Children's Services: What you need to know as a newly elected councillor
Children's social care
Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2025
As corporate parents, it is every councillor’s responsibility to make sure the council meets these duties towards children in care and care leavers
Families First Partnership programme guide
Guidance for safeguarding partners on implementing Family Help and multi-agency child protection reforms, and increasing support for family networks. Updated March 2026
Working together to safeguard children
Statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help, support and protect children. Updated March 2026
Everyday love: Life as a foster carer video
What does fostering look like behind the scenes? Follow Stella and Emmanuel, who foster two teenage boys, and Favour, a single foster carer caring for a baby, as they share a day in their lives. From everyday routines to reflections on the rewards and challenges, they speak openly about their experiences and the support they receive from us.
Must know: Safeguarding children - Local Government Association
High-level overview for all councillors of key issues with regard to child safeguarding. Councillors should ensure their council is effectively meeting these duties by considering child safety in all services and decisions.
Education and SEND
A Good Start in Life: Southwark Schools Standards Report 2024-25
Despite the many challenges that schools face against a backdrop of falling rolls, whilst supporting increasing numbers of pupils with complex special needs, our standards are once again something to be truly proud of:
- 99% of our schools are providing a good or better quality of education, with 100% of nursery, special and primary schools achieving this benchmark
- continued improvement in Key Stage 2 outcomes, with headline measures well above national averages
- strong performance at GCSE and A level, with Southwark pupils outperforming national results across all key measures
- exceptional achievements for children in care and pupils with SEND, whose outcomes remain significantly above national benchmarks.
The Schools White Paper 2026: Every child achieving and thriving
Reforms to the schools and SEND systems in England
Southwark SEND Strategy 2022-26
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)
Best Start in Life and Family Hubs
Best Start in Life Southwark
Watch our Best Start in Life videos
Hear all about our Best Start in Life and Healthy Babies programme for parents and professionals on our YouTube channel.
Support for fathers at Southwark Family Hubs video
Made in partnership with London Bubble Theatre Company Filmmaker: Nicole Latchana