In this session, the chairs of the national principal children and families social worker network will explain the children’s social care reform programme as a whole, including:

• What the reform programme is trying to achieve

• How the reforms will impact social workers and other professionals in children’s services

• How social workers and managers should prepare for implementation

In the context of the establishment of a new Child Protection Authority, David Holmes, chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, will discuss how the panel is evolving and how practitioners can learn from serious incidents.

Topics include:

• How the panel is evolving in relation to the new Child Protection Authority

• How social workers can implement national learning from serious incidents into practice

• Emerging themes in child protection that professionals should be aware of

Following the passing of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, this session will explore the key legislative reforms affecting children’s social care in England.

Community Care Inform’s legal editor, Tim Spencer-Lane, will cover:

• What the Act does — and does not — change

• Key provisions affecting children’s social care, including:

o Requirements for multi-agency child protection teams

o Information sharing and safeguarding implications

o The new deprivation of liberty court order

o Changes to the regulation of children’s homes

• How the Act interacts with existing legislation and guidance, including the Children Act 1989 and Working Together • Likely implementation challenges and grey areas

 This session focuses on the Families First Partnership programme, the largest element of the government’s children’s social care reforms.

The programme aims to:

• Improve support for families with complex and multiple needs

• Strengthen child protection practice so more at-risk children are safeguarded

• Involve family networks more in decision-making where there are welfare concerns

The reforms must be implemented by March 2027. The session will include insights from local authority pathfinders already implementing the reforms:

• Catherine Worboyes, interim director for children and adult social care pathfinders, Redbridge Council

• Amanda Coyne, service manager for the Families First for Children Pathfinder, Warrington Council

The two-year Early Career Development Programme (ECDP) will replace the children’s Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) from September 2027. Participants will be assessed against new early career standards, replacing the current post-qualifying standards from April 2027.

This panel discussion, featuring leaders involved in the Department for Education’s early adopters group, will explore:

• What the new induction programme is designed to achieve

• How it will differ from the ASYE, including what the second year will involve

• The new post-qualifying standards practitioners will be assessed against