Consultation on changes to two codes of practice: Part 6 and Special Guardianship Orders

This consultation document seeks views on proposed new wording for the Part 6 Code of Practice under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Code of Practice on Special Guardianship Orders.

Previous consultations have been held on the proposed policy changes and closed on 27 October 2025. This consultation has been informed by the responses received and the feedback from stakeholders.

This consultation will run for 8 weeks until the 7 April 2026. This shortened period is to avoid overlap with the pre-election period in Wales and is reflective of the fact that the key changes to the Code were previously considered as part of the 12-week consultations held between 4 August 2025 and 27 October 2025.

Language

To align with terms used in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, when referring to children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced care, we will be using the terms “looked after children” and “care leavers”.

We do acknowledge there are alternative terms used such as “children looked after”, “care-experience” and “care experienced”.

When referring to the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, “The Act” will be used. In addition, when referring to the Part 6 Code of Practice (Looked after and Accommodated Children), “the Code” will be used.

Impact Assessments 

We will be reviewing and revising the relevant impact assessments to support this update to the Code of Practice including a regulatory impact assessment.

This consultation seeks views on the proposed revised wording of two existing Codes of Practice. These amendments follow an earlier consultation held in 2025 on the proposed policy changes. The two Codes of Practice under review are: 

• the Code of Practice on the exercise of social services functions in relation to Part 6 (looked after and accommodated children) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and,
• the Code of Practice on the exercise of social services functions in relation to special guardianship orders issued under section 145 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

We are seeking feedback on whether the revised wording accurately reflects the intended policy changes and provides clarity for practitioners.

We have also taken the opportunity to review the Codes of Practice to check for updates to align the text more closely with the legislative requirements and to update references to legislation and legal requirements where new legislation has been introduced since the Codes were last reviewed in 2018. Formatting and terminology amendments will be addressed by officials during the consultation period. 

The Code of Practice on the exercise of social services functions in relation to Part 6 (looked after and accommodated children) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

Two consultations took place in 2025 on proposed changes to the Part 6 Code of Practice. The first consultation took place from 4 August to 27 October 2025 and sought views on proposed changes including:

 a dedicated corporate parenting chapter which provides guidance for local authorities to support their role as corporate parents; 

• strengthening the importance of the voice of the child specifically within the care and support planning and placements chapters of the Code
• strengthened guidance on the undertaking of moves and review meetings
• an update on terminology and legislation since the last update of the Code which took place in April 2018

A link to the 2025 consultation and a summary of the responses can be on Gov.Wales.

The second consultation on the Part 6 Code of Practice which ran between 4^th August and 27^th October 2025, focused on 

• strengthening adoption guidance by aligning the Part 6, adoption and Part 4 care-planning frameworks, while providing clearer, practice-focused direction on areas such as early permanence, family group conferences and practitioner responsibilities to support consistent and effective adoption planning and review. 
• enabling more flexible review and visiting arrangements for kinship foster placements to reduce unnecessary intrusion while maintaining strong safeguarding and appropriate oversight. 
• adding clearer guidance so that mainstream foster carers, fully approved kinship carers and temporarily approved kinship carers can understand how they can access the enhanced fostering allowance, promoting greater transparency and consistency across Wales. 

A link to the 2025 consultation and a summary of responses can be found on Gov.Wales.

The Code of Practice on the exercise of social services functions in relation to special guardianship orders issued under section 145 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

As part of the second consultation, the Welsh Government also sought views on the Code of Practice on the exercise of social services functions in relation to Special Guardianship Orders issued under section 145 of the Social Services and Well‑being (Wales) Act 2014. Feedback was invited on proposals to strengthen practice and reduce current variations in support for Special Guardianship families across Wales by introducing a statutory requirement for all local authorities to use the national Special Guardianship Support Plan templates.

Action to be taken:

When responding to the consultation questions below, this document should be read alongside the versions of both Codes of Practice available on the consultation webpage. For ease, on the page is a version of each Code of Practice with the new text shown in red font and deletions shown in red text with strikethrough. A clean version of both Codes with all changes accepted is also available.

The Code of Practice on the exercise of social services functions in relation to Part 6 (looked after and accommodated children) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 

Corporate Parenting

The proposed changes to the Part 6 Code of Practice aim to provide a dedicated corporate parenting section which provides guidance for local authorities to support their role as corporate parents. These changes can be found in the preamble to the Code.

Question 1

Do you agree with the new corporate parenting wording inserted into the Code? If not, please suggest what further amendments are needed? 

Care and Support Planning

The proposed changes to the Part 6 Code of Practice include new wording on multi-agency working, family contact and review meetings. This can be found in chapter 1.

Question 2

Do you agree with the new wording inserted into the Code relating to care and support planning? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed?

Placements

The proposed changes to the Part 6 Code of Practice include new wording intended to strengthen practice in undertaking placement moves paying particular reference to the handling of looked after children’s personal belongings. This can be found in chapter 2.

Question 3

Do you agree with the new wording inserted into the Code relating to moves? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed?

Review of cases

The proposed changes to the Part 6 Code of Practice include new wording to provide clarity on the role of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and the review process. This can be found in chapter 4.

Question 4

Do you agree with the new wording inserted into the Code relating to role of the IRO and the review process? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed?

Alignment of Part 6 (Adoption) and Part 4 (Care Planning) Frameworks

The proposed changes to the Part 6 Code of Practice aim to provide clearer, more detailed guidance for social workers and reviewing officers when a child’s care plan is for adoption. They bring together the relevant legislation, regulatory duties and good practice frameworks to ensure consistent, well‑informed adoption planning, from early permanence and family group conferences through to care planning, placement, review and post‑adoption support. These changes can be found in chapters 1, 2 and 3.

Question 5

Do the revised sections clearly explain how Part 6 (adoption) processes align with Part 4 care planning requirements? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed?

Question 6

Do the revised sections sufficiently support consistent adoption planning and review across Wales? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed.

Question 7

Do you have any comments on the proposed wording for incorporating the Welsh Early Permanence (WEP) Framework into the Code of Practice, including whether it is clear, accurate, and supports effective implementation in practice

Review and Visiting Requirements for Kinship Foster Placements

These changes are intended to give greater flexibility for fully approved kinship foster carers by allowing review and visiting arrangements to be tailored to the needs of each child and family. The changes can be found in chapters 3 and 4.

Question 8

Is the revised drafting clear in explaining the new review and visiting arrangements for kinship foster placements? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed?

Question 9

Does the wording provide sufficient clarity on how flexibility should be applied in practice, while still maintaining appropriate safeguarding and oversight?

Access to the Enhanced Fostering Allowance

These changes aim to provide clearer, more consistent guidance on how all types of foster carers, mainstream, kinship and temporarily approved, can access the enhanced fostering allowance. These changes can be found in chapter 2.

Question 10

Does the drafting sufficiently explain how carers can apply for or receive the allowance? If not, please describe what additional wording or explanation would help make the process clearer.

Question 11

Are the terms and definitions used in this section understandable and consistent? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed?

The Code of Practice on the exercise of social services functions in relation to special guardianship orders issued under section 145 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. 

The purpose of the changes is to ensure that special guardianship support plans are developed consistently across Wales by making use of the national support plan templates a statutory requirement. This will provide a coherent, evidence‑based framework for assessing need, planning support and reviewing arrangements, helping to reduce current inconsistencies in practice and ensuring all special guardians, children and families receive a clear, structured and equitable offer of support regardless of where they live.  The changes can be found in chapters 9 and 10.

Question 12

Does the revised wording clearly convey the statutory status and practical use of the national special guardianship support plan templates, and how they fit within local authority assessment, care‑planning and review processes? If not, please explain what further amendments are needed.

Minor and Technical Amendments to the Codes of Practice

In addition to the proposed policy amendments, we are also consulting on a number of minor drafting changes to both Codes of Practice. These changes are intended to ensure full alignment with the relevant regulations, improve internal consistency, and enhance the overall clarity and readability of the Codes. These amendments do not introduce new policy requirements but are designed to make the documents more accessible and easier to navigate for practitioners.

Question 13

Do you agree with the proposed minor drafting changes intended to align the Codes of Practice more closely with the relevant regulations? If not, please explain which areas you feel require further amendment.

Other Questions

Question 14

What, in your opinion, would be the likely effects of the drafting changes to the Codes of Practice on the Welsh language? We are particularly interested in any likely effects on opportunities to use the Welsh language and on not treating the Welsh language less favourably than English.

• Do you think that there are opportunities to promote any positive effects?
• Do you think that there are opportunities to mitigate any adverse effects?

Question 15

 In your opinion, could the drafting changes to the Codes of Practice be formulated or changed so as to:

• have positive effects or more positive effects on using the Welsh language and on not treating the Welsh language less favourably than English; 

  or

• mitigate any negative effects on using the Welsh language and on not treating the Welsh language less favourably than English?

Submit your comments by 7 April 2026, in any of the following ways:

• complete our online form
• download, complete our response form and email: PlantSynDerbynGofal@gov.wales 
• download, complete our response form and post to:

Improving Outcomes for Children  
Social Services and Chief Social Care Officer
Health, Social Care and Early Years 
Welsh Government 
Cathays Park 
Cardiff CF10 3NQ

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