Statutory guidance

Children's social care: national framework

Statutory guidance on the principles behind children’s social care, its purpose, factors enabling good practice and what it should achieve.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

The national framework document is for those who work in local authority children’s social care.

Statutory guidance shows what you must do to comply with the law. You must follow it unless there’s a good reason not to.

It includes relevant information for all safeguarding partners and agencies who work with children’s social care.

Supporting information

The national framework is also supported by the children’s social care dashboard. This brings children’s social care data together in one place to understand progress towards the outcomes and enablers set out in the national framework.

There is separate information for local authorities and safeguarding partners on how to embed the guidance.

DfE has also commissioned Foundations to develop a series of evidence-based practice guides that local authorities can use to help them achieve the outcomes set out in this framework. The first of these is a practice guide on kinship care.

Practitioners can also share and use:

  • the illustrated guide, for children and young people
  • the easy read version

British Sign Language captioned and audio summary

British Sign Language captioned and audio summary version

Animated guide to the framework

Our animated guide to the framework

Updates to this page

Published 15 December 2023
Last updated 27 February 2024 + show all updates
  1. Added an easy read version of the framework, and a link to a summary version in British Sign Language. The British Sign Language version is on YouTube.

  2. Added a link to an animated guide to the framework. The animated guide is on YouTube.

  3. First published.

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