Government sets out next steps for children’s social care reforms

More children will grow up in stable homes with people who know and love them, as the government sets out how it will deliver the biggest overhaul of children’s social care and child protection policy in a generation.

The Implementation Plan for Children’s Social Care, published today, follows the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, the most ambitious piece of child protection legislation in a generation. The new Plan, ‘Delivering the Children’s Social Care reset’, sets out how these reforms will now be rolled out across the country.

The Act contains a wide range of ambitious reforms to keep children safe and overhaul the broken care market which the government inherited. The Plan puts those reforms into action.

Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister said:

Bringing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act was a major early priority for this government and it marks a historic moment for children’s social care and child protection in England.

The Plan we’re publishing today sets out how we will now deliver that change — intervening earlier to support families, strengthening protection for vulnerable children, and ensuring more children can grow up in stable, loving homes.

Through these reforms we are delivering what vulnerable children need, in partnership with committed frontline professionals, putting children’s safety and wellbeing and giving more young people the best possible start in life.

Under the plans:

• Every local authority will deliver a single Family Help service, offering the support and interventions needed to keep families together where possible.
• New multi-agency child protection teams will bring together social workers, police, health and education professionals to strengthen safeguarding for vulnerable children.
• Support for kinship carers will be strengthened, with every council required to publish a local kinship offer backed by national standards so that more children can be cared for by grandparents, aunts and uncles rather than going into care.
• Foster care capacity will be increased and Regional Care Cooperatives expanded to help get more children in care into supportive foster homes with the support networks they need.
• Care leavers will receive strengthened support through a national Staying Close offer from 2029, meaning they get help with essential things like accommodation, employment and healthcare up to the age of 25.
• New corporate parenting responsibilities across public bodies will help ensure a more joined-up approach to supporting children in care and care leavers and mean the public sector does its bit to support young people leaving the care system. 

The reforms are backed by significant investment, including £2.4 billion for the Families First Partnership Programme, £245 million to deliver legislative commitments and improve the care market, and £560 million in capital funding to expand and refurbish children’s homes.

The implementation plan builds on the government’s Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive strategy and marks the next phase of delivery following the landmark legislation as well as the Home Office-led the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which strengthens protections against child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Alongside the Plan, Foundations, a children and families non-profit, has today published a new evidence-based implementation framework to support councils and local partners in delivering reform effectively.

Children in care and care leavers will benefit from renewed support focused on stable, lifelong relationships — a central aim of the government’s reforms ahead of the launch of the Enduring Relationships Programme next month.

Regional Care Cooperatives will be scaled up to improve commissioning and placement planning, supported by enhanced oversight of the children’s homes market, including a new provider oversight scheme and tighter regulation enabled through the legislation.

Adoption support will remain a central part of reform. The government will continue to fund the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, consult on its long-term future, and introduce a new universal parenting support offer from autumn 2026 to support families as children transition to secondary school.

It is now law that local authorities are required to promote contact between siblings in the care system where it is in children’s best interests - this will support children in care to have loving relationships with family members.

Supporting the workforce is also central to delivering these reforms. The plan includes measures to enhance training and professional standards for children’s homes staff, invest in the early career development of social workers, and streamline the Ofsted registration processes.

The government will also strengthen the regulatory framework for agency workers from 2028 to improve workforce stability and support consistent, relationship-based practice for children and families.