4.1 Research the policy and guidance impacting on support services at national level, and evaluate how this operates at local level

This guide will help you answer 4.1 Research the policy and guidance impacting on support services at national level, and evaluate how this operates at local level.

National Policy and Guidance Impacting on Support Services

Support services for children and young people in England are heavily influenced by national policies and statutory guidance. These policies set legal standards for safeguarding, welfare, education and health. They ensure that children and young people receive consistent high‑quality support across the country.

At national level, the government issues laws and frameworks that all local areas must follow. These are often supported by guidance documents from departments such as the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Legislation and statutory guidance give clear instructions on what must happen and who is responsible.

Key national policies and laws include:

Children Act 1989 and 2004 – These define parental responsibility, local authority duties, and the requirement to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 – Statutory guidance on inter‑agency working for safeguarding and child protection
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023 – Guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding duties
SEND Code of Practice 2015 – How to support children with special educational needs and disabilities
Equality Act 2010 – Rights of children and young people not to be discriminated against
Health and Social Care Act 2012 – Framework for the integration of health services and public health responsibilities
Children and Families Act 2014 – Includes the legal framework for adoption, family justice and SEND reforms

These policies influence how services operate, funding priorities, staffing, training requirements and how agencies work together.

Purpose of National Policies

National policies provide a consistent benchmark for service quality for every child and young person in England. They aim to:

Protect children from harm
Promote equal opportunities
Improve life chances
Strengthen family support networks
Promote partnership working between agencies

The purpose is to make sure that local authorities, schools, health services and voluntary organisations work within the same legal framework. This prevents significant differences in quality of support between areas.

National Policy in Practice

The Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance is a key example. It sets clear duties for local authorities, schools, police, health teams and other partners. It requires them to have a Local Safeguarding Partnership with agreed protocols for information sharing, referral pathways, and multi‑agency meetings to protect children.

The SEND Code of Practice sets the standard for identifying and meeting the needs of children with SEND from birth to age 25. It guides professionals on how to create Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), work in partnership with parents and promote inclusive practices in education settings.

The Equality Act 2010 protects against discrimination based on characteristics such as disability, race, religion or gender. This applies to both public services and private organisations providing support.

These documents at national level provide mandatory duties. Organisations must follow them or they will be failing to meet legal accountability.

Evaluating National Policy at Local Level

Local authorities take these national rules and turn them into operational procedures. This involves setting up local services, appointing safeguarding leads, creating protocols for support referrals, and allocating funding.

For example:

A local council will have its own safeguarding board or partnership. This group will include representatives from children’s social care, local health trust, police, education leaders and voluntary sector organisations.
Schools will adopt safeguarding procedures in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education and will train staff accordingly.
Local health teams integrate public health nurse programmes with social care responses in line with guidance from the Health and Social Care Act.

Evaluation of national policy at local level involves checking how closely local practice matches national requirements. Local audits, inspections by Ofsted, Care Quality Commission, and internal reviews measure performance.

If gaps are found, local authorities must take action to raise standards. For example, if a review finds poor communication between agencies during child protection cases, local safeguarding partnerships may set new rules for case conferencing.

Challenges in Local Implementation

Implementing national guidance locally can face challenges:

Funding pressures can limit available resources for services such as early intervention teams
Rural areas may struggle with access to specialist services compared to urban areas
Staff recruitment and retention can impact service quality
Coordination between multiple agencies requires strong leadership and shared priorities
Cultural and language differences in communities can affect how services engage with families

Despite these issues, local authorities must find solutions that still meet national standards.

Examples of Local Operation

Local Safeguarding Partnerships

These groups operate under the national Working Together guidance. They manage:

Strategic safeguarding plans
Professional training programmes
Serious case reviews after child deaths or serious harm
Public awareness campaigns

Local operation means agreements on how referrals are managed, who chairs safeguarding meetings and how cases are escalated.

Local Education Services

Schools take national guidance such as Keeping Children Safe in Education and make it part of their daily practice. This often includes:

Appointing a Designated Safeguarding Lead
Holding regular safeguarding meetings
Monitoring attendance closely
Providing safe recruitment checks for staff
Teaching children about safety through the curriculum

Local SEND Services

Following the SEND Code of Practice, local areas create processes to:

Identify children with SEND early
Provide coordinated support across education, health and social care
Develop EHCPs and review them annually
Engage parents and young people in decision‑making

Local differences can include the size of the specialist provision available or the speed of assessment services.

Local Health Services

Local health boards follow national frameworks such as the Healthy Child Programme. This includes:

Health visitor appointments for under‑fives
Developmental checks
Mental health services for young people
Immunisation programmes

These services link with schools and social care teams to provide integrated support.

Monitoring and Accountability

Inspection and monitoring ensure local services follow national policies. Tools used include:

Ofsted inspections for education and early years providers
Care Quality Commission inspections for health services
Local authority audits on safeguarding practice
Reports to councillors and local scrutiny committees

If standards are not met, improvement plans must be drawn up. These plans outline what will change, how progress will be checked, and by whom.

Influence of Voluntary and Community Sector

National policies apply to voluntary groups delivering services funded by public money. Many charities work directly with children and young people, offering youth clubs, mentoring schemes and specialist support.

Local authorities contract these groups to deliver services, the contracts require compliance with safeguarding laws, equalities duties and quality standards.

This means national policy shapes not only statutory bodies but also voluntary sector operations.

Importance of Multi‑Agency Working

National guidance often stresses the importance of agencies working together. Locally, this means joint training sessions, shared data systems, and coordinated intervention plans.

For example, in a child protection case, the school, GP, social worker and police will all share information to create a clear picture for decision‑making. This coordination can prevent delays and reduce risk.

Training at Local Level

Training ensures all practitioners understand and apply national guidance properly. Local areas offer:

Safeguarding induction for new staff
Regular refresher training
Specialist courses on topics such as child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse or mental health
Multi‑agency safeguarding training sessions

Training content is based on national statutory guidance but adapted for local case examples.

Examples of Evaluation Strengths and Weaknesses

When evaluating local application of national policy, you might see strengths such as:

Clear and consistent referral pathways across agencies
Strong links with community groups to improve engagement
Good quality record‑keeping and case tracking

Weaknesses might include:

Delays in assessments for SEND children
Limited specialist provision for mental health support
Poor attendance at multi‑agency meetings from some partners

Recognising these points provides opportunities for service improvement.

Impact on Day‑to‑Day Work

For practitioners in the children and young people’s workforce, national guidance influences:

How you identify needs
How you raise concerns
Who you report to
What training you attend
How decisions are recorded and reviewed

Local procedures should give you clear instructions that match national rules. This makes your job safer, reduces mistakes and ensures children receive the right help quickly.

Linking Families into Support

Local services often act as the first contact for families seeking help. Staff can inform families of their rights under national laws and connect them with appropriate local services.

For example:

Advising parents of SEND children about the EHCP process
Guiding families to early help services before needs become urgent
Helping migrant families to access education and health services free from discrimination, as directed by the Equality Act

These links work best when local agencies understand both national requirements and local service capacity.

Final Thoughts

National policy sets the foundation for how children and young people are supported in England. It ensures every local authority works to clear legal standards. Without this, there could be significant differences in the quality of provision between regions.

At local level, the challenge is turning national direction into day‑to‑day practice that meets the needs of local communities. This means adapting procedures while keeping all legal duties intact. Good local leadership, effective partnership working, and strong training programmes help to achieve this.

For a worker, knowing the national rules and seeing how they operate locally helps you work more effectively. It gives you confidence to act, clarity on your role and the knowledge that you are providing support within the law. This benefits not only the organisation you work for but most importantly the children and young people you serve.