Children and Families

The number of children in care in Wales on the rise. How can we support families to reverse this trend and to minimise negative outcomes?

The WCPP has worked for a while on understanding the rising number of children in care in Wales and effective approaches to addressing this trend. A trend that is a cause for concern because of the potential impact on the outcomes of children who are taken into care in terms of educational attainment, health, unemployment, homelessness, and criminal justice. The WCPP’s work in this area has recently shifted to a focus on prevention and early intervention. ‘At risk’ children and families will frequently interact with multiple agencies and services. Our work looks at whether and how multi-agency working in Wales could be improved to support families and reduce the risk of children being taken into care.


 

Publications

Our published research on children and families provides vital information for policymakers and researchers.
Showing 1 to 8 of 30 results
Publications 12 January 2024
Data analysis to support multi-agency working for vulnerable children and families
Multi-agency data can be used to identify trends, risks and opportunities, and to inform the development of effective policies and services for vulnerable children and...
Publications 18 December 2023
International approaches to population ageing and decline
There is a real risk of population decline in Wales, especially among the younger and working age populations, and especially if in-migration falls.
Publications 12 August 2023
Multi-agency working in Cwm Taf Morgannwg
We have been working with key agencies in Cwm Taf Morgannwg to help them identify how they could improve their multi-agency working to support children...
Publications 23 February 2023
2022 – In Review
Welcome to our review of some of the highlights of the Wales Centre for Public Policy’s work in 2022. We have enjoyed another prolific twelve...

 

Projects

Our portfolio of projects creates knowledge and evidence around all aspects of policy affecting children and families in Wales.
Showing 1 to 5 of 5 results
Projects
International approaches to population ageing and decline
With the population of Wales projected to continue to age and faced with a decreasing working-age population, we are conducting a review of the best...
Projects
Children looked after
The substantial and sustained increase in the rate of children in care in Wales over the past 25 years has been a source of policy concern...
Projects
Education attainment: Responding to the Coronavirus pandemic
The Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated existing educational inequalities worldwide. Modelling of the impact of school closures in England suggests that ten years’ worth of efforts...
Projects
Raising the age of participation in education or training to 18 in Wales
In England, the compulsory age of participation in education or training was raised to 17 in 2013 and then 18 in 2015. In Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the...

Explore

We have a wealth of publications and commentary covering all aspects of children in Wales.

 

Experts

Meet the Children and Families team
Dan Bristow
Director of Policy and Practice
Image of Dan Bristow
Dr Amy Lloyd
Research Associate
Image of Dr Amy Lloyd