Positive Engagement: a local government perspective

Andrew CozensStrategic Adviser, Children Adults & Health Services

19 September 2006

Summary

• Every Child Matters is a radical programme to integrate all services for all children 0-19, to fit around the child.

• What is the role of the Director of Children’s Services and the Children’s Services Authority?

• The central place of commissioning.• Opportunities for the voluntary and

community sectors.• Why we need a new participative approach.• A practical example: developing childcare.

The statutory framework and expectations• Director of children’s services

– Professional responsibility and accountability for the effectiveness, availability and value for money of the Local Authority children’s services.

– Leadership both within the Local Authority to secure and sustain the necessary changes to culture and practice, and beyond it so that services improve outcomes for all and are organised around children and young people’s needs.

– Building and sustaining effective partnerships with and between those local and out-of-area bodies, including the private, voluntary and community sectors, who also provide children’s services in order to focus resources (financial, human, physical or any other resources) jointly on improving outcomes for children and young people, particularly in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Governance and strategy

Infrastructure and

organisation

Delivery

**community leadership and

partnership

strategic commissioning

local area agreements

professional and political

leadership

performance management

culture change and workforce

reform

**Improvement support dimensions are derived from ‘Patterns for improvement’ – Audit Commission. These improvement drivers were identified as fundamental after the first round of learning from CPA.

Legislative intent• For children services authorities:

– Continually assess local need, map provision, identify gaps and work with local partners to meet them.

– Commission services so as to ensure real diversity of provision.

– Relentlessly pursue quality, intervene decisively where standards are inadequate, push for improvement where services are only satisfactory and work with providers to spread success.

How are we doing on commissioning?• CSCI State of Social Care national report (December

2005) said:– Evidence that there is no correlation between

‘excellence’ (star and CPA) and the number of local providers failing to meet national minimum standards.

– Evidence that we understand what commissioning is but not how to align resources to a strategy with an implementation plan.

– We often fail to include self-funders’ interests;– We need to think about schools and colleges as

providers and commissioners.– For leaders, both political and managerial,

commissioning is the ‘hard nut to crack’.

Characteristics of the market• Segmented:

– Childcare, Education, Social Care, Health, Community and Voluntary.

– Overlaps and crosses council and other boundaries.• Large service blocks in the public sector.• Purchaser/provider overlaps in commissioners: GPs, PCTs,

children’s services authorities, schools.• Significant government funded franchises.• Existing and proposed service models prescribed by

Government– Extended schools; children’s centres; neighbourhood

nurseries.• Differences in national and local voluntary sector

approaches.• National and regional private providers.

Commissioning approachesHistorical• Central government: national programmes directly funded and

overseen• LEA: admissions; quality; delegation, direction and support for schools• Schools: some collaboration; traded services, ad hoc• LSP/Connexions: national agenda/local flavour• NHS: reactive and lower priority• Social services/joint placement purchasing: reactive and provider driven

Emerging Practice• Children’s Trusts• Commissioning for outcomes• Aligned and pooled budgets• School development partnerships• Area profiles• Delegated patch based commissioning• Direct payments

Developing a taxonomy of commissioningStrategic Planning (Why, whether and what)Market Mapping (Who now and in the future)

Area Profiling (What where)Commissioning Strategy (Why, what and

when)Commissioning Framework (When & who,

choice and control)Provider Identification and DevelopmentTactical Procurement (To whom, when)

Call OffQuality Monitoring and Review

• 1.2 million childcare places.• Diverse market: playgroups,

childminders, maintained, private, voluntary and community settings.

• Increased sustainability and affordability.

• Better integration of services, building on lessons from Sure Start Local Programmes

• Extended activities, opportunities and support through schools

Choice and confidence for parents – the best start for

children

Key commitments for the futureDelivering sufficient childcare through the market – giving

parents choice

Extending the free entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds:

15 hours x 38 weeks & more flexible

Integrating services: rolling out Children’s Centres and extended schools

Ensuring quality and delivery: clear expectations, a highly skilled workforce and an effective system for driving change

and improvement

Local authorities managing the

market

• Analysing demand: what do parents want?

• Mapping supply: what is available and what capacity is there for change?

• Mapping supply to demand• Facilitating the market to secure

sufficient childcare:– Closing gaps and removing

overlaps– Enabling providers to expand /

enter the market– Increasing affordability

AND• Giving parents the information and

advice they need to make choices

Action plan sets out key steps to securing sufficiency and managing the market:

Integrating childcare with wider children’s

services

• New duty on LAs and partners to deliver integrated services

• Involving private, voluntary and community providers in roll out of Children’s Centres

• Strategic umbrella: Children and Young Peoples’ Plan (CYPP)

• Proposal in Education and Inspection Bill for schools to have regard to CYPP

• Guidance on governance in Sure Start Centres and extended schools

Action plan highlights that local authority role for children’s centres and extended schools must be linked:

Positive Engagement: a local government perspective

Andrew CozensStrategic Adviser, Children Adults & Health Services

19 September 2006