Scope of statutory children’s social care to expand with scrapping of targeted early help

The scope of statutory children’s social care is to expand with the scrapping of the targeted early help category, under Department for Education (DfE) proposals. The change would result in all family help provision being delivered as children in need services under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, increasing the number of children under statutory services, which was 402,400 as of March 2025. The DfE said the proposal was designed to reduce variations in practice between areas and prevent families undergoing repeat assessments. However, it acknowledged that it carried risks, including that families would be deterred from consenting to receive statutory support. Read more.