Forging good relationships with local politicians can be challenging for children's services leaders, but if managed well, they can be mutually beneficial and help local authorities be more successful.
Latest local authority spending figures suggest that early intervention is being sacrificed to fund statutory services as children's departments grapple with making a dwindling pot of money stretch further.
Families planning to cut down on food to cover heating costs; 20 per cent rise in sexual offences against children; and 33,000 now affected by government benefit cap, all in the news today.
Rochdale appoints an interim head of children's social services, Ofsted is criticised over its new complaints framework, and a call for profit-making firms to take charge of the worst schools, all in the news today.
Public sector employees are being encouraged to take control of the services they provide and run them as mutuals. Joe Lepper looks at the experiences of those pioneering the approach in children's services
A report on youth services provision suggests that more and more local authority youth workers are being deployed in social care-related roles. CYP Now analyses the evidence and looks at the likely ramifications.
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.
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) revelations uncover many uncomfortable truths about the daily experiences of young children, yet there remains a dearth of support available for victims of this heinous form of abuse.