Redbridge Council is piloting national reforms aimed at improving children's social care services, as outlined in the Families First for Children Pathfinder programme.
The council received £5 million in funding to trial these reforms across several key areas, including Family Help, Child Protection, Family Networks, and multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
Councillor Lloyd Duddridge, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, presented a One Year On
report to the Cabinet on Thursday, September 17, 2026. The report highlighted positive early impacts, including more proportionate help for families at the Front Door,
a reduction in statutory assessments and child protection activity, and improved workforce stability. These positive early impacts were measured by metrics such as 'earlier and more proportionate help for families at the Front Door', a 'reduction in statutory assessments and child protection activity', and 'improved workforce stability'.
The Family Help
reform area focuses on providing earlier and more proportionate support to families at the Front Door,
aiming to reduce the need for statutory assessments and child protection interventions. Conversely, the Child Protection
reform, specifically through the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT), has enhanced multi-agency information sharing and decision-making. This has resulted in a decrease in strategy discussions, Section 47 enquiries, Initial Child Protection Conferences, and children being placed under police protection outside of standard hours.
The Families First for Children Pathfinder programme aims to create a single system
where children and families engage with one lead practitioner who coordinates a bespoke team around the family, developing a single, co-created plan. This approach is designed to ensure families only need to share their story once, experiencing a system that is welcoming, supportive, fair, and strengths-focused. This streamlined case management is expected to reduce administrative burdens and improve experiences for both families and frontline staff.
The programme also addresses the needs of different age groups. The Family Help: Pre & Post Birth
service offers support to vulnerable new parents before birth and during their baby's first year. Additionally, the Family Help: Contextual Safeguarding
service is designed to support teenagers facing extra-familial harm.
Redbridge's success in these reforms has positioned it as a national leader in children's social care reform. The council has been invited to advise other local authorities and is applying to become a Children's Social Care Improvement Team.
The reforms are now on a statutory footing following the enactment of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. The next phase of implementation will continue until March 2027, focusing on further developing Family Help, Child Protection, Family Networks, and multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, alongside system changes for case management.
Looking beyond March 2027, the Sufficiency Strategy 2026–2029
outlines a vision where every child should have the right home, at the right time, as close to home as is safe, with care and support that reflects their identity, culture and aspirations.
Success will be measured through a performance framework with defined baselines, trajectories, and assurance routes, including key performance indicators (KPIs) such as an increase in in-borough placements, reduced reliance on independent fostering agencies, improved placement stability, better care leaver outcomes, supported accommodation progression measures, and the average cost per placement.
However, the Sufficiency Strategy 2026–2029
also identifies potential challenges and risks. These include market scarcity, inflationary pressure on placement costs, insufficient recruitment of in-house foster carers, limited out-of-hours emergency capacity, variable supported accommodation quality, and forecasting uncertainty. These risks will need to be carefully managed as the reforms continue to be implemented.
For more details on the Cabinet meeting, refer to the Agenda frontsheet and the Public reports pack.
