Two Black Country councils are at the forefront of a nationwide children’s social care reform.
Walsall and Wolverhampton Councils are two of 10 areas in England piloting the new ‘Families First for Children’ programme, designed to keep more children in safe and loving homes.
Both councils will work with central government to test and develop a new approach to children’s social care, which in the future, will be rolled out nationwide.
The Department for Education (DfE) selected Wolverhampton to pilot the programme in 2023, and Walsall followed in the second wave of funding announced in April 2024.
In January 2025, the DfE confirmed additional funding for Families First for Children programmes. This funding means both councils will work with government to help shape the future national approach to family help.
Families First for Children is part of the government’s children’s social care reform strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, which aims to revolutionise the current system to put more focus on early intervention and best practice child protection where required.
The plans for reform follow an Independent National Review to Children’s Social Care in 2021 which highlighted ways the social care system could better support children and families in England.
“ We know that there are ways in which the current social care system could and should work better for families. And taking part in the Families First for Children programme gives Walsall a fantastic opportunity to be front and centre of positive change, which will influence the nation’s strategy to social care for years to come.
A programme of this magnitude will never be a quick fix, and since we were selected to take part in the pilot last Spring, we have spent a significant amount of time listening to families,
professionals and partner organisations to really understand how we can design a better model of family help together, which is efficient, works best for everybody, and really has the family’s specific needs at the core.
We’re constantly listening to what’s working well and what isn’t, and an additional year of funding will help us to continue these conversations and be confident we’re designing a model of work that will help our families thrive. “
Councillor Stacie Elson, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services
Walsall Council
Councillor Jacqui Coogan, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education for City of Wolverhampton Council, said, “Participating in the Families First for Children programme is an exciting opportunity for Wolverhampton to contribute to and shape national reform, ensuring families across the city are given the right support at the right time so that children can thrive with their families.
“Building on and enhancing information sharing across the partnership, contributing to building a system which continuously learns and improves, making better use of evidence and data plus reinvigorating the workforce to ensure it is equipped and effective so that children and young people are safe in and outside of their homes so that we can share this learning are vital components in unlocking the potential of family networks and making valuable changes to the way things are done.”
Cllr Jasbir Jaspal, Cabinet member for Adults and Wellbeing for City of Wolverhampton Council, said, “A further year of funding means that we can build on the work undertaken as one of the local authorities involved in the FFCP programme such as continuing our strengthened partnership working and refining changes made to ensure effective changes continue in areas such as workforce development and recruitment and that these improvements are sustainable.
“We shall continue to test and learn, listening to feedback from service users so that families’ experiences of services continue to be as positive and effective as possible.”
Other areas taking part in the programme including Dorset, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Luton, Redbridge, Warrington, Warwickshire and The Wirral.