The Children’s Social Care National Framework was updated by the Department for Education in March 2026, with further information being added in May 2026.
Amendments in March 2026 updated the Children’s Social Care Framework Statutory Guidance; Children’s Social Care Framework Statutory Guidance: Easy Read Version; Children’s Social Care National Framework: Illustrated Guide for Children and Young People; the British Sign Language summary video; and the animated video for children and young people. An accessible version of the guide for children and young people was added. In May 2026, a link was added to the Foster Care Foundations Practice Guide.
The National Framework is statutory guidance from the Department for Education and is central to setting direction for practice in children’s social care. It underpins the vision for reforms to the children’s social care system which will be realised through the Families First Partnership programme, and a system which provides the right help at the right time and supports more families to stay together.
The National Framework sets expectations for practice and outlines a shared vision for what children’s social care should achieve. It should be used by all agencies, alongside the statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children.
It sets out a series of Outcomes to be achieved and identifies Enablers to facilitate this.
Outcomes
The Children’s Social Care National Framework sets out the following Outcomes:
Enablers
The Children’s Social Care National Framework sets out the following Enablers:
Support to Embed the National Framework
Local authority practitioners, practice supervisors, and senior leaders should read the accompanying Guidance: Improving Practice with Children, Young People and Families (Department for Education).
It sets out the support available to help embed the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children, and the National Framework in practice.
The Children’s Social Care Dashboard (‘the Dashboard’) supports the National Framework by bringing children’s social care data together in one place, enabling local authorities to learn and understand progress towards the outcomes and enablers set out in the National Framework. Most indicators within the Dashboard are also reflected in the Local Outcomes Framework (LOF), which sets out priority outcomes, drawing from the Missions, Plan for Change and other key areas of local spending, that are delivered at the local level and driven by local authorities as local leaders of place.
The Children’s Social Care Dashboard: Supporting Information is also available for further details on how the Dashboard was developed, as well as its intended use and purpose.
Local authorities should also look to the Practice Guides (Foundations – What Works Centre for Children and Families) for the latest evidence to help them achieve the outcomes set out in the National Framework.
