13-02-2026 Transforming Children's Social Care

Overview

Children's Social Care is changing. 

What is happening:

• The Government wants to make children's social care better:  Supporting families earlier, before problems get worse
• Creating stronger multi-agency teams that work together to keep children safe. 

Why is this changing?

• To give every child a safe and secure start in life
• Better chances to achieve and thrive.

What will change in Enfield?

• A new Family Help Service will be created using existing universal and community-based early help offer.
•  Early help professionals and social workers will work together in one team.
• One single family assessment and one plan instead of multiple referrals.

New Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs)

• These teams will include: social workers, police, health professionals, education professionals.
• Work together to investigate statutory child protection and interventions
• Make joint decisions quickly and fairly
• Provide local expert support.

 Support for Parents and Families

• Families will have meetings early on to help plan what changes are needed
• Parents will be offered an independent advocate to explain things and support them at the point of an investigation being initiated.

Benefits for Children and Families

•  Help will come earlier and feel less stressful.
• Professionals like social workers, mental health workers, and domestic abuse experts will work together to support and address the diverse needs of families
• One lead worker will support each family
• Fewer handovers between different services.
• Families will understand the process better with the help of an advocate.
• Families will help create and agree their own support plan.
• Stronger relationships between lead workers and families. 

This information is explained in an Easy-Read format in 'Children's Services are Changing: Easy-Read' 

Update from the Our Voice Parents' Conference - Children's Social Care: How does it help our Children: Mon 15th Dec

On Monday 15th December, Our Voice ran an event for parents in conjunction with the Local Authority and Health, exploring the issues around Social Care for children and young people with additional needs. 

You can see resources from the conference below, including our Q&A from the event. 

•  Social Care Families First Reforms presentation 
• Audio recording of parents' experiences of the child protection system
• Transition to adult services: What parents have learned presentation
• Preparing for Adulthood booklet
• Information about Preparing for Adulthood, including events available to support you through the transition.
• Q&A from our panel session and 'Social Care Families First Reforms' presentation  

Further information and Background 

The Government is proposing to transform children’s social care to rebalance the system towards early intervention through family help and strengthened multi-agency child protection.

The aim is to offer every child the best start in life with safety, security, and opportunities to achieve and thrive.  This means over the next 12 to 18 months, Enfield’s Children's Social Care will change how they operate and deliver services to local children and families. Key components of this reform include building on the strengths of the existing universal and community-based early help offer, to create an integrated family help service, with early help practitioners and social workers in the same team working to a single assessment and plan. In addition, child protection reform will be introduced by establishing local Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs). These multi-disciplinary teams will include a minimum of social care, police, health, and education professionals making decisions about statutory child protection investigations and interventions, offering a local and accessible centre of expertise. A focus on supporting families through family group decision-making will also be embedded and parents who are undergoing child protection investigations will be offered advocacy.

The Local Authority says that the benefits for children, parents and carers will be:

• Interventions will be more timely and non-stigmatising without the need for multiple referrals or assessments, with one family assessment and plan.
• Professionals from various disciplines, including social workers, alternatively qualified practitioners, mental health specialists, and domestic abuse experts, will collaborate more to address the diverse needs of families.
• One lead practitioner will work with the family, and transfer points between teams and services will reduce.
• Families will understand more fully the child protection process through the independent advocacy service offered at the point of an investigation being initiated.
• Families will be integral to creating and owning the plan for change through early family decision-making meetings at the point of referral.
• Improved parental engagement and positive relationships with lead practitioners.

Further information can be found by reading the government statement Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive, DfE, November 2024. Your experience and insights are essential in helping shape the future of family services in Enfield. You can share your views and ideas by emailing the Local Authority at: StrategicSocialCare@enfield.gov.uk

The Local Authority and the Department for Education have produced some Easy-Read materials to explain what is happening:

• 'Children's Services are Changing: Easy-Read' 
• Children's Social Care National Framework: Easy-Read
• An Illustrated Guide to the Children's Social Care National Framework
• Families First Reforms - Transforming Practice: What will change and what will stay the same

Additional useful information: 

The Children's Society has a useful explanation of what Children's Social Care means