Will the proposed national child protection agency help improve practice in England?

With the government creating a Child Protection Authority for England to oversee safeguarding practice, we asked practitioners whether it would make a difference

By Anastasia Koutsounia on April 29, 2025 in Children

Photo by Community Care

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Over half of practitioners believe that the planned Child Protection Authority (CPA) for England will have no impact on practice, a poll has found.

Announced by the Home Office earlier this month, the CPA is designed to provide “national leadership and learning on child protection and safeguarding”.

It will initially form part of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, pending a consultation later this year on its future.

No inspection power for new agency

The creation of a CPA to provide expertise on child protection, improve practice, advise on policy and, where necessary, inspect institutions, was proposed by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), in its 2022 final report.

The Home Office has confirmed that IICSA’s recommendations would be “core to the development of the consultation”, but it ruled out giving the agency any inspection powers.

Social workers are yet to be convinced of the CPA’s benefits for child protection, according to a Community Care poll with over 600 responses.

More than half of practitioners (58%) believed the CPA would make no difference to practice because it wouldn’t “address the root causes of issues”.

Almost a quarter (24%) said it was still “too early to tell”, while another 18% called it a positive step that could strengthen practice.

What are your expectations of the new agency?

Celebrate those who’ve inspired you

Photo by Daniel Laflor/peopleimages.com/ AdobeStock

Do you have a colleague, mentor, or social work figure you can’t help but gush about?

Our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone within social work who has inspired you – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by filling in our nominations form with a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.

*Please note that, despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry*

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com

child protection, Child Protection Authority, child sexual abuse, children's social care policy, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, readers' take