Home for Good welcomes today’s announcement of the launch of the independent review of Children’s Social Care in England. The commencement of this review is long-awaited and with the increased challenges placed on the care system as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there could not be a more pressing time for this review to take place.

Josh MacAlister, Founder and CEO of the social work charity Frontline, will spearhead the review as the independent Chair, bringing together his extensive knowledge of the children’s social care system and his proven ability to bring about transformational change. Josh is a former teacher and sits on the advisory board of the Children’s Commissioner for England.

Responding to today’s announcement, CEO of Home for Good Tarn Bright commented:

“On behalf of Home for Good, I’d like to welcome Josh MacAlister to his exciting new post as Chair of this review and thank him for his commitment at the outset to placing children and their needs at the centre. The task before him is great but the opportunities are ripe to achieve lasting change for vulnerable children.

We are ready to work with Josh to ensure that this review results in tangible impact which touches the lives of every child in and around the care system.”

An ambitious challenge lies ahead, but also a huge opportunity to secure better outcomes for vulnerable children. Since our inception in 2014, Home for Good has been committed to seeing every child thrive in a great home. Last year alone we journeyed with more than 1600 people who are exploring fostering and adoption. We have a wide pool of expertise and stand willing and ready to help Josh and his team in ensuring children’s needs are placed right at the centre. We look forward to working together to develop innovative solutions to some of the system’s most intractable and persistent challenges.

We are delighted to see the Chair’s invitation to ‘Experts by Experience’ and welcome this opportunity for children, young people and adults with experience of the system to have their voices heard. It is vital that the commitment to hearing and listening to these exceptional individuals is sustained throughout the review and that a breadth of experience is heard.

This review truly is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and holds the potential to secure radical change in the way we care for our nation’s most vulnerable children, but nothing significant will be achieved without action in response to its findings. Recommendations and reflections will not be enough, and thus Home for Good is committed to ensuring that this review is the first step in improving children’s experience of the care system and that each child is given all they need to flourish and thrive in a home that is a haven. If this is not achieved, the consequences are lifelong and far-reaching.

Home for Good is committed and ready to work with Josh and his team, and importantly, with the many care-experienced individuals in our network and beyond, in order to bring about desperately-needed change for our most vulnerable children.

In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to share updates about the review and showcase opportunities for our supporters to engage and input into the review’s activities. We are so grateful for the huge response we had to our open letter highlighting racial disparity in the care system and will provide updates about the letter and how this issue pertains to the review as and when we hear back.

Let the work begin!

The Terms of Reference for the review can be viewed HERE.