social care topping three million, the highest since the SP data series began. National data show the number of children on child protection plans on a downward trajectory, reduced 3.1% since 2020 (DfE 2024i). Interviews with around a third of DCSs noted such a decline and attributed this primarily to intensive quality assurance and improvement activity to make sure services were responding as early as possible and holding cases at the most appropriate level. In 2023-24, the number of children and young people in the care system fell by 0.5% compared to 2022–23 (DfE, 2024e) but remains much higher than a decade ago (83,630 compared to 68,790). Older children and young people are the fastest-growing group of children in care. Pressing issues remain in relation to the funding arrangements with the Home Office regarding support for UAS children, and former UAS care leavers where current levels of funding do not meet the actual costs of local authorities meeting their statutory duties. The recruitment and retention crisis in children’s social work will require consistent investment in building the employment conditions that evidence shows support experienced workers to remain in the profession (Cook, 2024). Sustainable development will be enabled by a shift away from short-term, competitive funding to long-term, equitable funding streams that enable forward planning, stabilise the workforce and enable local authorities to meet local need. Education In safeguarding terms, issues of school absences, exclusions, SEND and social care involvement were raised in interviews and there are deep concerns about what one of our DCS interviewees termed the ‘broken social contract’ between schools, families and communities. Many schools do invaluable and tireless work at the heart of loc