{"id":90208,"date":"2018-03-21T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T09:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=dcc0ee11062f15d4c122975c8b0486ed"},"modified":"2018-03-21T09:30:24","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T09:30:24","slug":"speech-social-care-commentary-what-do-local-authorities-need-to-do-to-improve-from-inadequate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=90208","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Social care commentary: what do local authorities need to do to improve from inadequate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In this commentary, I want to share some of the things we see local authorities (LAs<\/abbr>) across the country doing as they move away from inadequate \u2013 the ingredients for improving, if you will. I also want to celebrate the commitment and passion of leaders, managers and professionals in these areas by showing examples of what specific LAs<\/abbr> have achieved.<\/p>\n

The difference that these LAs<\/abbr> make to the lives of children and families is really positive. Some LAs<\/abbr> such as Rotherham, Doncaster and West Berkshire have recently moved from inadequate to good and they have all transformed the response to children in care, children in need and families in their areas.<\/p>\n

Every LA\u2019s journey out of inadequacy is unique, but there are always some common themes. To discover what these themes or ingredients look like, we have spoken to inspectors, LAs<\/abbr> and the Department for Education (DfE<\/abbr>). During this research, we also found some challenges and barriers that LAs<\/abbr> had on their journey to improvement. We were particularly struck by the resilience of leaders, managers and frontline staff.<\/p>\n

Below, I will discuss these common themes we see across improving LAs<\/abbr> in the hope that they will be useful for those of you also on an improvement journey.<\/p>\n

Accepting the report\u2019s findings<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest initial barriers to improvement is denial. This can really delay an LA beginning to focus on improvement. West Berkshire accepted the findings in its report straight away and focused on how to make the improvements identified. There was ownership across the local authority and partnership for making those improvements. It was therefore able to begin developing and implementing a plan straight away. West Berkshire involved all staff at the earliest stage and created a shared sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n

One director of children\u2019s services (DCS<\/abbr>) described how you might have to accept that things may get worse before they get better, because staff may choose to leave if they do not like the changes that are taking place. It may take time to recruit social workers, but staying on track with the plan is critical.<\/p>\n

Having vision and ambition<\/h2>\n

It is important for leaders to articulate and communicate a clear vision across the whole council and partnership. We saw LAs<\/abbr> improving when effective visions and supporting plans were child focused. What was really striking was the ambition of LAs<\/abbr> spoken to. Their aim was not just to be no longer inadequate, but to at least aim for good, or even outstanding \u2013 for example, Doncaster Children\u2019s Services Trust has a clear aim to become outstanding. All these LAs<\/abbr> strived to deliver excellent services for children. This ambition was very effective in motivating and engaging staff and partners.<\/p>\n

Knowing about frontline practice and children\u2019s experiences and progress<\/h2>\n

LAs<\/abbr> expressed the importance of ensuring that they had a clear understanding of why children\u2019s services are inadequate. This understanding enables the improvement plan to focus on the right things and helps staff to prioritise accordingly. It is important not to have an initial knee-jerk reaction, because this may slow the improvement journey.<\/p>\n

To understand the impact of actions on practice, it was critical that LAs<\/abbr> developed an effective quality assurance system and ensured that they could access timely performance information. Auditing was a very important part of this.<\/p>\n

For example, Rotherham has access to comprehensive and live performance information using a new electronic recording system and an online performance portal and dashboard. These systems ensure that the LA has immediate, effective oversight of frontline practice. A revised quality assurance framework and a \u2018Beyond auditing\u2019 tool give managers knowledge of the quality of practice.<\/p>\n

Rotherham also has a team of auditors who are engaged with a programme of \u2018deep dives\u2019 across all social work teams and services. The \u2018Beyond auditing\u2019 approach involves the auditor working with allocated social workers and team managers to carry out audits and provide coaching. This is part of a reflective conversation to bring about immediate impact and change to address identified practice issues. It supports a strong culture of learning. Manchester also described the importance of \u2018closing the loop\u2019 when auditing and checking that the actions were completed.<\/p>\n

Many LAs<\/abbr> highlighted the challenge they face when electronic recording systems do not support social workers to do their jobs. Significant investment and time were often needed to get a new electronic recording system in place. However, some local authorities were better able to overcome these barriers and implement an effective electronic recording system in a timely way. The dilemma for some local authorities was about how this affects the pace of improvement, because in the long term this investment will support social workers but in the short term it may mean a drop in performance that cannot be fully mitigated.<\/p>\n

Some LAs<\/abbr>, such as Manchester, bought in performance clinics to better understand frontline practice and children\u2019s experiences. These were chaired by the deputy director and attended by managers across services. They were effective in holding managers to account and in embedding an increased focus on quality.<\/p>\n

Prioritising and organising your improvement journey<\/h2>\n

LAs<\/abbr> stressed how important it was for a plan to be co-produced with, and therefore owned by, partners, social workers, managers and young people. Planning needs to be long term and actions measurable. Different improvements to parts of the system will take different amounts of time.<\/p>\n

There needs to be a clear operating model that sets out:<\/p>\n