National Reforms — Support for Partners
The national programme of reform for children’s social care is intended to create a system that is focused on earlier, relationship-based support which is family-centred, improving outcomes for children and young people and their families. The reforms originate from the Government’s Stable Homes, Built on Love strategy, which responded to recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, and the Competition and Markets Authority review of children’s social care provision.
A key element of the reform programme is the Families First for Children (FFC) Pathfinder, which was launched to test and evaluate significant changes to how support and protection are delivered to children and families. The Pathfinder was designed around four core areas:
- The development of integrated Family Help services
- Strengthened child protection arrangements
- Greater involvement of family networks in decision-making and support
- More effective multi-agency safeguarding partnerships
Further information on National Reform can be found here: Children’s Social Care: Reform Statement — GOV.UK
An update from Camden Council on children’s National Reforms
Camden Children’s and Youth Services are entering a period of significant transformation, driven by national reforms to children’s social care and new opportunities to strengthen support for children, young people and families.
The East Prototype launched in September 2025 to test a new Family Help approach. Building on the learning from this work, the East Family Help service was introduced in September 2025, with Family Help services expanding to the borough’s other two localities in April 2026.
We have also enhanced our Connecting Families service, strengthening support for adolescents and families where there are concerns about risk outside the home. This began as a pilot in January 2025 to support adolescents in the community where there were risks of family or placement breakdown.
Lots of people were involved in the pilot — including colleagues in health, education, police, housing, adult services and the voluntary and community sector. Thanks to everyone’s hard work and dedication, this new approach has helped more families receive advice and support without needing further intervention, and fewer children are requiring statutory social care involvement.
These new ways of working were rolled out across the borough in April 2026. We now have three locality-based family help services in the North and West, Central and South, and East of the borough. These are aligned with Camden’s five neighbourhood approach.
Each locality will provide Family Help, Adolescent Services and Universal and Targeted Help. We will continue to take a multi-agency approach this work which has already strengthened relationships and help families get faster support.
The next phase of reforms — a new pilot to support adolescents
Building on this work, in June 2026 we began piloting new approaches to support children and young people aged 11 to 25. Sitting under the Connecting Families umbrella, we will test out how we can better support adolescents by intervening earlier, responding better to adolescents’ needs to prevent them reaching crisis point.
What this means for partners
There are no changes to thresholds or referral processes. Please continue to make referrals in the same way you do now, and partner representation within the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub will remain the same. You can find out more about the current process here.
We do want to have more conversations with partners and families before concerns escalate though. We know that some families can be better supported through earlier help and by working together in a supportive and creative way. Our aim is to make sure families receive the right support without entering statutory processes unless this is necessary to keep children safe.
As teams become more locality based, our aim is for all partners to get to know the practitioners and managers working in their area. We hope this will continue to strengthen local relationships and make it easier for everyone to work together to support children and families.
Partners may notice some differences in the way we work
- Child protection meetings will be shorter and more focused, with people who know the family attending and, where possible, held in community settings, where it is safe to do so, this includes our best start family hubs.
- Assessments may be completed by different professionals within the team including family workers and social workers, reflecting a more joined-up approach and making the best use of expertise across services.
Looking ahead and sharing feedback
The reforms will continue to be introduced over the coming months, and we will continue to learn and adapt as changes are embedded.
We know that changing the way we work takes time, and we are committed to working closely with partners throughout this process. By building on our strengths and learning together, we can continue to provide earlier, more joined-up support and improve outcomes for children, young people and families.
Change isn’t always easy so if you have any questions or concerns or want to share any feedback about this work, please email nationalreforms@camden.gov.uk
We will continue to share information and updates with you via the Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership and existing partnership forums.
Key contacts:
- North and West: Dee Larkin (Family Help Service Manager) — dee.larkin@camden.gov.uk
- Central and South: Patricia Williams (Family Help Service Manager) — patricia.williams@camden.gov.uk
- East: Jessica Schuldenfrei (Family Help Service Manager) — jessica.schuldenfrei@camden.gov.uk
