so that on average, each English authority now has almost 30 full-time posts unfilled.
It is rare for the sacking of a director of children's services (DCS) to be played out in public, but that has been the case in Somerset over the past week.
The announcement last month of the consultation into the widescale outsourcing of children's services would have surprised few in the sector. Controversial though it may be, the government has been laying the groundwork for the creation of a children's social care "market" for the past year. But although the direction of travel has been clear for some time, the ramifications of such a move are only now starting to be thought through.
After a slow start, Labour seems to be finding its feet in opposition. But with a general election a little over a year away, time is running out for the party to produce a coherent policy vision for children, young people and families.
A little over two months ago, the Fostering Network called on the government to do the right thing - both morally and economically - by extending financial support to foster carers and in doing so enable children they care for to stay in the placement past their 18th birthday and up to 21 if they so wish.
The government's proposals to transfer responsibility for children's social services in Doncaster from the local council to an independent trust have come under attack from Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones in her detailed response to the plans.
In what ended up as an explosive exit interview, Tim Loughton lifted the lid on the inner workings of the Department for Education at a select committee hearing last week with the department's former ministers.