Relationships are being treated as a core outcome

Government policy published in June 2026 places enduring relationships at the centre of children's social care reform. It says services should do everything possible to keep siblings together through care or maintain their relationships when living together is not possible.

For children's homes, this is more than arranging contact dates. Staff influence whether family time feels safe, predictable and emotionally supported, and whether important relationships survive changes of placement, school and professional team.

The meaning of sibling should begin with the child

The policy asks practitioners to consider the child's view of who their brothers and sisters are and what those relationships mean. Family structures are often more complex than a list of legal relationships. A child may have full, half, step, foster or other sibling-like relationships that are central to their identity.

Records should therefore avoid reducing relationships to a basic contact table. They should show who matters to the child, how the child describes the relationship, what support is needed and what the child wants to happen.

Contact quality matters as much as frequency

Regular contact can support identity, belonging and emotional security, but contact may also be complicated, disappointing or unsafe. The care plan and safeguarding assessment remain essential. A home should not present every completed contact as automatically positive.

Useful records describe preparation, travel, the child's presentation before and after, what support was offered, any changes or cancellations and what follow-up is needed. Repeated cancellations or transport failures should be escalated because they can damage trust even when no single event appears serious.

New duties are approaching

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 strengthens expectations on local authorities to support reasonable contact between children in care and their siblings. The policy says supporting regulations are expected to come into force in autumn 2026, alongside work to identify and share best practice.

Homes do not need to wait for a new form to improve practice. They can already make sibling relationships visible in placement planning, key work, diaries, reviews and transition plans.

Staying Close extends the relationship beyond the placement

The policy also describes the continued development of Staying Close and stronger local offers for care leavers. The aim is to ensure that young people leaving care can retain practical and emotional support rather than experiencing another abrupt ending at the point they move out.

For residential homes, preparation for independence should therefore include people as well as tasks. Budgeting, cooking, tenancy and employment matter, but so do trusted adults, family networks, community links, personal advisers and knowing who will answer when a young person needs help.

What homes should record

  • A relationship map chosen with the child. Include family, siblings, trusted adults and community connections.
  • Contact preferences and plans. Record frequency, method, support needs, transport and any restrictions.
  • The child's experience. Capture wishes and feelings before and after contact, without forcing a positive interpretation.
  • Missed or disrupted contact. Include the reason, impact, action taken and whether escalation is needed.
  • Transition commitments. Be clear about who will remain involved after the child moves and how contact will continue.
  • Personal adviser information. Keep names, contact details, planned involvement and outstanding actions current.

Relationships should not vanish between modules

Family time, daily records, reviews, complaints, missing episodes and independence work may all contain information about the same relationship. When those records are disconnected, staff can miss patterns such as anxiety before contact, emotional distress after cancellations or increased missing risk linked to family events.

A joined-up record helps the home respond to the whole experience rather than treating each event as separate administration.

The practical standard

A child should be able to see that the adults around them understand who matters, take promised contact seriously and plan for relationships to continue beyond the placement. That is a more meaningful measure of preparation for adulthood than whether a checklist was completed on time.

Sources used for this article

Sector briefing published by ResiNotes on 11 July 2026. This article summarises current official material for general information and is not legal advice.