NCERCC tribute – Residential Child Care today cannot be understood without understanding Laming’s influence

To pay tribute to Lord Herbert Laming (19 July 1936 – 15 July 2026) is to recognise one of the most influential figures in the modern history of Residential Child Care in the UK.

His work through national inquiries, inspection leadership, and policy reform, directly shaped the standards, regulation, and safeguarding expectations for residential homes for children.

Effective safeguarding depended not simply on structures, he argued, but on skilled professionals, confident leadership and a culture in which children’s voices were heard.

His reports combined forensic analysis with a deep understanding of frontline practice, reflecting both his experience as a practitioner and his belief in public service. He had a razor-sharp administrative intellect and a deeply compassionate heart.

His legacy cannot be measured solely in reports, legislation or institutional change. It lies in a profound shift in culture: the conviction that children must be seen, heard and protected through collective responsibility rather than fragmented services. His work reminded governments and professionals alike that safeguarding is not an administrative exercise but a moral obligation. He was clear in the instruction to think the unthinkable, and that “We must … never allow ourselves to think that we know everything”. He refused to look away from difficult truths.

Every person working with children in care today works inside structures he argued into being, the duty to share information, the expectation that agencies talk to each other.

The importance of having someone like Lord Laming

Lord True, in the House of Lords tributes(22.07.26) observed “When things did go wrong tragically, it was Herbert who was repeatedly called on to bring teams together, not to apportion blame but to find out why things went wrong and what would be needed to prevent them happening again”.

In his 2009 progress report, The Protection of Children in England, Lord Laming said in the introduction:

“Sadly, sometimes even our imaginations fail to help us understand the dependency of young children or the vulnerability of adolescents, regardless of their displays of bravado … children and young people need security, stability, love and encouragement.”

Personal reflection

Lord Laming, ‘Herbert’ as I knew him when we did not have our suits on, was a gentleman and a gentle man. He was unfailingly, no matter the stresses he was facing, warm, friendly, unassuming, funny, interested, curious, wise, kind, generous. In talking with him he would always remember and share the learning from where he came from, the North East, and from his formative experiences, personally and professionally. Jonathan Stanley

The debt social work/care has to Lord Laming

Lord Laming was unapologetic in his determined campaigning to highlight the day-to-day pressures and achievements of those working in the social services and social care sectors.

We must never forget him and the caring legacy he has left to children everywhere.