{"id":49566,"date":"2014-10-31T14:25:53","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T14:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=b593d07e5bc7bf2f25c1aa44536370fa"},"modified":"2014-10-31T14:25:53","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T14:25:53","slug":"speech-edward-timpson-outlines-successful-innovation-programme-bids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=49566","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Edward Timpson outlines successful Innovation Programme bids"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Thanks, Alan [Alan Wood CBE<\/abbr> President of the Association of Director of Children Services], it\u2019s a pleasure to be here.<\/p>\n

It completes a happy hat trick of speeches for me at this annual conference.<\/p>\n

When we last met in Harrogate a year ago, I launched the new children\u2019s services Innovation Programme from this very platform and asked you, encouraged you, to come forward with your best ideas.<\/p>\n

And in doing so, I asked you to consider an important question: \u201cWhat stops me from doing things differently and better for our most vulnerable children?\u201d<\/p>\n

I challenged you to really push the boundaries; with no ambition too big, no leap too daring, no block insurmountable. <\/p>\n

And in return I promised that we\u2019d provide support to develop the most promising ideas and back you all the way if they proved to be truly transformative for children\u2019s life chances as well as the way the system, as a whole, responds to their needs.<\/p>\n

These weren\u2019t throw away lines, empty rhetoric. I meant it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019m so delighted and reassured to see how you\u2019ve really taken on that challenge in your fantastic response to the programme.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s that response that I want to focus on today.<\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s nothing new about the things that children tell us they need and the things we know they need – love, stability and support to be the best they can be.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s clear that, despite some excellent work and a wealth of commitment and expertise, the system isn\u2019t meeting those needs anywhere near as effectively, quickly and consistently as we\u2019d all want – and the terrible events in Rotherham and the publication, yesterday, of the Coffey report are just the latest reminders of how far we have to go.<\/p>\n

Which is why the work that Isabelle Trowler is doing to raise the status and quality of social work is so vital.<\/p>\n

When I spoke here last year, Isabelle had been appointed as the first Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. And the Secretary of State Nicky Morgan spoke yesterday about the major programme of reform<\/a> Isabelle\u2019s been leading since then and announced important new measures that I\u2019m confident will provide a further, significant boost for the profession.<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s true that few things are as critical to outcomes as the quality of the workforce – from social workers on the frontline to the practice leaders we want to see at the top.<\/p>\n

But this isn\u2019t about the workforce applying their knowledge and skills by the book, fearful of failure.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about practitioners, managers, commissioners, at all levels, having the capability and confidence to do things differently and really strive for excellence; taking as their starting point how it feels to be a child in the system and then reshaping systems and structures accordingly – and not just when things are going wrong, as is too often the case, but when they\u2019re going right as well.<\/p>\n

Which means trusting social workers – as we trust other professionals in education and health – to drive improvement from the ground up, to take services from adequate to good and from good to outstanding.<\/p>\n

To do the job they came into the profession to do.<\/p>\n

But this isn\u2019t a view concocted up in Whitehall. I know that many of you here and beyond have not only come to the same conclusion, but are actively leading the way to make this happen – and I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all your efforts and level of ambition.<\/p>\n

This focus on innovation and excellence, driven by what matters to children – early intervention, stability, high aspirations, support and timeframes built around their needs, not those of the system – rightly runs through all our reforms.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m pleased to say that, with your help, we\u2019ve reached a number of milestones over the past year, particularly with the passage of the Children and Families Act.<\/p>\n

Record numbers of adoptions, with a 26% increase over the last 12 months – which adds up to a massive 63% rise over the past 3 years, helping reduce the delays and the backlog that blighted the adoption process.<\/p>\n

We also have the first young people in care who\u2019ll be supported to stay with their former foster carers beyond 18, thanks to the Staying Put arrangements that came into force in April.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the once-in-a-generation changes to special educational needs that families who\u2019ve trialled them say are transforming the support they receive – and reforming their relationships with professionals.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s ultimately this shift in relationships and culture – not changes in the law, in regulations, structures or processes – that\u2019s vital to successfully delivering these changes and delivering for the children and young people who are at their heart.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m hugely encouraged to see this and hear about this shift starting to happen, especially when it comes to the SEN<\/abbr> reforms. Parents and professionals are reporting that their engagement with one another is becoming more co-operative and far less adversarial as a result.<\/p>\n

I recently met with parent carer forums and local authorities to discuss how the reforms were taking hold and while this culture shift isn\u2019t something that can be easily charted or expressed in statistics, I could feel the difference in the room.<\/p>\n

And we can see this changing dynamic reflected in some great local offers that are developing too.<\/p>\n

In Portsmouth, they have click-throughs to information about every school, some accompanied by short films made by pupils.<\/p>\n

In Oxfordshire, there\u2019s a terrific animation showing what happens during the assessment process, something really valued by families.<\/p>\n

And in Redcar and Cleveland, there\u2019s a brilliant example of the sort of practical but accessible website that you get when parents are really linked into the process.<\/p>\n

Of course, there will sometimes still be disagreements – though we hope far fewer.<\/p>\n

But when they do happen, it\u2019s important that there are sound arrangements to resolve them. Which is why we\u2019re reviewing how well the current set-up is working with the Ministry of Justice<\/a> – and working with the tribunal, with parents, young people and with councils to see how it might be improved.<\/p>\n

And so I would argue that there are good grounds to be optimistic that the changes we\u2019re making, not just to SEN<\/abbr>, but across the board, will make a significant difference to some of our neediest children.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not complacent. I\u2019m under no illusions about the pressures you face, with money tight and challenges mounting.<\/p>\n

And I want to add my heartfelt gratitude to that expressed by the Secretary of State yesterday – and also by the Prime Minister – for the life-changing, indeed, life-saving work you do – work that\u2019s among the most important in our society.<\/p>\n

Ever since seeing the pressures of social work up close and personal whilst growing up in a foster family, I\u2019ve admired the tenacity, dedication, care and sheer work ethic of social workers, all, it has to be said, necessary attributes.<\/p>\n

And I know you\u2019re as keen as I am to see this work having an even greater impact – to achieve bigger, faster, more enduring improvements. To go further still to give children who\u2019ve often suffered great hurt and harm the love, support and opportunities we want for our own children.<\/p>\n

Hence our decision to set up the Innovation Programme. This, as you know, aims to help develop and spread new, more effective ways of supporting vulnerable children.<\/p>\n

I invited you, last year, to get involved and, as I said earlier, the way that you\u2019ve stepped up is nothing short of phenomenal – almost 300 bids from all areas in England that span everything from the redesign of frontline services to small-scale projects targeting specific groups of children or areas of service.<\/p>\n

Inspiring, adventurous, imaginative ideas that could revolutionise the way that children\u2019s services are delivered.<\/p>\n

Just over half of these bids come from local authorities, demonstrating just what\u2019s possible when we unleash the ingenuity and enterprise that we all know is out there – and so I\u2019m hugely grateful for the way in which you\u2019ve risen to the challenge set.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s good to see other organisations – public sector, private and voluntary – also putting up proposals, with around 1 in 6 representing entirely new entrants to children\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also welcome that many proposals centre on children\u2019s social work and support for adolescents in or on the edge of care – the 2 areas that are a particular focus for the programme.<\/p>\n

In all, we\u2019ve so far shortlisted around 60 schemes and we\u2019ll be letting every bidder know whether they\u2019ve been successful in the next 2 weeks.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll then be helping further develop shortlisted bids by providing innovators with whatever tailored support is needed and assessing them against clear criteria – including the potential to improve outcomes, value for money and the capacity of an organisation to deliver.<\/p>\n

Those that make it through this stage will receive further support and challenge and, if they prove to genuinely trailblazing, will be considered by our very energetic and rigorous investment board, chaired by Clive Cowdery – who was himself raised in care and is a passionate champion of social justice.<\/p>\n

The board also includes Isabelle and Alan and Councillor David Simmonds from the Local Government Association has also engaged very constructively with the programme ensuring we keep as many of you as possible plugged into the opportunities it presents.<\/p>\n

So far, 4 bids have made it past this final hurdle and been given the go-ahead.<\/p>\n

They include the London Triborough, which will get \u00a34 million to help them completely redesign how they deliver children\u2019s social care from within and from top to bottom, so that professionals can spend more time with children and families and so that practice is rooted in greater expertise and evidence.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the Pause project, based in Hackney, which is helping women who\u2019ve had successive children taken into care. By interrupting repeat pregnancies, the project is giving women a chance to turn their lives around.<\/p>\n

Having been a family barrister in the care system – on both sides legally – I know just how soul-destroying this cycle can be. And so I\u2019m very pleased to be awarding \u00a33 million to Pause, which will see Hackney working with 4 other local authorities to expand this programme further.<\/p>\n

I can also tell you that we\u2019re providing \u00a34.8 million of funding for the Signs of Safety initiative headed by Professor Eileen Munro. This will involve 10 local authorities:<\/p>\n