ny practice supervisors and senior leaders will also be working directly with children and young people. While this is not an exhaustive list, ‘practitioners’ refers to social workers, senior practitioners, family support workers, multi-disciplinary and multi-agency practitioners with expertise in specific fields such as domestic abuse, mental health, and substance misuse. Children in care In the National Framework the term ‘children in care’ refers to all children whose care is being provided by the local authority. Legislation uses the term ‘looked-after children’ to refer to children who are being cared for by the local authority, whether that is under section 20, or sections 22 and 31 of the Children Act 1989. Legally, the language of ‘children in care’ does not include children accommodated and looked after under section 20. However, children and young people often tell local and central government that the term ‘looked-after children’ is unhelpful, and we have made the deliberate choice to use ‘children in care’ throughout the National Framework to refer to all children, regardless of the legal provision under which they are being cared for by the local authority. 12 Children and young people will, of course, have different views on the language used to talk about their care, and practitioners will want to explore these with individuals. Children and young people In the National Framework the term ‘children and young people’ refers to people under the age of 18 or 25. A full definition of ‘children’ is provided in the glossary of this document and refers to individuals under the age of 18. Some adolescents will prefer the term ‘young people’, rather than ‘children’, and there are some young adults who will continue to receive support from children’s social care as