18 November 2024
Foundations, the What Works Centre for Children and Families (1), today (Monday 18 November) welcomed the government’s plans to reform children’s social care by using the evidence about what works to tackle the current cycle of late intervention and higher spending and to ensure that families stay together safely wherever possible.
The Department for Education’s paper, Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive, published today, includes a commitment to focus the system on evidenced-based early intervention so that families and children receive the right support at the right time, before problems escalate.
One of the paper’s key measures is a new legal right for families to be involved in decisions in cases where their children are at risk of going into care. The government’s move to require local authorities to use family–led approaches to divert children from care (2) is is underpinned by Foundations’ evidence about what works to prevent children entering care and to enable them to stay safely with their families.
Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive cites Foundations’ ground-breaking research into Family Group Conferences (FGCs), which was the first ever FGC trial in the UK and involved 2,500 children in 1,500 families. (3) The trial, carried out by Coram, demonstrated that children at risk of going into care whose families were offered an FGC before court proceedings began:
- Were less likely to be in care one year later (36%) compared to those not referred (45%)
- Had spent significantly less time in care 6 months later (87 days, on average) compared to those not referred (115 days, on average) (4)
- Were less likely to have had care proceedings issued (59%) compared to those not referred (72%) by the end of the reporting period
Foundations estimates that if FGCs were rolled out across England, 2,293 fewer children would go into care in a 12-month period, which would save over £150 million within two years.
Dr Jo Casebourne, Chief Executive of Foundations said:
“The government’s reform of children’s social care marks a major step forward in evidence-based support for children and families.
“The Secretary of State’s decision to act on our evidence about the effectiveness of Family Group Conferences (FGCs) is particularly welcome because we know that they are a cost-effective intervention which can keep children out of care.
“Our research shows that using Family Group Conferences to involve families in decision-making when children are at risk of going into care significantly reduces the likelihood of this, and shortens the time they spend in care in the first six months afterwards. This type of family-led approach helps to avoid costly, late-stage interventions, and ensures that children and families get effective support at the right time.
“Our research also found that FGCs should be accompanied by ongoing high quality support to help keep children safe, and so we look forward to working with the government on the planned expansion of early family help signalled in the reform paper.”
Dr Carol Homden, Chief Executive of Coram, said:
“Partnering with Foundations was an opportunity to shine a light on what works in children’s social care. The first and largest trial of Family Group Conferences (FGCs) to date demonstrated their transformative potential to keep children and families together where it is safe to do so. The findings highlighted that FGCs provide effective support at the right time, so that children have the opportunity to thrive.”
Contact: Charlotte Kelsted, Senior Press Officer: 07773 647 480 / charlotte.kelsted@foundations.org.uk
Notes to editors
- Foundations is the What Works Centre for Children & Families. We believe all children should have the foundational relationships they need to thrive in life. We’re researching, generating, and translating evidence into practical solutions that shape better policy and practice and lead to more effective family support services.
- Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive requires local authorities to offer family group decision-making (FGDM). 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 Conferencing (FGCs) are a specific model of FGDM.
- The full report can be accessed here. The evaluation was carried out by Coram’s Impact & Evaluation Team. Coram is one of the UK’s oldest children charities, supporting vulnerable children and families for nearly 300 years. Its Impact & Evaluation Team carries out research and evaluation projects in partnership with public sector and third sector organisations, and also works across the Coram group of charities to help teams to evaluate their effectiveness.
- The time spent in care was not statistically significant (both before and after multiple tests corrections) at 12 months, but the primary outcome of care status at 12 months after the pre-proceedings letter was significant.
