Children & Young People Now

Ask any child whose parents are separating, ask any family law or health professional, or ask any teacher or counsellor who works with the children of separated parents and they will all agree: more needs to be done to help minimise the conflict, which so often arises following family separation.

Campaigners have cautiously welcomed the government’s plan to halve knife crime, while warning that gaps in mental health provision, support for girls, and system capacity could undermine its ambitions. Despite a recent dip in knife-related crimes there are 50% more today than a decade ago.

Record number of applications for deprivation of liberty orders (DoL) highlights continued shortages of secure accommodation say experts, who are calling for a more coordinated approach to finding placements. Many young people subject to a DoL order are placed in unregulated homes. Picture: SamuelB/AdobeStock Latest analysis by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (NFJO) shows that the use of DoL orders for children rose throughout 2025, reaching a record high.

Children’s rights campaigners have welcomed government plans to roll out Child Focused Courts nationwide following a successful pilot that significantly reduced delays. Lisa Harker said monitoring how children experience proceedings and whether their lives improve will be a key measure of the changes.

I once visited a Sure Start Children’s Centre and was being shown proudly around by the manager. James Hempsall is director of early years consultancy Coram Hempsalls During the visit, in around 2002, they were delighted to showcase their co-located, multi-agency team, with early years practitioners and health colleagues working side-by-side in an open-plan office. Everywhere I looked, people were smiling.

Children’s services leaders have warned that the government’s proposed changes to immigration and 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) rules risk driving the most vulnerable families into destitution. Proposed immigration changes would extend the time it takes for people to obtain settled status.

The Department for Education has pledged £26 million to recruit and train more educational psychologists, as latest research reveals their time is often dominated by administration linked to the growing workload in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The role of an educational psychologist is to work with schools, families and community partners to create sustainable change.

There is likely to be debate on whether the UK should follow Australia's social media ban for under-16s, but rather than prohibite access we should focus on educating children about digital literacy, says legal expert Baljinder Bath. Baljinder Bath is a barrister at specialist law firm 4PB In December, Australia became the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide prohibition preventing children under the age of 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms.

Latest data shows the disadvantage attainment gap in Reception year continues to be a challenge across England - but some local authority areas are bucking the trend and seeing it narrow. Enfield Council credits 'excellent central support' from its early years teams for having a high proportion of children achieving a good level of development.