Children’s social care
Families need help when they face challenges to stop problems spiralling out of control. If a child does need to be taken into care, they should feel loved and cared for - just like every other child
On this page: Standing up for children in care | What does life look like for children in care? | What change is needed | Listening to the voices of young people | It's Our Care campaign | Our latest research
What is the investment in early help?
How many children are in care in the UK?
How many children experience care?
Receiving support from a social worker
913,104
Every child should have a safe, stable, and loving childhood. Children taken into care have traumatic histories and other kinds of complex needs. They deserve the best care and support to help them thrive.
Without high-quality support, children in care are at risk of facing challenges such as mental health problems, serious issues at school, and trouble building healthy, lasting relationships.
They may carry these weights into adulthood which can hold them back from leading fulfilling lives and achieving their aspirations.
The entire care system needs a reset or these problems will continue. We must ensure that all children and young people in care, and those leaving care, receive high-quality support.
We're campaigning for lasting change in the children’s social care system
A child in care will often experience lots of change. They’re often separated from their siblings. Because of high staff turnover, they may have frequent changes in their social worker. They may have to move home over and over, often living far from their local areas.
Most children in care live in foster care. They may also be cared for by a member of their wider family. A small proportion of children, around 1 in 10, live in children’s homes.
Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of the right homes in the right places. The greater the child or young person’s needs, the less likely it is that they will secure a place in a suitable home at the right time. Children too often end up being moved away from where they’ve grown up or living in homes that don’t meet their needs.
Discover the experiences of children in care
In March 2021, a team of experts began looking at how to improve the children’s social care system in England – the ‘Independent Review of Children's Social Care’.
Then, in 2022, the Government responded to the ‘Care Review’, setting out plans for the improvements it aims to make.
To help the government do that, we, and others, formed the ‘It’s Our Care’ coalition.
Here's what care-experienced young people think needs change in children's social care:
- To support children in care through big life changes.
- To listen better and act upon what children in care want.
- To help children in care stay in touch with the people that are important to them.
- To help children in care have fun and achieve their goals.
- To treat unaccompanied care experienced children like other children in care, and help them to settle safely in the UK.
In 2022, we worked with six other children’s charities to bring over a hundred care-experienced young people to Parliament. They met with the Secretary of State for Education, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Children's Commissioner to share their opinions on the Care Review.
A year later, we celebrated the first anniversary of the Care Review. We delivered a huge anniversary card to the Minister for Children, Claire Coutinho. The card included messages from 50 young people with their vision for children’s social care.
In 2024, care-experienced young people brought a birthday cake to Parliament, and a message to the Children's Minister David Johnston that children are still waiting for change, two years on.
The new government have announced a Children's Wellbeing Bill, promising to put children's wellbeing at the heart of social care and education.
We'll keep working with the Department for Education and the Minister for Children to ensure that the government commits to making the changes the care system needs, and to hearing directly from care-experienced people.
We help decision-makers understand the needs of families and care experienced children and young people. We publish regular reports investigating the state of early help and the experiences of children in and leaving care.
- A Place to Call Home: Understanding what makes a good home for children in care across the UK
- Returning home from care: improving support for family reunification
- Above and beyond: How teachers fill gaps in the system to keep children learning
- Parenting after separation: Insights from Parent Talk 2023-24
- Read all our latest reports here
