Neath Port Talbot library service crowned best in Wales

The service was chosen as Wales’ regional winner in The British Book Awards’ Library of the Year category — a title judged on how well libraries inspire readers, reach new audiences and deliver programmes that genuinely change lives.

A festival that reached families who needed it most

Judges praised Neath Port Talbot for creating NPT Children’s BookFest: Write, Draw, Create — a festival designed to bring high‑quality events to children aged 5–16 in areas where opportunities like this are usually out of reach.

Working with local parks, theatres and community partners, the festival mixed author events, creative workshops and a writing competition to pull in families who don’t normally engage with library services. Judges said it showed “ambition, imagination and real community impact”.

Up against the best in the UK and Ireland

Eight regional and national winners have been announced across the UK and Ireland, selected from 42 finalists. The overall Library of the Year will be revealed at a ceremony at Grosvenor House on 11 May 2026.

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judging panel, said the winners proved how powerful libraries can be when they innovate.

“Libraries are at the heart of our reading culture,” he said. “These winners show how a love of books can be sparked across whole communities — from writing projects to book bingo to programmes supporting refugees.”

Government cash boost for libraries

The announcement comes as the UK Government confirmed a funding package of up to £150,000 for public libraries as part of the National Year of Reading. The money will support projects in areas with high deprivation, low engagement and limited access to cultural services.

‘Vital community anchors’

Karen Napier, CEO of The Reading Agency, said this year’s entries showed the scale of innovation happening in libraries across the UK.

“The regional and country winners truly distinguished themselves through the depth of their impact,” she said. “They show how libraries are shaping resilient, inclusive communities across 2026 and beyond.”

Bridgend children’s services praised for ‘hugely impressive’ improvements following earlier concerns

The latest Improvement Check by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) found that Bridgend County Borough Council had delivered progress in every one of the fourteen areas previously identified as needing urgent attention during inspections in 2022 and 2023.

Inspectors said the council had “consistently prioritised” children’s services, significantly strengthening the quality and delivery of support for families. They praised safeguarding arrangements and described the partnership working within the Bridgend Multi‑Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) as “positive practice”.

The report highlights how the council’s Think Family strategy has helped to transform services. Over the past year, the number of children placed on the child protection register has fallen by almost half, while the total number of cases allocated to specialist teams has dropped by 16 per cent. Early intervention work meant that 92 per cent of children supported in 2024–25 were able to remain with their families rather than enter care.

CIW also noted that the council’s recruitment and retention campaign has created a more stable workforce, reducing reliance on agency staff from 41 per cent to just 7 per cent. Staff morale was described as strong, with 86 per cent of children’s services employees telling inspectors they would recommend working for the authority.

Inspectors found improvements in how the voices of children are sought, heard and recorded, and in the way people feel listened to and treated with dignity and respect, although they said there is still more to do in this area. They also pointed to better management oversight, stronger staff supervision and training, and the development of an Information, Advice and Assistance service which is helping to improve outcomes while reducing demand on frontline teams.

Councillor Jane Gebbie, Cabinet Member for Social Services, Health and Wellbeing, said the findings showed “just how far Children and Family Services has improved in the last two years” and credited early intervention and workforce stability as key factors in the turnaround. She added that the council would continue to build on this progress while addressing the remaining areas for improvement.

The latest inspection marks a significant shift from the concerns raised in 2022, when CIW warned that “sustainable progress at pace” was needed to improve outcomes for children. At the time, Liberal Democrat Senedd Member Jane Dodds criticised the inspection regime for lacking context and failing to address the emotional impact of the Logan Mwangi case on frontline staff.

Ms Dodds, who worked for over 25 years as a child protection social worker before entering the Senedd, has been critical of the Welsh Labour Government, accusing them of ducking from scrutiny for not backing an independent inquiry into children’s services across all of Wales, as is taking place in England and Scotland.

The CIW report will go before Scrutiny on 25 September and Cabinet on 21 October. It can be read in full on the Care Inspectorate Wales website.

#BridgendCountyBoroughCouncil #BridgendMultiAgencySafeguardingHub #CareInspectorateWales #ChildAndFamilyService #childrenSServices #CIW #JaneDoddsMS #socialServices

The Ontario #Ombudsman is asking for help with it's investigation into the CAS practice of putting children in hotels, motels, offices and trailers https://ombudsman.on.ca/resources/news/press-releases/2024/ombudsman-to-investigate-child-welfare-practice-of-placing-children-and-youth-in-hotels,-motels,-off.

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Lemn Sissay: ‘brilliant’ plans to improve child social care ignored by ministers | Children | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/19/lemn-sissay-brilliant-plans-improve-child-social-care-ignored-ministers

#ChildrensServices
#ChildrensSocialCare
#ChildSocialCare
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#2022MacAlisterReview
#UnregulatedChildrensHomes

#Adult #genderclinics in #England ‘to face #Cass-style #review’ into #trans #Healthcare

“It will be external, rather than done #inhouse,” a #source said. “It will be #led by someone external. It will be fairly #similar to what #Cass did with #childrensservices, but this time it will be looking at #adultservices.”

https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/04/11/adult-gender-clinics-in-england-to-face-cass-style-review-into-trans-care/

Children’s services leaders in England call for national ‘plan for childhood’ | Children | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/19/childrens-services-leaders-in-england-call-for-national-plan-for-childhood

#Children
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Children sent to live in boats and caravans as care system ‘is overwhelmed’
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/children-sent-to-live-in-boats-and-caravans-as-care-system-is-overwhelmed/ar-BB1hHYr0?cvid=b321918ff9ab4978cf7ef20de3b8204b&ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&ei=29

#ChildrensServices
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From social care to homelessness, what are the cost pressures facing English councils? | Social care | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/28/from-social-care-to-homelessness-what-are-the-cost-pressures-facing-english-councils

#SocialCare
#Homelesness
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“We have found that – on average – for-profit children’s homes receive worse Ofsted ratings and violate more statutory requirements than those run by charities and local councils.”
#PublicServices #ChildrensServices #PublicProcurement

https://theconversation.com/four-in-five-of-the-childrens-homes-in-england-are-run-for-profit-heres-why-that-is-a-problem-194399