23 September 2026
Care Show Birmingham, the UK’s leading event for the social care sector, will return to the NEC Birmingham on 7 and 8 October 2026.
Care providers are operating in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing social care landscape. Safeguarding is fundamental to ensuring people who draw on care and support can live with dignity, choice and control.
The Supreme Court’s deprivation of liberty judgment, and the Government’s subsequent response, have brought renewed attention to how people’s rights and freedoms are protected in practice, while the establishment of the National Adult Safeguarding Board signals a wider focus on strengthening safeguarding across the country. For providers, this is a period of change and heightened scrutiny, with a growing need for clarity and practical support as the implications of these developments take shape.
The immediate challenge is understanding what these changes mean in practice.
SCIE can support care providers through them to anticipate and manage risks, building resilient safeguarding cultures that keep people safe and uphold their rights. We can help them to get ahead by connecting legal and policy developments with evidence about their practical consequences, evaluating their current approaches, implementing new ones, and, overall, navigating this period of uncertainty with confidence.
Consistent, high-quality support can make a significant difference to people’s lives. We have successfully delivered several hundred projects over the last three years that have demonstrably changed safeguarding cultures, ranging from training on transitions from adolescence into adulthood and self-neglect to audits of national organisations, and we will be happy to discuss our insights and evidence from them at the Care Show in October.
Vijay Patel, Head of Safeguarding, SCIE
Alongside our focus on safeguarding, SCIE will also provide trusted expertise on wider social care issues at the Care Show.
With major programmes of social care, NHS and housing reform unfolding, there is now an opportunity to drive meaningful change. SCIE’s focus is on using our consultancy, training, insights and resources to support this change.
On 8 October at 13:30, the Chair of our Board, Baroness Glenys Thornton, and our Head of Social Care Transformation and Improvement, Ellie Haworth, will deliver a keynote address titled ‘Policy and practice: building the future of adult social care together’ on the Keynote Stage. This will consider how the sector can become more consistent, more equitable and more confident in its own potential.
This is a once-in-a-generation moment for social care. With reform firmly on the Government’s agenda, we have the chance to move beyond managing pressures and towards a more effective, efficient and safe future for the sector.
Lasting transformation will depend on translating ambition into practice, with decisions grounded in evidence, informed by learning and focused on what makes the greatest difference to people’s lives.
Ellie Haworth, Head of Social Care Transformation and Improvement, SCIE
We invite attendees to visit us at Exhibition Stand N43 to learn more about how we can support you.
Notes to the editor
You can find the full Care Show Birmingham conference programme and register for free here.
About SCIE
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.
If you have any questions in relation to this release, please contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk