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Children First

Welsh Assembly Government
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Children First

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Children First is a Welsh Assembly Government programme that aims to improve the management and delivery of social services for children in need and their families.

Originally a three-year programme, Children First has been extended and continues to operate.

The programme sets key objectives for children's services covering the whole spectrum of services that vulnerable children depend upon, including social services, health and education. Each local authority is asked to provide evidence of how it will improve services provided to children, and these are evaluated against set targets. The Children First programme has been a catalyst for improvement and there is evidence that good progress has been made in achieving its policy aims.

The Children First team deals with a wide range of policies relating to children’s services, working alongside other policy leads across the Welsh Assembly Government, UK Government and devolved administrations, as well as key partners such as local authorities and the voluntary sector.  

Information on various aspects of the Children First programme is available on the web:

  • Advocacy and Complaints
  • Integrated Children's Systems
  • Children with Disabilities 
  • Looked after Children
  • Children's Commissioning Resource
  • Care Leavers
  • Placement Choice and Stability