Fixing the children’s social care market: Performance Tracker Local

The children’s social care market in England is broken. There are simply not enough placements of the right type, in the right places, to meet children’s needs. In practical terms, this means that too many children are in unsuitable care, the quality of care is subject to a postcode lottery, and the system is financially unsustainable.

In late 2024, the government announced a suite of reforms to children’s social care, setting out a clear and ambitious vision for the system, with a particularly welcome focus on early intervention, and backed by relatively generous funding.

However, the reforms stop short of the cross-service approach needed to support children at the sharpest end of the care system, who often have multiple and overlapping needs that cannot be met by social care alone. 

This report, the latest in our Performance Tracker Local series, supported by the Nuffield Foundation, sets out a 10-point plan to address these gaps and deliver children's social care reform.