Children’s Services and Education

Because every child deserves better

We’re building the future of children’s services; redesigning care and support with the people who deliver it, powered by digital, data and lived experience.

The care, support and education children receive shapes everything, from life chances to community wellbeing. But despite the dedication of those working across the system, too often the system falls short of delivering the right help at the right time.

The result? Missed opportunities, unsustainable pressure, and avoidable harm.

We believe it’s time for a new model - one that’s co-designed, digitally enabled, and built around what truly works for children, families and professionals.

Start a conversation

Talk to our Children’s Services team about your priorities and challenges

Why we exist

At Channel 3, we back the people who dedicate their lives to supporting children and young people, whether in care, safeguarding, education or SEND.

We know how frustrating it is when outdated systems or processes get in the way of delivering what matters. That’s why our purpose is simple:

To make it easier for you to achieve better outcomes - sustainably.

We work shoulder-to-shoulder with local teams to:

  • Set a compelling vision for change

  • Co-design and implement new models of care and support

  • Use digital tools to scale what works

  • Drive system-wide transformation from frontline to boardroom

Our work is rooted in lived experience, and guided by real-world evidence. The results speak for themselves: transformed services, stronger teams, and brighter futures.

How we work

Every place is different.

So we start by understanding yours - your data, ambitions, context and readiness for change.

With our diagnostic tools and sector insight, we help you:

  • See where you are

  • Set the case for change

  • Align around a shared ambition

  • Build momentum for delivery

Together, we co-design, test, deliver and embed new ways of working, powered by digital and grounded in partnership.

From initial idea to impact on the ground, we walk the journey with you.

See where you are, what’s working, and where there’s opportunity for change, with insight from our Blueprint and national experience.

Where we can help

Whether you’re preparing for inspection, improving service quality, or leading system-wide transformation, we support you to act with clarity and purpose. We support you to focus on immediate priorities while building towards sustainable, long-term impact.

    • Early help

    • Family support

    • Safeguarding

    • Care and permanence

    • SEND

    • Travel to school

    • Co-production and lived experience

    • Discovery and diagnostics

    • Strategy and change planning

    • Practice and behaviour change

    • System and service redesign

    • Commissioning

    • Workforce planning and recruitment

    • Inspection readiness

    • Outcomes tracking and impact evaluation

    • Financial sustainability

Our Children’s Services experts

  • Leo Jones

    A qualified social worker, Leo has over 20 years’ experience leading transformation programmes across the public sector. He’s passionate about strengthening the links between public services and the citizens and patients they serve.

  • Al Thompson

    Al has worked intensively with over 70 local areas across England, as well as with key Government departments, leading programmes across children's services and special educational needs and disabilities.

  • Jamie McMahon

    Jamie's near 20 years working to improve public services has spanned local authorities, the charity sector as Regional Director of the National Deaf Children's society and now a of decade public sector transformation consultancy.

  • Alex Stevenson

    Alex has spent the past eight years working across the public sector, with a particular focus on children’s services. He is passionate about the value public services can offer, especially to those who need them most.

  • Zoe Trott

    Zoe is a qualified Social Worker with over four years' experience working in Child in Need and Child Protection teams, as well as supporting Kinship Carers and Special Guardians in a Supervising Social Worker role.

Let’s build what’s next

Whether you’re focusing on compliance, quality, transformation or sustainability, we’re ready when you are.