The Children and Families Act 2014

A summary for the Sheffield Health and Wellbeing Board

June 2014Jayne Ludlam, Executive Director of Children,

Young People and Families, Sheffield City Council

Summary• Royal Assent 13th March 2014, comes into force

September 2014• Part 1: Adoption and Contact• Part 2: Family Justice• Part 3: Special Educational Needs• Part 4: Childcare Reform• Part 5: Welfare of Children• Parts 6-9: National Children’s Commissioner,

parental leave and parental working rights

Part 1: Adoption and Contact• Tackling delays in the adoption process and

finding stable secure homes• Reduce requirement to consider ethnicity

in matching• From March 2015 Sec of State may require

a Council to outsource it’s adoption and fostering functions

• Foster to adopt, personal budgets

Part 2: Family Justice• Time limits on care proceedings• Mediation• Rules on expert witness evidence• Requires involvement of both parents in

future arrangements (with exceptions)• Child Arrangements Order replaces

Residence and Contact Orders

Part 3: Special Educational Needs• Replaces the Statement of Educational

Need (SEN) with integrated Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCs)

• Promotes Personal Budgets• Requires Local Authorities and Health

Authorities (specifically CCGs) to work together to deliver EHCs

Principles and Impact of Part 3• Applies to young people up to the age of 25

where they are still in education or training (including in apprenticeships)

• Requires cooperation of statutory partners and ‘co-production’ with parents and service users.

• Requires local governance to establish EHC processes, new joint commissioning arrangements and publishing a ‘local offer’ of services and support available

Action to date: Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans

• Future Shape SEN Group – Reports to Children’s Health and Wellbeing Partnership Board, chaired by Director of Inclusion and Learning

• EHCs. Multi-agency development group. Pilot plan and assessment process running now to July/Aug

• Elements of children’s involvement, workforce development, person centred planning

• Data, information sharing challenges.

Action to date: Local Offer

• Project Board established• Mapping Exercise, parental

engagement, user consultation, data gathering

• Website in development

Part 4: Childcare Reform• Changes to child-minder registration• Removes Council Duty to assess childcare

sufficiency (Council will still need to do this in practice as part of children centre planning)

• Opens way for more schools providing childcare for early years

Part 5: Welfare of Children• Wide ranging set of measures• Virtual School heads for LAC• Care Leavers can stay with foster carers up to age 21• Duty for all schools to better support pupils with

medical conditions• Duty to assess young carers needs (council)• Free School Lunches for Infants• Restrictions to protect children from nicotine (plain

packaging option, smoking in cars, proxy purchasing

Parts 6-9• Range of measures• Rights of parents to request flexible

working patterns• Partner leave (for example to attend

antenatal classes)• Adoption leave • Reinforce the office of the Children’s

Commissioner and statutory role

Key Issues for HWB Partners• Joint accountability across health, education

and social care for assessing and responding to children’s needs e.g.-

• Education, Health and Care Plans• Young Carers (i.e. their mental and emotional

health needs as well as practical/social support)

• Support in school for children with medical conditions