News & opinion

Our latest news, and opinions from across the sector.

Policy — 2 Oct 2026

New commitments for babies, families and social care

The commitment from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to expand the Healthy Babies programme to every local authority in England is a significant step for babies and their families.

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Mental health & wellbeing — 30 Sep 2026

Keep it simple, practical and accessible: Supporting parental mental health in Northern Ireland

Jemima White, Education and Training Manager at AWARE NI, reflects on the work she does to help support the mental health of parents and their infants.

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Research — 28 Sep 2026

Lessons learned? Investigating the inequalities faced by Black and Global Majority children and young people in need of mental health support

Reflections on preliminary findings from a collaborative research study examining the experiences of young people in the social care system accessing mental health services.

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News & opinion — 22 Sep 2026

Strengthening the ethical and effective use of children’s information

A new digital toolkit provides guidance, resources and real-world examples to strengthen the ethical and effective use of children's information in local authorities.

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News & opinion — 7 Sep 2026

Youth Voice Matters 2027: Enter our art competition and celebrate Joy!

Celebrating Joy is the theme of Youth Voice Matters 2027, an event that brings young people together to develop their participation skills and recognise the impact they can have when using their voice to create change.

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News & opinion — 7 Sep 2026

What the review of early deaths tells us about supporting care leavers

This article discusses early deaths among care leavers, including references to suicide and traumatic experiences. This discussion is in response to the findings of the recent review of early deaths among care leavers aged 18 to 24, which presents a stark picture of the challenges too many young people face as they move into adulthood. We have been taking time to reflect on the findings and how we can ensure that care leavers receive the support, relationships and opportunities they need to thrive.

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Policy — 7 Sep 2026

Celebrating research examining mental health support for young people with a social worker

As the COACHES project comes to a close after four years of collaborative study into the mental health services received by children and young people with social work involvement, researchers presented their findings at an event at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.

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Policy — 29 Jul 2026

Meaningful adult social care reform requires a life course approach

The Prime Minister is right to focus on adult social care and recognise the urgent need for reform – but after 25 years of talk, action is what will matter to professionals and adults who draw on care and support

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News & opinion — 20 Jul 2026

Making politics work for all children, young people and families to build better childhoods and brighter futures

As Andy Burnham enters No.10 as our new Prime Minister, NCB will ensure focus remains on the needs of all babies, children and young people and families and the systems that support them and enable them to thrive, for life.

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Policy — 7 Jul 2026

From minute-taker to changemaker: Reflecting on ten years of influencing policy to improve children’s lives

Dustin Hutchinson, who has helped shaped the work of our policy team for a decade, looks back on NCB’s achievements influencing government policy affecting children and young people.

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Policy — 29 Jun 2026

NCB secures £3.5m to give young people a leading voice in ending child poverty

NCB has launched a five-year programme funded by The UK Fund to support children and young people with lived experience of poverty to influence decisions that affect their lives.

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News & opinion — 23 Jun 2026

Ten tests for NHS England’s Children and Young People’s Modern Service Framework (MSF)

With a narrow yet significant window to shape the framework’s direction before key decisions are taken, the Children and Young People's Health Policy Influencing Group has developed a paper that sets out ten tests for the MSF. It distils the children’s sector’s expectations into a concise set of criteria against to assess the MSF when it is published and as it is implemented.

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