Children's social care

Welcome to the pages for children, young people and families in Plymouth. Our aim is to provide services to children in need in Plymouth as defined by the Children Act 1989 and the ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ document published by the Department of Health.

The children's social care service is committed to:

• ensuring stable, secure, safe and effective care for all children
• protecting children from abuse and neglect
• giving better life chances for children in need and in care
• enabling young people leaving care to live successful adult lives
• meeting the needs of children with disabilities and their families by actively involving users and carers
• implementing robust procedures to ensure that Child Care Workers are fit for the job
• the use of regulation to protect children.

By working closely with partner agencies, for example Health, Education, Voluntary and Community sectors, we will provide:

• information and advice concerning a range of social care services
• social work assessment service to consistently identify the needs of children and families
• services for young carers
• family support services
• services for children with disabilities
• services for children who are at risk of harm
• adoption services for children who cannot return to live with their family of origin
• services for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural difficulties
• services for young people leaving care
• services for children and young people looked after by the authority
• services to meet the needs of early years children between the ages of 0 to 4 years.

We are always looking for people who can help local children by becoming a foster carer or adoptive parent.

We believe in equal opportunities in everything that we do and will not unfairly discriminate against anyone because of their age, background, sexuality, marital status, family size, employment, race or religion.

If you need to get in touch with us but are not sure who to contact, the best place to start is by calling our Advice and Assessment Team. They can help with all initial queries and will point you in the right direction.