Foundations today announced £900k in grants to 9 local authority partners, one in each English region to drive evidence use in children’s services.
The successful applicants, known as Partner Places, will each receive £100k to appoint a ‘Local Evidence Lead’ who will work to embed evidence at the heart of practice in children’s services between now and March 2027.
The Partner Places are Leicester City Council (East Midlands), Southend-on-Sea City Council (East of England), Northumberland County Council (North East), Stockport Council (North West), Wokingham Borough Council (South East), Wiltshire Council (South West), Bradford Children & Families Trust (Yorkshire & the Humber), London Borough of Enfield (Greater London), and Telford & Wrekin Council (West Midlands). Local authorities across England were invited to apply in July 2025 as part of Foundations’ Evidence into Practice initiative.
Latest statistics show the number of children and young people referred to social care is rising, with parental mental health and domestic abuse key drivers of children’s care assessments. Partner Places will work alongside Foundations to implement evidence-based support shown to make a real difference to children’s outcomes, in areas such as supporting parenting, kinship care, and mentoring and befriending for care-experienced children.
Evidence Into Practice aligns with the children’s social care reforms set out in the Children’s Social Care National Framework and Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive, which position evidence as a key enabler of effective services. Local leaders are encouraged to use evidence-based approaches across targeted Family Hubs and Family Help, multi-agency child protection teams and support for children in care and care leavers.
Crucially, Partner Places will exchange learning with neighbouring local authorities in their region, supported by Foundations, the DfE, Local Government Association and Principal Social Worker regional leads. This will strengthen regional capacity to use evidence as the reforms are implemented, ensuring the benefits extend well beyond the nine Partner Places.
Nimal Jude, Head of Practice Development at Foundations, said “We know that evidence-based approaches are the most reliable way to improve outcomes for children and families. Yet the reality is that interventions with the strongest evidence base often aren’t used as widely and some popular approaches haven’t been robustly evaluated for impact. As the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill progresses and new duties around Family Help come into effect, demand for effective, evidence-based services is growing. We will work with our Partner Places to show that rigorous evidence use, and responsive local delivery aren’t competing priorities – they are two sides of the same coin. “
Audrey Kingham, Executive Director of Children, Young People and Education, and Director of Children’s Services for Northumberland County Council, said: “We are thrilled to become a Partner Place, working alongside Foundations to improve outcomes for children, young people and families through evidence-based practice and shared learning. This partnership will help us embed what works into our Children’s Social Care transformation journey, strengthening family support, and building a culture of continuous learning and collaboration across our local area and regionally.”
For further information, please contact Charlie Baker, Senior Press Officer: 07508 125 611 / charlie.baker@foundations.org.uk