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It is positive that this report recognises significant improvements from councils in providing children’s services, despite the many challenges they face in the education, said Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board.

“Councils have pulled out all the stops to protect children’s budgets but are now being forced to cut funding for vital services such as early intervention support, leaving some children having to reach crisis point before they get help."

“It is good that this research recognises that multi-agency support for pupils with SEND often complements the support offered by schools. However, the continued rise in demand for overall and new education, health and care (EHC) plans remains a pressing issue for councils as they strive to provide every child with the best possible support to meet their needs."

Protecting children and helping them to get the very best in life is one of the most important things that councils do and it is positive that the proportion of children’s services departments rated good or outstanding has increased

Responding to a report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on councils’ children in care services, Cllr Judith Blake, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Looking after vulnerable children is a top priority for councils, which work extremely hard to ensure that all children in care get the love and support that they need to flourish. This report provides useful guidance to help councils continuously improve to achieve this goal. “Unfortunately, many councils are being pushed to the brink by unprecedented demand and increasing

Cllr Linda Thomas, Vice Chair of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to quarterly figures on teenage pregnancies in England and Wales, published today by the Office for National Statistics.

“It is vital that the expertise of local public health teams is used to help with the logistics and rollout of the plan, while government needs to urgently publish guidance that supports this announcement to provide clarity for schools, address questions which currently remain unanswered, and takes account of local needs and capacity challenges.”

"Councils want all children to return to school but it is imperative that pupils return to school only when it is safe for them to do so and schools are best placed to make those decisions based on their own individual circumstances."

Responding to a report by the Children’s Commissioner on the state of children’s mental health services, Cllr Judith Blake, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “This report supports our call for greater investment in the services that help children have mentally healthy childhoods and reduce the pressure on the services that treat mental illness in children. Supporting children early on to reduce the need for clinical interventions means more can receive help when they need it, rather than waiting until they are unwell. “Waiting too long for

"Councils are committed to ensuring that parents have access to high quality, flexible childcare so that all children get the best start in life."