With your support, we can continue to strengthen the Fellowship community, create opportunities to learn and innovate, and make life better for children at risk of harm.
24 September 2026
Mary Jackson
Celebrating 10 years of the Frontline Fellowship
As a charity, we are committed to making life better for children at risk of harm. We know, across children’s social care, that things need to change. The Fellowship lies at the heart of this mission.
From 100 to 5,000
Back in September 2016, our first 100 participants completed the Frontline programme (now called Approach Social Work) and became our very first fellows. In the 10 years since, this small group has been joined by many more professionals and leaders, from across our programmes, our staff and the wider sector.
Today, it’s a growing community of over 5,000 members with the experience, relationships and influence to help shape the future of children’s social care.
Together, they are making real and lasting change for children.
The impact of the Fellowship
To support this change, we empower fellows to develop their practice, to strengthen their leadership skills and to turn innovative ideas into action. We provide opportunities for fellows to learn, collaborate and drive meaningful change across the sector.
And it’s having an impact. Nine out of ten surveyed fellows felt they can influence change in the social care system and 98% felt that Frontline has helped them improve outcomes for children.
Eight out of ten said that Frontline has enabled them to lead on implementing innovations or ideas that benefit children. This includes the 21 projects funded through the Innovation programme, in which Frontline has invested more than £140,000 in total. Through ideas as varied as drug harm reduction initiatives, wellbeing apps for professionals and performing arts programmes, these fellow-led projects are helping reshape services for the benefit of children.
Fellows are also thriving. Almost six out of every ten fellows have been promoted into a more senior role since joining the Fellowship, including many who have accessed leadership development and coaching through the Fellowship. With fellows making up more than 10% of children’s social workers in England, this support is also contributing to increasing stability in the wider workforce. The number of children’s social workers is at an all-time high, while the number leaving the profession has declined each year since 2022 and the number of agency workers covering vacancies is at its lowest since 2018.
There’s more to come
There’s still so much more we would like to do. Over the coming months and beyond, we will be working hard to create even more opportunities for connection, amplify the impact of our fellows in senior leadership roles and create more pathways for fellows to influence systems change.
We would like to extend our thanks to our amazing fellows, and to everyone who has contributed to the Fellowship’s success over the years. The Fellowship is entirely funded by donations; that means none of this would be possible without the generosity of our partners and supporters. We are hugely grateful to everyone who has helped build this community over its first decade. We hope you will be part of what comes next.