The government is taking significant steps to prevent vulnerable children from falling through the cracks by restoring essential family support services.
This initiative is part of a broader plan to ensure every child gets the best start in life.
The government has issued new guidance, setting clear expectations for all councils and their partners to reform family support services. The aim is to enable earlier intervention and better protect children from harm.
One of the key reforms includes introducing a single ‘front door’ to support services in every local area. This will help families struggling with complex needs such as mental health issues, disabilities, and substance misuse to easily access help. The approach could involve embracing digital services or integrating different teams and services into existing settings like family hubs.
Janet Daby, Minister for Children and Families, said:
“For too long, vulnerable children and families have been left to struggle – battling fragmented services and receiving support when it’s too late.
“Backed by over £500m and delivering our Plan for Change, we’re putting an end to this injustice and building back crumbling family support services, to keep children safe and enable more families to achieve and thrive together.
“Whether seeking help with supporting a child’s development or for substance misuse, families can feel assured that they will get the right help at the right stage, as this government delivers the real change that matters to families.”
Thousands more family help leads will be matched with families to coordinate support and resources, ensuring they receive the help they need to prevent issues from escalating. This will end the frustrating experience of vulnerable families being passed from team to team, having to repeatedly tell their story.
These radical reforms are supported by over half a billion pounds for councils in 2025/2026, doubling their allocation from previous years. This investment aims to rebuild the vital support infrastructure needed to reduce the number of children entering care.
The measures build on the landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which represents the most significant child protection legislation in a generation. The bill includes provisions for a unique child identifier, a register of children not in school, and a requirement for every council to have multi-agency child safeguarding teams.
The government inherited a broken system, with children and families facing poor outcomes and barriers to opportunity. While spending on crisis services has skyrocketed, investment in early preventative support has plummeted. Those known to children’s services are significantly more likely to face permanent exclusion from school and care-experienced young people make up a substantial portion of the adult prison population.
Minister for Children and Families, Janet Daby, visited a children’s centre in Redbridge to observe the implementation of these reforms. The changes aim to drive greater collaboration between agencies, ensuring children do not fall through the cracks.
Image credit: iStock and GOV.UK
