This chapter reveals a major trend in digital innovation is the drive for automation and efficiency. AI tools like North Yorkshire’s AI Policy Buddy and HelpFirst’s case management solutions reduce administrative workloads, enabling practitioners to focus on direct support.
However, challenges remain. Many practitioners are hesitant to adopt AI, concerned about job displacement or reliability. Data security is another key issue, requiring stringent safeguards to protect vulnerable users. Integration with existing systems is often difficult due to fragmented digital infrastructures, and securing sustainable funding for these innovations remains a persistent challenge.
Despite these barriers, AI and digital tools are set to redefine social care. The case studies in this chapter illustrate a shift towards a more agile, data-driven future. Robust training and clear evidence of benefits are clearly vital to fostering confidence. Ethical innovation, collaboration, and user-centred design are all essential to ensuring that digital transformation leads to lasting, positive change in children’s social care.
Projects featured in this chapter
AI Policy Buddy
By North Yorkshire Council in collaboration with Leading AI Ltd.
A policy tool designed to simplify staff access to accurate, up-to-date policy information, reduce workload, and enhance service delivery through the use of generative AI.
Kingston Council’s integration of Magic Notes
By Kingston Council and Beam Up Ltd.
Kingston Council’s rollout of Magic Notes, an AI tool that converts voice recordings from care visits into written summaries. It aims to improve efficiency, reduce admin burden, and free up social workers’ time for more frontline support.
HelpFirst: AI for complex needs management
By HelpFirst Ltd.
Demonstrates how large language models (LLMs) can streamline case management, with in-depth case studies of clients Childline and Citizens Advice Scotland. It highlights the potential for AI to automate and enhance support at scale.
Binti: Software Built for Child Welfare
By Binti, Inc.
A United-States based mobile-friendly platform designed to ensure greater transparency and user engagement in family finding. It was co-developed through collaboration with young people, families and social workers.
After Cloud Storyteller App
By Coram and Dylogic Management Ltd.
A collaboration between Coram and Dylogic to bring the award-winning After Cloud storytelling platform to support children in care to better record and store their memories.
MyPower App
By CoCo Operative, a Community Interest Company
An app designed to out the power back in families’ hands. It digitises social care plans, so families can track their goals, celebrate progress, and request updates without waiting for the next formal meeting.
Donut: An employee experience program
By Donut Technologies Inc.
A US-based employee experience platform that automates and scales an organisation’s people programmes within the tools an organisation already use, enhancing workplace culture. It shows potential for improving staff morale and retention in social care.
The Family Hub: A Digital Front Door
By Halton Borough Council and Beebot AI Ltd.
This initiative seeks to enhance service delivery, streamline processes, and provide personalised, accessible support for families through the creation of an interactive desktop and mobile application offering 24/7 access to children’s and families services.
Transforming the Front Door
By Public Digital Holdings Ltd.
Public Digital has partnered with local authorities to redesign the ‘Front Door’ of children’s social care by creating a more responsive, human-centric first point of contact.
My Best Life
By Mind Of My Own Ltd.
An end-to-end digital solution to the one-stop shop, co-produced with New Philanthropy Capital, Sunderland Together for Children and Salford City Council. It’s a singular directory for all of a local authority’s children’s services.
SMART Children’s Services Copilot
By ICS.AI Ltd.
An AI-powered tool aimed at improving the delivery of children’s services by providing timely updates to families and streamlining workflows for staff. It supports better communication and efficiency, enabling both enhanced service experiences for families and increased productivity for professionals.
MyLifePlan
By Lumin Solutions Ltd.
A digital care management platform developed in collaboration with youth care providers to streamline administrative tasks and enhance compliance in children’s social care. The system enables young people to engage with their care plans through features like digital diaries and memory books, while offering staff user-friendly tools to reduce paperwork and improve oversight.
The UK Centre for AI in the Public Sector
By Newham Council and the University of East London
A collaboration aiming to apply AI and automation to address local public challenges through person-centred and ethically governed solutions. Its focus includes areas such as housing, social care, local economy, health and economic inequalities, sustainability, and engaging youth and cultural sectors.
Simply Readable, an AI easy-read solution
By Swindon Borough Council
An AI-powered tool designed to convert complex documents into accessible Easy Read formats, enhancing comprehension for individuals with learning disabilities and those with low literacy or non-native English proficiency. The solution significantly reduces the time and cost of creating accessible documents, while also supporting translation into 75 languages.
Shore website
By the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a registered charity
A dedicated online platform that provides a safe and confidential space for teenagers worried about sexual thoughts or behaviours.
Use of generative AI tools by West Berkshire Council
A project developing in-house generative AI tools using the ChatGPT API to streamline tasks such as drafting job adverts and internal communications, achieving significant cost savings and efficiency gains. By integrating these tools with existing workflows and prioritising data privacy and ethical governance, the council aims to enhance service delivery while maintaining control over its digital infrastructure.
The Children’s Information Project
By the Rees Centre at Oxford University, University of Sussex, London School of Economics and Political Science, University College London, Manchester Metropolitan University and Research in Practice
A collaboration between local authorities and universities aimed at enhancing how information about and from children, young people, and families is utilised in local and national government to better inform support and services. The project emphasises ethical data use, amplifying diverse voices, and integrating various information types to improve outcomes for children and families.
This report, the third to be produced by Coram’s Innovation Incubator, seeks to collate projects and approaches developed from across the sector in a bid to tackle key challenges faced by children’s services by thinking in new ways. It offers a space for lessons to be shared, products and approaches to be known about and the opportunity to celebrate the people effecting change across the country as a collective force for positive change.
Download the full report here.
About the Coram Innovation Incubator
Children’s chances in life still depend on where they live and who they live with, and 2.3 million children are living with risk in the UK. In the digital-first generation, up to 1 in 6 children face mental health challenges. Resources available do not reflect the scale of need and there are unacceptable variations in availability and quality of services, education and childcare.
The Coram Innovation Incubator exists to meet these challenges. As a membership organisation for leaders and managers within children’s services, we support our members to develop, test, evaluate and scale innovative solutions that improve the quality and impact of children’s services. We facilitate, celebrate and catalyse innovations that lead to significant and sustained impacts on children’s life chances.
Innovation is the creation or adoption of new ideas, methods, or products. It encompasses both technological advancements and novel approaches in various fields. Innovation is the catalyst for positive change. It fuels progress, fosters economic development and shapes our future.
“Being part of the Coram Innovation Incubator has been absolutely beneficial to us. We have learned so much along the way and the generating and sharing of ideas, has encouraged innovation within our LA.” –Aneesa Kaprie, Transformation Lead, London Borough of Bromley
How you can innovate further
Become a member of the Coram Innovation Incubator with access to innovation coaching and innovation project partnership.
Attend our upcoming event: From Insight to Impact: AI, Intersectionality, and the Future of Children’s Services on Monday 15 September 2025.
Get in touch with us to tell us about any promising innovations you’ve seen from across the sector.
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