Every Child Matters

The Children’s Act 2004 was introduced to revise and update the Children’s Act 1989, and was introduced to cement the safeguarding of children into UK law.

Between 2004 and 2013, following further Government initiatives and consultations, the Children and Families Act 2014 was introduced.

The aim of the Children and Families Act 2014 was to services – such as Children’s Services, healthcare and education – to work together to make sure children, parents and families received the support they needed at the right time. The Children and Families Act 2014 provided specific protection to more vulnerable children, such as children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In 2017, the Children and Social Work Act came into force. This Act made provisions in relation to the welfare of children, and also made provisions about the regulation of social workers (to include a new regulatory regime specifically for social work professionals in England).

More recently, in 2024, the government announced their plans for a major reform within the social care support system for children. The aim of the reform is said to be with an aim to break the cycle of late intervention, to support families before they hit crisis point and to help keep families together wherever possible so every child has the opportunity to thrive.