IMPROVING EVIDENCE FOR BETTER OUTCOMES

We aim to improve the lives of children and families through setting standards and generating the best research into what works for children’s social care.

What Works for Children’s Social Care seeks better outcomes for children, young people and families by bringing the best available evidence to practitioners and other decision makers across the children’s social care sector.

We generate, collate and make accessible the best evidence for practitioners, policy makers and practice leaders to improve children’s social care and the outcomes it generates for children and families.

We work across three areas:

LATEST NEWS

  • read more about What Works for Children’s Social Care partners with Frontline on new social work leadership programme
    News

    What Works for Children’s Social Care partners with Frontline on new social work leadership programme

    11 July 2022
    The Department for Education has awarded a contract for the new social work leadership programme to children’s social work charity Frontline. What Works for Children’s Social Care is partnering with Frontline and North Yorkshire County Council to deliver this programme, which will allow us to bring a focus on evidence-based practice to the leadership development […]
  • read more about Understanding formal kinship care
    Blog

    Understanding formal kinship care

    8 July 2022
    When keeping a child with their family isn’t possible, social workers will first look within a child’s network for alternative care options. Known as ‘kinship care’, this can be a temporary or permanent plan for a child that avoids the potential trauma of moving to live with carers they don’t know. The Independent Review of […]
  • read more about Early Intervention Foundation and What Works for Children’s Social Care announce decision to merge
    News

    Early Intervention Foundation and What Works for Children’s Social Care announce decision to merge

    7 July 2022
    The two boards of trustees have agreed in principle to join forces to create a single what works centre on children and families covering both early intervention and children’s social care. The merger of the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) and What Works for Children’s Social Care (WWCSC) will bring together two what works centres to […]
  • read more about Joining forces with the Early Intervention Foundation: How the decision to merge puts us all on a strong footing
    Blog

    Joining forces with the Early Intervention Foundation: How the decision to merge puts us all on a strong footing

    7 July 2022
    Jenny Coles, Chair of Trustees, WWCSC and Professor Nick Pearce, Chair of Trustees EIF Jenny Coles, chair of trustees at What Works for Children’s Social Care, and Professor Nick Pearce, chair of trustees at EIF, share their thoughts on the boards’ decision to merge organisations to form a new what works centre on children and […]