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.