Examples and links

OPM has been working with a number of localities to develop effective strategic responses to Every Child Matters. In one locality, the partners have decided to place a major emphasis (backed by their collective resources) on the development of a vision statement that will sustain and support all work relating the implementation of Change for Children and the Children's NSF. This clearly demonstrates the importance of this layer of the DfES 'onion'.

Different pieces of work to support the development of the vision include:

• a baseline survey of the views of senior managers
• developing a sustainable internal resource of 'children's champions', representing all agencies
• a series of 'whole systems events' to include the front-line perspective and the different perspectives of localities
• working with a senior board.

The result of this work was a clear statement of vision, setting out the ambitions of the locality, and the principles underpinning their approach to future services. It sets the parameters for future stages of the work which will include:

• research into models of best practice for integrated services
• developing services that focus on prevention and early intervention, including operational policies
• implementing the common assessment framework
• further workforce development.

In terms of risk management, the potential for disagreements about the way forward has already thought to have been lessened because of the energy and resources that people have committed to the 'journey' so far.

S A M P L E    P R O J E C T Surrey County Council project summary

Contacts: Clive Miller, Principal, Social Care or Ewan King, Director, Analytical Studies

OPM worked with the chief executive's team in a large city to develop options for the structure of the Chief Executive's Management Team (CMT) and the Directorate of Children's Services (DCS).

The tool we used was a workbook, developed by Judith Smyth after interviews with some 25 people. The workbook helped local leaders to work together in groups and select appropriate options for the proposed CMT structure. The workbook included explanations of the role of the DCS and a clear definition of integrated commissioning at the heart of the role. It also included an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the local system, for participants to verify. There was a checklist of the criteria against which people could evaluate the options - these were divided into 'agreed criteria', including the government's expectations, as described in Change for Children and Every Child Matters and 'contended criteria' which included the pace and degree of change, the nature of the commissioner-provider split and the size of the core commissioning team. The workbook included four dimensions (shape of the CMT including options to appoint a Director of Adult Services, the shape and size of the DCS core team, the shape of the provider market and options for locality coordination and management).

The workbook was laid out like the children's 'heads, bodies, legs and feet' play books. There were four options for each dimension and participants worked in groups to 'mix and match' the various configurations in order to choose a set of options that they favoured. It became apparent that the pace of change was different for each level in the structure, enabling us to recommend a change programme starting with the appointment of a core performance measurement and needs analysis team to support the development of the CYPP and the appointment of a DCS.

The final report was well received and recommendations based on it have been put to the Council.  A major achievement of the work was a clear understanding of integrated commissioning and the need for the DCS to hold providers from within the council and externally to account for delivering the CYPP and improving outcomes for children across the city.

Contact: Judith Smyth, Principal, Public Governance

OPM has designed and run many workshops for directors, heads of service and children's partnerships to develop understanding of integrated commissioning. Participants not only understand what integrated commissioning is but are able to explain it to others locally. They understand how the term developed in the NHS and through joint commissioning with social services and is now applied to children's trust arrangements and also to regeneration and other partnership work. They learn how to ensure that their CYPPs are commissioning plans and how to translate strategy and plans into action and improved outcomes.

Commissioning involves holding providers to account for delivering change and improvement and setting standards for the locality. Participants use the workshops to learn about how other places are progressing with Change for Children as well as developing their own action plans. Feedback is very good. People say that the workshops clarify things that previously seemed impossibly complicated and unmanageable. Once they understand the importance of integrated commissioning at the heart of the DCS role they can start to develop plans for change that are reasonably paced and understand how to hold different providers to account for improving outcomes for children, families and young people.

Workshops: Find out about workshops we are currently running.

Contacts: Judith Smyth, Principal, Public Governance, or Clive Miller, Principal, Social Care

The development of the single plan (Children and Young Persons Plan, CYPP) forms a central feature of locality change programmes. The 'one plan' is expected to be the collective expression of how all agencies will plan, commission and deliver services which will have an impact on the five ECM outcomes.

OPM is currently supporting several authorities to ensure the development of the plan grows from robust consultation with the range of stakeholders who need to be engaged. OPM's specialist stakeholder engagement team has designed and deployed a range of consultation methods and, supported by other OPM teams, developed these messages into strategic commissioning priorities for inclusion in the 'one plan'.

For one large county, this has meant working with a network of local facilitators to ensure they are confident about both policy and good facilitation practice, so that a series of locality consultation events with children, parents and professionals can be successfully rolled out.

For a large metropolitan area, OPM ran a series of multi agency whole system events to gauge the views of professionals about the pace and scope for integration.

In both instances the outcomes have ensured that the development of the CYPP is inclusive, transparent, and reflects the diverse views of stakeholders.

Contact: Diane Beddoes, Fellow, Stakeholder Engagement and Communication

Lead professionals play a critical role in ensuring that children and young people get the support they need, when and how they need it. The role should also increase choice for children and families, and improve effectiveness and efficiency in delivery.

The lead professional role is a central element to implementing Every Child Matters, and a range of initiatives and guidance is in place to help develop this role across the country. Specifically, good practice guidance was issued in July 2005 and updated in comprehensive guidance in April 2006.

In December 2005, the Office for Public Management was commissioned by the DfES to investigate the implementation of the lead professional role through 'action research', in order to contribute to further good practice guidance. The objective was to explore barriers to implementing the lead professional function and to develop and describe practical solutions. The work focused on five areas:

• The education context
• The health context
• The voluntary sector context
• Younger children with additional and complex needs
• Young people with additional and complex needs.

Implementation of the lead professional role - Link to report on government website

Our budget holding lead professional papers

Workshops: Find out about related workshops we are currently running.

Contacts: Judith Smyth, Principal, Public Governance, or Clive Miller, Principal, Social Care

OPM has been working with Camden Council to develop ways of measuring social capital using both hard and soft measures. The use of hard measures allows developments to be tracked over time and, to some extent, attributed to particular public policies. Measures include increasing trust in public sector institutions and improvements in community cohesion. We also developed a community workshop process to enable communities to map physical assets in their communities and to evaluate the ‘glue’ that holds the communities together. This process helps community leaders and public service providers to gain a deeper insight into what makes communities work and plan interventions, which may be very subtle, that may help to build social capital.
Download paper Camden Council: Measuring Social Capital (PDF 92K).

OPM has recently carried out a number of successful projects to involve young people in policy making and service review and, at the same time, build more positive relationships between them and public service providers. Often these projects have focused on young people living in economically deprived areas and those traditionally regarded as harder to reach or excluded from opportunities.

Whilst the approach we adopt is always based on a careful identification of specific needs, circumstances and the resources available, we pay particular attention to methods that:

• will attract and involve young people in their own natural groupings
• wherever possible, work in conjunction with local partners and projects
• recognise the distinct needs of diverse local communities
• are sustainable in a way that fosters ongoing work and positive relationships with young people
• are creative, enjoyable and fun.

Whether our work with young people is for service reviews, community strategies or planning, we always recognise the contribution that the process of engagement and involvement can have on social cohesion within and between communities and in developing the citizens of tomorrow. Recent work has included involving young people in: policy collaboratives to explore experiences of school communications; developing priorities for Surrey’s Children and Young People’s Plan; and consultation exploring public perspectives on psychoactive substances and their future use.