From Suspicion to Support |

Tell the Government We Need a New Direction for Child Protection

The Government is consulting on big changes to children’s social care.

We want to ask you to tell the Government to make these 7 changes to reduce parent blame.

Change 1: Support First, Not Investigation

Families should not have to be investigated to get help. If there’s no sign a child is being hurt or neglected, they should get support right away.

Why this matters: Families get help when they need it, not suspicion.

Change 2: Don’t increase information sharing without evidence

Andy Bilson’s research shows that information sharing meetings lead to more child protection investigations without protecting children better. The plan is to increase this and we ask that the changes do not go ahead unless proved to reduce over investigation.

Why this matters: Information sharing intrudes in families and needs to be proved to help children

Change 3: Protect Disabled Children and Families

Disabled children are investigated more often than other children. Services should understand disability better and offer support instead of investigation when possible.

Why this matters: Disability and illness should not be treated as neglect or abuse.

Change 4: Address Poverty and Hardship

Many problems come from poverty, unsafe housing, and lack of services. These are not family failures—they are society-wide problems that need solutions.

Why this matters: Fixing poverty helps children more than blaming parents.

Change 5: Measure What Actually Works

Child protection services should measure whether their work actually helps children. Success should be judged by real improvements in children’s lives, not by counting investigations.

Why this matters: We need to know if interventions actually reduce harm.

Change 6: Stop the Cycle of More Investigation

Every time something goes wrong, systems respond by doing more investigations. Instead, we should ask: what actually reduces harm and helps children and families?

Why this matters: Breaking the cycle means children get help instead of suspicion.

Change 7: Children and Families Should Have a Real Say

Children and parents should be part of decisions that affect them. They should help design services and question how the system works.

Why this matters: People with real experience know what needs to change.

Want to see the full response with research evidence?

Email the government

Tell the Government why these changes matter to you. Your response will include the seven changes above, plus your own words.

Your name *

Your email address *

Organisation or role (optional)

I am responding as *

Why are you responding to this consultation? *
Please add a few sentences about your experience, work, or why these proposals matter to you.

Support for 7 recommendations *
I support the seven recommendations set out above and would like them included in my response to the Government.

Support for detailed comments from PFAN *
I also support the detailed comments and recommendations made by the Parents, Families and Allies Network (PFAN) in its full response to this consultation and ask that PFAN's detailed response is considered alongside my own.

Anything else you would like the Government to know? (optional)

I understand that the information I enter here will be sent to the Department for Education as my consultation response. I have read the privacy information below.

Professor Andy Bilson

My research and activities

From Suspicion to Support