Review of Children's Social Services (NI)

The Independent Review of Children's Social Services (Children's Services) was a fundamental examination of Children’s Services in Northern Ireland, with a focus on quality, equity, resilience and sustainability. The Review covered all five Health and Social Care Trusts and several regional services. 

The Review and Final Report 

The review, led by Professor Ray Jones, engaged with parents, children and young people, and those working within and alongside children’s social care services, including foster carers and kinship foster carers. The Chair was assisted by an Advisory Panel consisting of Her Honour, Judge Patricia Smyth, Professor Pat Dolan and Marie Roulston, OBE, a former Director of Children’s Services in Northern Ireland. 

After 16 months of work, the final report was published in June 2023. The report set out a plan to transform children’s services through a whole scale reconfiguration of children’s trusts and the creation of a new Northern Ireland wide independent agency. It also made some key recommendations on foster care to which The Fostering Network contributed.  

The key recommendations were:  

  • Action needs to be taken to address the children’s social care workforce crisis.
  • There is a need for more help for families to assist them to care well for their children.
  • A region-wide Children and Families arms-length body.
  • Previous reviews of foster care policies and services should be updated and acted upon now and not allowed to drift.
  • Foster carers should be recognised and positioned as valued members of the children’s social care workforce.
  • The experience and expertise of foster carers should be harnessed through, for example, the region-wide introduction of the Mockingbird model
  • Consideration should be given to the public sector provision of additional smaller children’s homes.
  • Do not allow the privatisation of care of children.
  • Respite care for children with a disability should be expanded and with children receiving respite care not seen as looked after children.
  • Extend the transition period where appropriate and necessary for young people moving to adult services.
  • Introduce a region-wide transitions advice and advocacy service.
  • Accommodation within the positive post-18 services needs to be expanded and more readily available.
  • Implement the major recommendations of the Gillen Review of the family courts.
  • Create less formal opportunities for the judiciary and leaders of children’s social care services to build relationships and shared agendas to tackle current pressures and difficulties between the courts and children’s social care services.
  • An independent parent-led organisation(s) should be funded to provide support and advocacy for parents engaged with children’s social care services.
  • Children and young people in care, and leaving care, should be able to identify and name a person they trust who will be recognised as a continuing presence alongside the young person in their engagement and relationships with children’s social care services.
  • Appoint a Minister for Children and Families to give political leadership and focus to the intentions of the 2015 Children’s Co-operation Act and to be a children and families champion across government and alongside the Children’s Commissioner. 

Our Involvement  

We supported Professor Ray Jones to meet foster carers from our Step Up, Step Down service on three occasions over the summer of 2022.  

We also met Professor Ray Jones in May 2022 and submitted a briefing to the review, which outlined:  

  • The current issues facing fostering in Northern Ireland
  • Step Up, Step Down
  • Fostering Attainment and Achievement
  • The Mockingbird Family Model
  • The need for radical reform of foster care in Northern Ireland  

Our Response to the Consultation  

We were asked by the Department for Health to consult with foster carers, including our members. We consulted with around 100 people overall. 45 participants from across all Health and Social Care Trusts, 30 foster/kinship carers, 5 independent fostering providers, and 10 from the Fostering Network Team attend the first session. We also held an online engagement session with Professor Ray Jones attended by over 50 people, which included foster carers, social workers, IFPs, and other professionals.   

Read the full response from foster carers

Read the Summary

We also submitted our own response to the consultation  

Read The Fostering Network’s response