The Children and Young People's Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Durham County Council met on Tuesday 7 July 2026 to discuss the implications of the new Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, review the council's performance for the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, and consider the proposed work programme for the upcoming year.

Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. This legislation, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, represents a major reform to children's social care, safeguarding, and education. The Act aims to ensure that no child falls through the gaps in services, that families receive earlier support, and that there is greater accountability for children's safety, wellbeing, and educational outcomes.

Key provisions of the Act scheduled for discussion included:

• Strengthened Safeguarding and Multi-Agency Working: The Act introduces a statutory framework for multi-agency safeguarding, including making education a formal safeguarding partner. It also establishes local multi-agency child protection teams and aims to improve information sharing through consistent child identifiers. This is intended to enhance the early identification of risk and improve the visibility of vulnerable children across services.
• Shift Towards Prevention and Family Help: The legislation supports a move towards prevention by promoting an integrated Family Help offer and strengthening the role of family networks. Local authorities are expected to offer family group decision-making before care proceedings, where appropriate, to keep children safely within their families.
• Support for Children in Care, Kinship Care, and Care Leavers: The Act includes provisions to improve support, visibility, and stability for these groups. This includes local kinship offers, enhanced support for educational achievement, advice for care leavers up to age 25, and protections against homelessness decisions.
• Reform of the Care Placement Market: Measures are in place to reform the care placement market, including regional cooperation arrangements and financial oversight of providers, with powers to intervene in cases of poor performance.
• Education Measures: The Act introduces reforms concerning children not in school, attendance, school admissions, breakfast club provision, school uniform costs, allergy safety, and digital safeguarding measures in schools.

The report highlighted that these reforms align closely with Durham's existing strategic priorities, such as the Families First Partnership, SEND improvement, sufficiency planning, and corporate parenting. The committee was asked to note the key provisions of the Act, consider its implications for children, families, schools, partners, and the council, and acknowledge its alignment with the council's improvement and transformation priorities. Further updates were anticipated as national guidance and implementation expectations are confirmed.

Quarter 4 2025/26 Performance Management

The committee also reviewed the Quarter 4 2025/26 Performance Management Report, which provides an update on progress towards the strategic ambitions and objectives set out in the Council Plan 2025-30. The report presented data available as of 31 March 2026, alongside contextual information on activities during the fourth quarter of the financial year.

Key performance messages highlighted included:

• Caring for Our People:
  • Children's social care continued to face high demand and complexity, impacting placement sufficiency. Despite high front-door demand, 89% of assessments were completed within the statutory timescale, and re-referral rates remained within expectations.
  • Family Hubs continued to embed as a key part of the early help and Start for Life offer, with increasing registrations and strong engagement in universal groups.
  • Improvements were noted in the timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), with almost nine in ten completed within the statutory timescale. However, requests for EHCPs continued to increase year on year.
  • High levels of demand in statutory children's social care were noted, with increasing numbers of children on child protection plans and entering care, often with more complex needs and requiring higher-cost placements. The Durham Cares Plan has four key work programmes to address these pressures.
  • A Cabinet decision agreed capital funding to acquire housing units for young people and establish an in-house supported accommodation staffing team, aiming to reduce reliance on costly private sector provision.
  • Durham County Council was proceeding with full participation in the expanded Foster with North East regional fostering hub and supporting a bid to become a Wave 2 Regional Care Co-operative pathfinder, aiming to address sufficiency and affordability pressures.

The committee was recommended to note the overall position and direction of travel in relation to quarter four performance and the actions being taken to address areas of challenge.

Refresh of the CYPOSC Work Programme 2026/27

The committee was presented with a proposed draft work programme for 2026/27. The work programme is designed to be flexible and is framed around the County Durham Vision 2035, encompassing the three strategic ambitions: 'more and better jobs', 'long and independent lives', and 'connected communities'. The proposed programme draws on topical areas within the committee's remit and considers current council priorities, government legislation, and emerging issues.

Areas for consideration in the 2026/27 work programme included the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, SEND Reform, 0-25 Family Health Services, Best Start Family Hubs, Child Poverty, Educational Outcomes, Home to School Transport, Demand on Children's Social Care, and Elective Home Education. The committee was asked to agree the proposed draft work programme and its flexibility to respond to emerging issues.