Earlier this week, over 200 stakeholders from across the children’s services landscape gathered in the Guildhall for the 2025 London Children’s Services Summit, hosted by the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services (ALDCS)
The event brought together leaders, practitioners, policymakers, regulators, and partners from health and police services to celebrate the progress made across the capital, whilst looking ahead at the challenges and opportunities shaping the next phase of reform.
Representatives from all 33 of London’s local authorities were joined by colleagues from the Department for Education, NHS England, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), Ofsted, the Metropolitan Police, and London’s Violence Reduction Unit. Throughout the day, participants reflected on the power of joined-up working to transform outcomes for children and families, with a clear and collective commitment to partnership driving the conversation.
In what is widely seen as a defining period of reform in children’s social care, the Summit provided an opportunity to spotlight the role of London’s collective effort.
Janet Daby MP, the Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, delivered the keynote address. A former London social worker herself, the Minister praised the capital’s strong record of collaboration and innovation. She noted the London Innovation and Improvement Alliance (LIIA), the capital's sector led improvement partnership, as being the driver of this.
In a wide-ranging keynote, she explored how legislative reform could work in practice across London and engaged directly with audience questions on pressing topics such as SEND legislation, police and health capacity, and the call for a cross-government children’s strategy. The Minister also noted the government's focus on children remaining with their families or kinship carers wherever possible.
“Prevention work has always been at the heart of social work practice”
Janet Daby MP
Practice Spotlight celebrates collaborative working
The centrepiece of the day was Practice Spotlight, a pan-London workforce programme that shines a light on innovative and impactful work that is transforming the lives of children and families across our boroughs.
The initiative was introduced by Glen Peache and Bev Hendricks, the Directors of Children's Services at Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and London Borough of Merton. They praised the growth of Practice Spotlight from its initial idea stage to becoming a fully-fledged programme that celebrates the best of children's services in London.
"From little acorns mighty oak trees grow"
Boroughs showcased programmes, models and ideas that are making a measurable difference. Attendees engaged with frontline practitioners and programme leads to hear about innovative work and the evidence behind it. A marketplace-style exhibition and series of presentations were led by local authority teams; this format created a valuable space for practitioners to share their knowledge.
The Practice Spotlight sessions highlighted the strength of boroughs across London and reinforced the importance of investing time and space into sharing it. Delegates praised the openness and creativity of teams and expressed an appetite for more region-wide forums to showcase and share impactful work. The boroughs and projects featured on the day were:
- Hackney: Racial Equity & Inclusion Service
- Lewisham: Anti-Racist Practice Framework
- Westminster & Kensington & Chelsea (Bi-Borough): Anti-Racist Practice and Focus on Disproportionality
- Enfield: Enfield Communication Advisory Support Service (ECASS)
- Merton: Meeting the Needs of Pupils with Autism in Mainstream Classrooms
- Haringey: Stop and Search Safeguarding Project
- Redbridge: Your Choice
- Barking & Dagenham: The Culturally Sensitive Therapy Project
- Sutton: Universal Parenting Support Service
- Lambeth: Route to Independence Pathway
- Greenwich: Integrated Clinical Team (supporting care leavers with mental health and wellbeing needs)
- Waltham Forest: Mockingbird Service
- Brent: Care Journeys / Children in Care Councils
- Barking & Dagenham: The Sunrise Hub (delivered in partnership)
- Redbridge: Pre and Post-Birth Service
- Camden: Safeguarding and Social Work Performance App
- Tower Hamlets: Diamond Project
Each initiative sparked valuable conversations and connections during the summit, with many boroughs and stakeholders keen to work together on scaling their projects and embedding them into practice on a regional level across the city. Discover more about Practice Spotlight.
One of the day’s key sessions focused on effective partnership working between children’s services and the health system. A panel discussion chaired by Mayor Caroline Woodley brought together Caroline Clarke (NHS London), Tim Aldridge (Camden Council), and Elaine Allegretti (London Borough of Barking and Dagenham), to explore how the relationship between health and children’s social care can be strengthened further.
Themes included the need for consistent partnership working, opportunities to better align strategic priorities, and the importance of building trusting, long-term relationships between systems and people. The discussion was well received by attendees and reinforced the vital role that health services play in the wider safeguarding and support ecosystem.
Later in the day, table discussions encouraged attendees to reflect on shared challenges and opportunities for future collaboration. Topics included sustainable models of early help, recruitment and retention, SEND pressures, and how to build more inclusive and culturally competent services. These conversations were a powerful reminder that many of London’s challenges are shared across borough boundaries – and that regional working provides an opportunity to find shared solutions.
Looking ahead
As the day came to a close, it was clear that the London Children’s Services Summit was a reaffirmation of the collective values, purpose and ambition that underpin children’s services across the capital. Florence Kroll CBE, Royal Borough of Greenwich's Director of Children's Services and chair of ALDCS, provided both the introduction and closing remarks during the event.
"A huge thanks to all those who joined the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services (ALDCS) London Children’s Services Summit 2025 earlier this week. It was great to have you all with us and to have the opportunity to hear from our brilliant speakers and our many wonderful colleagues from across London’s authorities who generously shared their impactive work as part of Practice Spotlight.
It was an inspiring day abuzz with over 200 delegates attending to celebrate practice that is making a difference to the lives and outcomes of children, young people and families. The event was symbolic of the culture of collaboration that has become commonplace in London. The shared energy, passion and ambition to keep building and strengthening this as we move forward together during the 'most significant change in children's social care' in a generation of reform was palpable and fills us with hope.
A special thanks to our brilliant speakers and panel members who informed and inspired us across the range of topics and examples of practice. We are grateful to have been joined by Janet Daby, the Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing who shared generous reflections on London’s shared achievements and what reform could look like in London. We also thank Caroline Clarke, NHS London Regional Director for leading the panel discussion on how we can build stronger, more responsive relationships that benefit children.
I am sure we all agree that the highlight of the event was of course Practice Spotlight, our regional practice sharing initiative that went from acorn to oak tree and allowed us the opportunity to learn from one another through the exhibition-style marketplace and wonderful presentations. It is a real privilege for ALDCS to be able to provide a platform where our Local Authority teams can showcase their innovations and impact with key stakeholders and peers. The connections and collaborations developed across the day will form a key part of sector-led improvement in London in our next steps. This is only the beginning!"
Florence Kroll CBE, Royal Borough of Greenwich