In late 2024, the Department for Education (DfE) published the Command Paper: ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’, in which they outlined their intention to mandate an offer of family group decision making (FGDM) at the pre-proceedings stage in every local authority area. FGDM is an umbrella term to describe family-led meetings that allow a family network to come together and make a plan in response to concerns about a child’s safety and wellbeing. Family Group Conferences (FGCs) are a specific model of FGDM, in which a family network is supported by an independent coordinator to make decisions on how best to care for a child.

Our evidence has shown that when conducted at the pre-proceedings stage, Family Group Conferences (FGCs) are an effective way of safely keeping children out of public care and with their families. However, not all children at risk of going into care are offered an FGC, and variation in how FGCs are delivered in the UK impacts the reach, quality and equity of the service received by families. Many local authorities are already active champions of FGCs, but we need to go further if we are to prioritise family networks as a way of keeping children safe, over local authority care.

This briefing sets out advice for leaders of local children’s services on scaling up the impact of FGCs for the most vulnerable children. The briefing draws on recent evidence, best practice examples, and insights from local authority case studies across the country, underlining the importance of following the evidence on family decision-making to improve outcomes for children and young people.

To understand how senior leaders support greater access to FGCs as a way of keeping children out of care and with their families at the pre-proceedings stage, interviews were held with directors of children’s services, senior strategic leads and local elected members for children’s services in 12 local authorities. Similar conversations were also held with representatives from the Local Government Association (LGA) as well as the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS). We also worked closely with Family Rights Group to produce the briefing and identify case studies from across the country.