Briefing Paper: delivering children’s services in the UK and other parts of the world – a short policy context

This paper aims to articulate the variety of models for children’s services delivery that exist internationally and places these in the context of current UK policy and practice.

The key sections present outlines of the different policy and service provision approaches to children’s services in the UK and the top performing OECD countries. This latter group comprises the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), and the Netherlands. Brief reference is made to other countries, where appropriate.