How will children’s social care be impacted by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill?

It has been seven years since the last major piece of legislation addressing children’s social care was introduced in parliament. For an area where policy decisions have life-changing consequences, this long wait has been deeply felt across the sector. The introduction of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has therefore been widely welcomed by those working within children’s social care, as well as by caregivers and care-experienced individuals.

The anticipation for reform was heightened in recent years by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, led by Josh MacAlister, now the Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington. MacAlister’s review called for wide-scale reforms, advocating for a fundamental shift from crisis intervention to early help and prevention. His 80 recommendations aimed to put ​“lifelong loving relationships at the heart of the care system,” with the ambition that every child leaving care would have at least two loving relationships to rely on.

Although the previous government’s response to the review – outlined in the policy paper: Stable Homes, Built on Love – acknowledged many of MacAlister’s principles, no legislation was ever brought forward. This lack of legislative action significantly limited the scale of reforms that could be implemented. 

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Now, with the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill making its way through parliament, expectations are high. But what exactly can we expect as this legislation progresses? 

The bill introduces a broad range of measures, including greater powers for Ofsted and the first legislative definition of kinship care – where a child lives with a birth relative. While some argue that the broad scope of this bill has weakened its effectiveness, others see it as a crucial step towards meaningful reform. 

At Home for Good and Safe Families, we particularly welcome efforts to strengthen family-based care. The introduction of Regional Care Co-Operation aiming, in part, to create a new approach to recruiting, training, and supporting foster carers, is a positive step towards addressing the national shortage of carers. Additionally, local authorities will now be required to publish a Kinship Local Offer, ensuring kinship families are aware of and can access the support they need. 

The Staying Close initiative introduces a legal obligation for local authorities to support care leavers up to the age of 25 with housing, education, employment, and wellbeing. We are especially pleased that supported lodgings, where young people live with host families who provide stability and guidance, have been highlighted as a key provision within this initiative. Another important measure brought forward is the introduction of a right to family group decision-making, which will require local authorities to consult family members before applying for a care or supervision order, giving families the opportunity to create their own plan in response to concerns about a child’s welfare. 

However, the bill misses key opportunities. It fails to strengthen adoption, despite a steady decline in adoption rates since peaking in 2014. To ensure adoptive families receive the support they need, the government must enshrine the Adoption Support Fund in the national budget, providing ongoing therapeutic and practical support for families. Additionally, while the bill recognises the damage of rampant profiteering in children’s social care, the measures proposed are too weak to effectively tackle the scale of the problem. Urgent reform is needed to ensure that care and stability are prioritised over profit. 

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill also presents a pivotal moment not just for policymakers, but for the church. This is an opportunity to live out its prophetic calling, to be more than a Sunday ​“stop in”, but to demonstrate radical hospitality to those in need. Scripture calls us to ​“enlarge the place of our tent” (Isaiah 54:2) – to make room for the vulnerable, to extend our care beyond our comfort, and to welcome those who need love and belonging. 

The church should be known for its care – for standing with children in care, supporting families who welcome them, and providing wrap-around love and support. Imagine a future where care-experienced children flourish in loving communities, where carers are equipped and supported, and where the church is part of the solution to the broken care system. 

This year alone, nearly 40,000 children will enter care for the first time. Now is the time to respond. The church has the potential to reshape the care landscape in the UK, not just through words but through action, love, and a commitment to seeing every child find the stability and belonging they deserve.