Newsletters
Our Regional Improvement Plan can be found here
If you would like to apply to be a SESLIP consultant, please follow this link to Kent Business Portal – KentBusinessPortal and after registering on the portal, search for Ref – SC240046 – SESLIP – DPS
Updates
Regional Improvement Plan 2025-26
On 18 July 2025 SESLIP published our regional improvement plan for 2025-26
Headlines
The new regional improvement plan has 49 projects and a budget of just under £2m.
The plan incorporates our delivery plan for DfE’s RIIA grant of £1.6m to SESLIP for the current year
Office of the Schools Adjudicator Annual report 2024
On 7 July the Office of the Schools Adjudicator published its Annual Report for 2024
Headlines
Increasing refusal by some schools to accept a child with an EHCP when named and directed to, including half of these who were looked after.
Criticism of admissions policies of some faith schools and
A request for clarification of placing LAC in good or outstanding schools once the school report cards are implemented
Families First for Children Pathfinder report
On 10 July 2025 DfE published Families first for children pathfinder – Implementation and process evaluation
report: early findings
Headlines
The report is based on the experience of the pathfinders:
Wave 1 case study local areas: Dorset, Wolverhampton and Lincolnshire
Wave 2 case study local areas: Lewisham, Wirral and Warwickshire
Wave 2 participants also included Luton, Redbridge, Walsall, and Warrington
Social care providers and places as at 31 March 2025
On 16 July 2025 Ofsted published Social care providers and places as at 31 March 2025
Headlines
On 31 March 2025, there were 5,600 active or suspended children’s social care providers, excluding local authorities and Cafcass.
This year’s figure represents a 26% increase compared with 31 March 2024, when there were 4,450 providers.
Of all children’s homes given a full inspection in 2024–25, 81% received a good or outstanding judgement.
Maternal death and CSC involvement
On 10 July 2025 BMJ published Characteristics, outcomes, and maternity care experiences of women with children’s social care involvement who subsequently died: national cohort study and confidential enquiry
Headlines
one in three women who died during or in the year after pregnancy were known to children’s social care;
most deaths were due to suicide, other psychiatric causes included drug related deaths, and homicide; and
one in three had disclosed abuse during childhood.
The researchers are calling for changes to practice, clinical guidance and policy to prioritise mothers with social care involvement in pregnancy and early motherhood.
Call for an early years expert resident
On 13 July Nesta published on open call for an Early Years Resident as part of the Nesta Residency Programme
The application deadline is Sunday 10 August at 23:59pm.
Closing date 10 August
Are you an early years expert with experience in leading family support services in a local authority in England?
Join Nesta for a five-to-six month paid residency (part-time, starting in September 2025) to help them scale innovations that strengthen support for families.
More information about the role and what they are offering can be found in the open call document.
If you are interested in applying, please send your CV or LinkedIn profile to discoveryhub@nesta.org.uk
Reminders From Previous Weeks
New practice guide: Parenting Disabled Children and Young People
On 16 July Foundations (What works centre for children and families) published a new practice guide: Parenting Disabled Children and Young People
Headlines
Parenting a disabled child or young person can be rewarding but often requires intensive, targeted support throughout childhood and sometimes into adulthood. This support is often different from that needed by other families.
This Practice Guide is based on findings from a robust review of the existing evidence, including findings from an umbrella review, meta-analysis, and qualitative meta-synthesis. It also incorporates practitioner insights and the lived experiences of parent carers to identify support that is both effective and useful, with a positive impact on parent carers and children and young people.
For more information about current policy, and the relevant frameworks and guidance related to this Practice Guide read the Policy overview.
Everyone’s Safer:
Supporting effective leadership responses to
harmful sexual behaviour in school
On 26 June Lucy Faithful Foundation published Everyone’s Safer:
Supporting effective leadership responses to harmful sexual behaviour in school
Headlines
Everyone’s Safer is a three-year project supporting schools to prevent harmful sexual behaviour.
The final report, makes five key recommendations for every school.
- Support safeguarding leads
- Take a whole-school approach
- Move from punitive and zero-tolerance approaches to restorative practices
- Promote positive masculinities
- Strengthen both healthy relationships education and the student voice
The Big Conversation NOW OPEN
The Big Conversation is the second release of The Big Listen,a workforce research project led collaboratively by LIIA and SESLIP.
The research includes a survey and a series of focus groups. Its purpose is to affect change with and not to the workforce. This is an exciting opportunity for child and family social workers, managers, students and agency workers to share their views and the greater the response, the more meaningful the impact!
Who should join?
We are launching our follow up to the Big Listen research that was completed in 2023. Information for social workers and managers about the project is set out in a poster.
We would really value your help in promoting this project to your children’s social workforce (including AYSE, students, managers and agency staff).
Tools & Templates
We have produced a Regional Improvement Plan (June 2024)
On 16 July 2025 Ofsted published Social care providers and places as at 31 March 2025
On 16 July Foundations (What works centre for children and families) published a new practice guide: Parenting Disabled Children and Young People
On 13 July Nesta published on open call for an Early Years Resident as part of the Nesta Residency Programme
On 10 July 2025 DfE published Families first for children pathfinder – Implementation and process evaluation report: early findings
On 10 July 2025 BMJ published Characteristics, outcomes, and maternity care experiences of women with children’s social care involvement who subsequently died: national cohort study and confidential enquiry
On 9 July Inclusion in Practice published Emerging Insights
On 7 July the Office of the Schools Adjudicator published its Annual Report for 2024
On 7 July DfE published Keeping Children Safe in Education for use from September 2025
On 7 July DfE published Keeping Children Safe in Education for use from September 2025
On 26 June Lucy Faithful Foundation published Everyone’s Safer:
Supporting effective leadership responses to harmful sexual behaviour in school
On 26 June DfE published Education and Health Care Plans data for Jan 2025
On 25 June Foundations published its Evaluation of Multi-agency Safeguarding Hubs
On 20 June Become published Moved during exams
On 19 June Women’s Aid published Nineteen more child homicides
On 17 June The Law Commission published the terms of reference for its forthcoming Kinship Care Project
On 12 June DfE published Stability measures for children looked after in England
On 9 June DfE published Supporting Families Whole Family Working: Informing Future System Reform Annual report of the Supporting Families programme 2024 to 2025
On 5 June Foundations published Understanding families’ experiences of being offered a Family Group Conference
On 5 June DfE publsihed Schools, pupils and their characteristics for academic year 2024/25
On 24 May the Family Justice Council published Covert recordings in Family Law proceedings concerning children: Family Justice Council Guidance
On 23 May HMIProbation published Transitional Safeguarding in youth justice and probation services: A scoping study
On 23 May the Centre for expertise on child sexual abuse published Support Matters
On 22 May DfE published Serious incident notifications for 2024-25
On 22 May the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published a report on its Learning Support and Capability Project
On 13 May the Nuffield Foundation published Exploring racial disparity in diversion from the Youth Justice System
On 5 May DfE published additional working together to safeguard children material.
On 29 April the Domestic Abuse Commissioner published Victims in their own right?
On 15 April Nesta published Innovation in the early years – lessons from three local test and learn partnerships
On 8 April Foundations (What works centre for children and families) published a Practice Guide for mentoring and befriending care experienced children and young people