When “Putting Children First” - the Government’s policy paper on Vulnerable Children - was first published in July 2016, implementation seemed a long way off. But it reached the end of its Parliamentary journey swiftly and by April ‘17 was the Children & Social Work Act. But what have been the structural changes at agency level, who shares accountability and is this part of a ‘bigger picture’ of where the public sector is headed ?
You can download the original document here.
It was always the intention of the Policy paper, that the Act would bring new statutory imperatives at whole-sector level, to the agencies responsible for vulnerable children. Thus impacting strategic priorities, inter-agency working, ownership and accountability. However, those agencies could be forgiven, along with their wider ecosystem of public sector partners, for feeling that ‘commencement’ of the Act and the green shoots of implementation, seemed strangely dislocated from the passing of the Act.
Some strands were quick to kick in - the adoption by Local Authorities of the requirement for whole-organisation Corporate Parenting Principles to name one. Others, such as the shift in ownership of who exactly is accountable for what in Schools, including Academy Trusts, has been slower to seed.
What was clear to me however from the outset, is that the Act would seek to consolidate structural shifts in the Public Sector - the way money flows through the agency infrastructure - which has been gathering pace and quietly bedding in for at least the past 5 years.
The Education & Adoption Act (2015) - with its focus on sub regional ‘cluster - working’ by Local Authorities - passed by the attentions of many out in the field, yet was a clear signal of the ongoing ‘direction of travel’ by the Government to extend the thinking behind the preceding Devolution Deals, to everything else.
Then there has been the rise of ‘sector-led improvement’ models, which the Schools sector has been grappling with for some time. The 2016 ‘Putting Children First’ paper then gave expression to this, as a clearly signalled plank in the Act’s reform of the Social Work sector - including who is seen to ‘thought-lead’ and who is in its organic ‘community of practice’.
And then there is ‘Co Production’ - and the brave new world of the Children & Families Act (2014). For those with SEND, this should pivot on collaborative, person-centred decision-making between agencies, their representatives in the field, the child and their family. In itself, Co Production is not a funding mechanism but certainly, it was meant to be a strong influence on what money comes out of Government, where it goes and what it is used for to support SEND.
At the time of writing, this week brings an announcement by NCB and DfE of a national pilot, to be tested in the regions, of the long awaited re-structure of local Safeguarding agency arrangements.This move was clearly outlined in Putting Children First and set out in the Act. So implementation should not come as a surprise: Local Children’s Safeguarding Boards are to be ‘retired’. Fresh statutory impetus will fall on the a single ‘multi-agency’ effort of Police, LAs & Health.
So, new multi-agency agreements, will be key.
But more than that, collaborative working, will be paramount in pulling off effectiveness.
Collective responsibility is not entirely the same as Collaboration. The challenges to systems thinking, strategic planning and culture, to effect meaningful implementation, will be many.
So where does all this leave us at the present time with respect to delivery on the Act?
I have re-produced here, an analysis I first published on my (old) website, back in December 2016 after “Putting Children First” rolled off the press. This draws a picture of the ‘sector shifts’ that we are all in the midst of, consciously, or otherwise.
Some points are specific parts of the Act, some are my own expression of the ‘sector levers’ which I see as at play in shaping the flow of money, decision- making and influence through the wider public sector ‘economy’.
A summary could be expressed thus: there will be (or more of) -
Regional and sub-regional commissioning of services: a need for collaborative working across traditional Public Sector geographical boundaries
A mixed economy of providers: including increased collaboration in service delivery with Charities
‘Sector - led’ models of organisational improvement: predicated on ‘peer to peer’ support and taking learning from the Education Sector
Adoption of ‘Corporate Parenting Principles’: to govern a whole – organisation approach at Local Authority level to promoting the interests of vulnerable children, with its key agency partners in Education, Health, Social Care
Renewed emphasis on the importance of strong multi-agency partnerships: accountability for local safeguarding arrangements, set within a new national framework, to sit equally between LAs, Health, Police. Local CSBs destined to be retired
New lines of accountability within Schools: aimed at ensuring excellent outcomes for Children Looked After by strengthening measures for those adopted from State Care. To be prioritised, through capacity-building of designated staff who take responsibility for statutory guidance. Accountability rests with the Proprietors (including of Academies) not purely Governing Bodies
New regulatory body for SW: Social Work England
Compulsory SRE for schools:, agreed in partnership with parent-carers with a fresh focus on Relationships Education
“Local Offer” to be extended to Care Leavers
So where are we now?
Whilst commencement of all the strands of the Act, has been more of a trickle than a torrent, the changes it legislated for, are with us nonetheless.
It is worth remembering too that rushed, large-scale implementation is rarely successful, on the ground. That makes ‘piloting’ as an approach, very sensible.
Meanwhile, the onward march towards whole-system adoption of sector-led improvement models, practice-led innovation, co-production and collaborative commissioning - crossing practice, policy and geographical boundaries as it goes- is not going anywhere, anytime soon.
Strap in & enjoy the ride.
July 2017
Web Link : Sector change ushered in for LAs, Schools, Health, Police