Children's Social Care Improvement Teams (CIT)
Department for Education
Award
£45k – £480k
Total fund Up to £13.08m
Deadline
Closes in 15 days (7 September 2026)
Where
England
North East, North West, South East, South West
Summary
This grant provides funding to high performing local authorities that are leading on children's social care reform implementation, to deliver hands on operational support and intervention to other local authorities to improve their CSC services.
Who can apply
Eligibility Further detail Upper tier Local authority Local authorities need to be one of the 153 upper tier local authorities Ofsted rating On the last day of the application window local authorities must have either: an overall ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating or equivalent, an overall ‘Good’ Ofsted rating or equivalent, and: a lower, and reducing, rate of Children Looked After (CLA); where you are in the top 50% performers amongst their statistical neighbours (SNs). evidence of a focus on prevention, where your proportion of children’s social care spend directed towards prevention activity is in the highest 50% amongst your SNs; declining re-referral rates to Children’s Social Care, demonstrating more effective and better targeted support at first contact; where you are amongst the top 50% of performers amongst your SNs. Eligibility for some Pathfinders Families First for Children Pathfinders with either an overall ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ Ofsted rating or equivalent. Pathfinders do not need to meet the other criteria for ‘good’ LAs as set out above.
Full details
Children’s Social Care is undergoing the most significant programme of reform in a generation. The CIT programme will deliver sector-led improvement at scale , drawing on the principle that local authorities are best placed to support one another through shared expertise, proven practice and peer-led improvement. The programme aims to improve outcomes for children and families through earlier intervention, and building stronger family support, improved care experiences and more effective local services. The programme operates as part of a wider improvement and intervention model , alongside Expert Advisers (EAs) and the Regional Improvement and Innovation Alliances (RIIAs). The new model represents a more coordinated, reform-driven approach to improving outcomes for children and families by: · Acting as the Department's primary sector-led improvement mechanism , providing intensive support to local authorities requiring intervention or targeted improvement support, including those judged Inadequate by Ofsted, subject to formal intervention arrangements, or where concerns about performance, practice, leadership, governance, or reform implementation indicate a need for additional support. CITs will help authorities address the root causes of underperformance, strengthen leadership and governance, improve practice quality, and secure sustainable improvement for children and families. · A strong and enhanced focus on practical support , rather than an advisory service · A focus on driving reform implementation (specifically the Families First Partnership and the Enduring Relationships programme) · Ensuring there is a holistic approach to identifying needs for support , using a combination of Ofsted inspection outcomes, performance data, reform delivery and local intelligence to inform decisions on support and intervention