Real World Impact

At Foundations, our mission is to make sure the best evidence leads to better outcomes for children. We measure our impact by the changes that happen as a result – in national policy, in local practice, and in how public money is spent.

These three examples show how our evidence has shaped real decisions, improved systems, and supported families across England.

Kinship Care – Setting the standard for support

Our Kinship Practice Guide, which was the first of its kind, brought together the strongest evidence on how to achieve positive outcomes for children in kinship arrangements.

In October 2024, the government’s statutory guidance recommended that local authorities base their support for kinship carers on the evidence in our guide – a powerful endorsement of our role in sharing what works.

Impact: National guidance now rooted in evidence that helps more children grow up within their family networks.

Family Group Conferences – Evidence that changed the law

Following our landmark trial, which showed Family Group Conferences can keep over 2,000 children out of care each year and save more than £150 million, we worked to ensure this evidence informed national policy.

In November 2024, based on the evidence of this trial, the government mandated that local authorities must offer family group decision-making before starting care proceedings, giving parents the legal right to be involved in decisions about their children. This reform, backed by funding, is embedded in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Impact: Families empowered, major cost savings for councils and fewer children entering care.

Social Workers in Schools – Ensuring investment delivers results

Our independent evaluation of the £6.5 million Social Workers in Schools (SWIS) programme found that, while valued by schools and families, the model did not achieve its intended outcome to reduce the number of child protection enquiries and was not cost-effective.

Based on these findings, the Department for Education chose to stop funding the scheme – ensuring resources could be redirected to approaches that deliver stronger results for children and families. In December 2024, the Chancellor cited our study as an example of how rigorous evaluation helps save public money and sharpens future investment decisions.

Impact: Public funds diverted from a service that did not produce the intended outcomes.

Latest Impact Report

Impact Report 2024–2025

This report highlights the progress we are making in putting evidence into action to support children and families and showcases our role in shaping national reforms, from working to make Family Group Conferences a legal entitlement to ensuring kinship care support is grounded in the best evidence. The report also shines a light on our work to give those with lived experience the power to guide our decision-making through the launch of our new Experts by Experience panel.

You can read about our commitment to tackling racial disparities, both in the sector and within our organisation, and our work to drive local evidence use through the new series of Practice Guides and our recently launched Evidence into Practice programme.

Previous Impact Reports