1. family and parenting
2. children

Children in Need
Commissioning Strategy
2012-2015
“To develop a continuum of integrated family and carer support
services for children and young people in need that is effective in
protecting them from harm and promotes wellbeing”.
19
Table of Contents
Foreword
2
Introduction
3
Our vision
5
Our purpose
5
Our values
6
Our priorities
6
Our principles
7
National policy context
9
Local policy context
11
Delivery Model
14
Mapping Children and Family Services
15
Commissioning
16
Monitoring and review
18
Summary Needs Analysis
19
1
Foreword
I am delighted to be able to introduce the Newport Children’s Services Children in
Need Strategy, which will provide an overarching strategic framework for the services
being delivered to children and families in Newport.
This Strategy is the result of a comprehensive and collaborative needs analysis that
highlighted the need to change the way we deliver services to our local families and
young people. Changes in National Policy, such as the introduction of the Families
First Programme and the Integrated Family Support Service (IFSS), have clearly
identified the responsibilities of local authorities to address the needs, such as those
identified by the Poverty Agenda, in the local communities. Newport clearly shows, via
this document, the intention to deliver appropriate and effective services that meet
these Agendas. Within the IFSS arena Newport has proved a leading authority due to
being a successful pilot pioneer, which has given the opportunity to work with a
preferred partner to deliver ongoing innovative and aspirational services.
This dynamic document captures the transformation that has been taking place
through the pilot schemes and the robust strategic partnerships that have been formed
which have shaped the direction of travel. All this evidences that the approach
adopted by Newport Family Services works and can be developed into a full, long term
strategy; the result of which, means beneficial, effective family support services and
less children into care as a result of the investment in more efficient services.
Councillor Bob Poole
Cabinet Member for Education and Young People
2
Introduction
We believe statutory services will not be able to respond to increasing need without
developing models of integrated family support services in conjunction with targeted
preventative approaches that empower, safeguard and sustain children and families
for later life. The Children in Need Commissioning Strategy sets out how Newport City
Council will use commissioning to underpin the ongoing transformation of children’s
services, to create integrated family focused services, that are firmly rooted in a holistic
and preventative approach. The Strategy focuses specifically on the commissioning
activity that will support the transformation of services for the most vulnerable children.
The Strategy aims to:
•
•
•
•
•
establish the national policies that inform the direction of travel
explain the local documents that provide the overall strategic context and
objectives
summarise the key findings of our needs analysis and review
define what is meant by commissioning
establish the commissioning priorities for 2012-2015.
The Children in Need Commissioning Delivery Plan provides more detailed information
on the review of each specific service area and the activity that will be undertaken to
meet the overarching outcomes. A high level action plan is at the end of this
document.
The Welsh Government (WG) has directed that effective public services in Wales must
deliver integrated services to children and families and provide holistic support at every
level of need. The policy paper, ‘Sustaining Social Services – a framework for action’
(WG Feb 2011), makes it clear that collaboration and integration are expected rather
than encouraged. Collaboration and integration have been highly valued in Newport at
both a strategic and operational level. This Strategy is firmly rooted within the strategic
context of the wider partnership arrangements and will necessitate a co-ordinated
response across all areas of the City Council as well as with partners to build the
models of networks of support within localised and integrated community settings.
We believe commissioning requires a holistic approach, involving whole system
change to promote the transformation of front line practices, and professional
relationships that will necessitate a realignment of resources and operational
responsibilities. The continued success of this Strategy is dependent on implementing
new and collaborative ways of working and developing local partnerships to create a
range of innovative approaches based on the Integrated Family Support Services
model of practice. At the core of this, is early intervention and targeted prevention so
that children and families are supported early on, and in a way that is right for them.
To achieve the aims of this Strategy, Newport City Council is committed to making a
shift in the way it assesses need, commissions for services, and provides its children’s
services functions.
3
As part of our Agenda, we are placing great value on the role played by the third
sector, particularly their contribution and delivery of preventative approaches in local
communities. Our commitment is evidenced by the development of a third sector
preferred partnership commissioning framework which explores innovative ways of
collaborating and re-designing children and family support services. This development
forms part of our key strategic intention to shape a mixed economy of social care
delivered locally in order to establish tailored solutions within a collaborative
commissioning framework. We want to encourage and stimulate a strong, vibrant and
mixed range of providers that deliver choice, control and quality. We want those
providers to embrace an outcomes based approach and think about the differences
their services will make to the lives of our most vulnerable children and young people.
4
Our vision
“To develop a continuum of integrated family and carer support services for
children and young people in need that is effective in protecting them from
harm and promotes wellbeing”.
PROTECTION
PREVENTION
Families with additional needs
REMEDY
Receiving targeted resources for either singular
or multiple needs.
E.g. involved in anti-social behaviour or school
truancy; or at risk of abuse or neglect
Families with no
additional needs
Receiving universal
services. E.g. schools,
health care
Families with
complex needs
Receiving statutory or
specialist services.
E.g. looked after
children
We have embraced the principles of holistic, integrated, family focused assessments
that are evidence based and lead to the delivery of appropriate, timely, outcome
focused services. This involves safeguarding children and developing preventative
approaches to ensure that individuals and families receive the most appropriate level
of assistance at the time they require it to avoid the need for long term support
delivered or commissioned by statutory agencies.
Our Purpose
In order to achieve our vision we have developed a strong focus on our core purpose:
•
•
•
Protection
To play a lead role in the protection of children at risk of harm
Promote Wellbeing
To aim for children looked after to have the same life chances that we would
want for our own children
Prevention
By engagement with partners, to commission, develop and participate in the
delivery of high quality preventative services to vulnerable children and
families.
5
Our Values
Underpinning our purpose are our values.
JUSTICE- children’s needs and rights are paramount and must be protected
To protect
from harm
and promote
welfare
we must
•hear the voice of the child
•listen carefully
•understand the needs of the child and family
•investigate thoroughly
•take action to protect
•challenge our own poor attitudes and those of other
colleagues
HOPE- people can change
To prevent risks
and promote
family resilience
we must
•meet with people at the point of their need
•realise the potential for change in every person
•engage with people calmly and positively
•celebrate small steps
•hold out hope
HUMILITY- we can be wrong
To be professional
and to retain our
we must
humanity
•listen carefully and openly when we are challenged
•be passionate about learning how to improve
•be empathetic and compassionate with people
•actively ask for feedback on our performance
•consider how it feels to be on the receiving end of
our own behaviour
These values create an inherent tension between protecting the child or young person
whilst having hope that families can change. In order to do this, we need to retain our
humility and recognise that sometimes we are wrong. We need to listen to children,
young people and families and ensure that their views are at the heart of our services.
Workforce development and strong leadership are crucial to ensure that this is
adopted in our daily work.
Our Priorities
1 Support children to safely remain with their families
This will involve a whole system approach that includes early intervention and
preventative services to support children in their families. We must be effective by
focusing our work on those families most at risk of requiring increasing levels of
service provision.
6
2
Improve outcomes for children in care and care leavers
Children do better in well matched stable placements. We will build upon our
relationship with the market, to deliver an increased choice of quality services that
are able to meet the needs of our children and care leavers locally, ensuring a
better transition into adulthood.
3
Make best use of resources
We will listen to what children and families tell us is effective, and work with our
partners and the market, to deliver more with fewer resources. We will work both
locally and regionally, on a strategic and operational level, to ensure that the
services we commission are delivered more effectively and prevent the escalation
of need.
Our Principles
•
•
•
•
•
Family Focused
We will develop a family focused approach that responds to the needs of a
child and their family through the use of evidence based assessment and
interventions. This will require Children’s Services and Adult Services to
work seamlessly to provide services tailored to the needs of the family as a
whole
Prevention is better than cure
We will develop a continuum of services that work with the Families First
Programmes locally to ensure that children and families can access services
at an appropriate level to meet their needs and prevent crisis from arising
Children belong at home
We will develop services that support children, including young carers and
disabled children to remain safely within their family
Collaboration
We will work at a strategic level with all our partners, including children and
families, to ensure that services are coordinated, integrated and responsive
to local need
Outcome focus
We will ensure all our services are outcome focused and that children and
families play an active role in setting the goals that are appropriate for their
situation
7
•
•
•
•
Mixed market
We will ensure we have a mixed market of provision where all services,
including in-house provision, is clear about their specific remit within the
continuum of support
Transparent, needs based commissioning
We will commission in a legal, ethical and transparent way that involves all
stakeholders in the development of services to ensure they meet local needs
appropriately. We will understand the costs of services that we commission
and ensure value for money in all our services
A well skilled and supported workforce
We will ensure that the workforce working with our most vulnerable children
and families are appropriately trained and supported to deliver services and
use skills such as motivational interviewing and goal setting in a consistent
way
Innovation
We will value brave and innovative solutions that can deliver real outcomes
for children and families. To this aim we will decommission services that are
not meeting identified needs to release funding for reinvestment.
8
What is the National Policy Context?
The Child Poverty Strategy
The Child Poverty Strategy sets out the Welsh Government’s vision for tackling child
poverty in Wales and improving outcomes for children and parents living in low income
families. Social needs closely relate to levels of relative inequality in communities and
deprivation in Newport has deteriorated in the past three years to the point that
Newport is the 4th most deprived Local Authority in Wales. The Index of Child
Deprivation (2011) shows that the relative distribution of deprivation for children in
Newport is considerably higher than that for the general population.
Young Newport (part of the One Newport Local Service Board) is a partnership of all
services, organisations and individuals concerned with the wellbeing of children, young
people and their families. The reduction of child poverty and its effects is their
overriding priority, leading to a commitment to develop local support that helps with
issues such as employment, education, health, housing, parenting, benefits, debt,
skills, and substance misuse. They have committed to making local delivery:
•
family focused and will offer families help to improve their chances of
escaping poverty
•
bespoke and tailored to individual family circumstances
•
integrated so that help from different organisations is effectively coordinated
•
proactive and will seek out families where early intervention will be effective
•
•
intensive and adaptive to the changing needs and circumstances of the
family
reflective of the needs and circumstances of the local community.
The Children and Families (Wales) Measure
The Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 provides the framework for the new
approach starting with two key developments in:
i. New ways to tackle poverty through targeted approaches to coordinate the
delivery of preventative services to families (at tiers 1 and 2 of need) in
vulnerable groups or communities; and
ii. The establishment of Statutory Integrated Family Support Services (IFSS)
where both local government and their respective health boards will have
collective responsibility to ensure the integration and provision of seamless
services to families with complex needs, where a child/children can be at risk
(tiers 3 and 4 of need).
9
Newport has responded positively to these directives by being a pioneer for developing
both an Integrated Family Support Team (IFST) and a virtual Team Around the Family
(TAF). The learning from these pilot initiatives will help us ensure all our services follow
the Integrated Family Support Service model.
Families First
Families First is an innovation programme that promotes the development by local
authority areas of effective multi-agency systems and support, with a clear emphasis
on prevention and early intervention for families, particularly those living in poverty.
It sits alongside the support offered by
other flagship programmes such as:
Flying Start, Communities First; and the
Integrated Family Support Service. The
Agenda clearly states that the best way to
support children, particularly those living
in poverty, is by working with the whole
family. Evidence suggests early support
can reduce the likelihood of families
developing more complicated and costly
needs. Families need different levels of
support depending on their
circumstances. Complicated problems will
need more intensive support. However,
some families may need help to overcome
smaller problems to avoid them becoming
complicated.
Newport is again a pioneer for the Families First Programme and has developed a
virtual Team Around the Family that will work with those families who do not reach the
threshold for statutory intervention to prevent an escalation in need.
Fulfilled Lives Supportive Communities Commissioning Framework
and Guidance
This circular provides Statutory Guidance on Commissioning Social Services and is
issued under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. The
Framework and Guidance applies to commissioning by local authority social services,
and also to commissioning by wider partnerships, where social services are engaged.
The Guidance strongly encourages partnership working.
The Commissioning Framework is further supported by the Value Wales Procurement
Route Planner which can be found at www.buy4wales.co.uk/prp
10
What is the Local Policy Context?
The Community Strategy
The Community Strategy ‘Feeling good about Newport’ contains the One Newport
Local Service Board’s vision for improving Newport over the next 10 years.
The priorities are:
• to have a prosperous and thriving city
• to have a better quality of life
• to have vibrant and safe communities
• to deliver better public services
This Commissioning Strategy seeks to support all
the outcomes of the Community Strategy. In the
shorter term, it mainly contributes to priority 2 and
4, but in the longer term, by improving outcomes for
our most vulnerable children, it actively contributes
to priorities 1 and 3.
The Children and Young People’s Plan
The CYPP is the defining statement of strategic planning intent that guides all
services, organisations and individuals working with and for children and young people
across Newport.
The fundamental principles of the plan are:
• the partnership doesn’t bring up children - parents do
• all children have the potential to succeed
• children and young people need to enjoy life
• services need to be shaped by and respond to the needs of children, young
people and their families
• it is always better to prevent failure than tackle a crisis later
• we will work together to improve outcomes for children, young people and
their families.
11
The 7 core aims of the plan are:
1. a flying start in Life
2. a range of education and learning opportunities
3. the best possible health
4. access to play, sport, leisure and cultural activities
5. listened to and treated with respect
6. safe homes and communities
7. not disadvantaged by poverty
This Commissioning Strategy fully embraces the principles of the CYPP and aims to
support it to deliver all of the core aims with particular reference to the most vulnerable
children. It is recognised that tier 1 and 2 services are delivered by universal services
and are beyond the scope of this Strategy. However, the strategic and operational
partnerships that are formed through the CYPP will ensure they are seamlessly
integrated.
Corporate Parenting Strategy
Following the collaborative needs analysis, the Corporate Parenting Strategy was
developed as part of the transformation of Children’s Services. It makes 5 Pledges to
Looked after Children:
•
Home – to provide looked after children
with good quality, stable placements where
they feel safe, valued and cared for by
excellent carers
•
Education – to ensure that looked after
children achieve the best possible
educational outcomes
•
Health – to improve the health outcomes of
looked after children and to provide them
with appropriate health care and advice
•
Leisure – to support and encourage looked
after children to enjoy a wide experience of
leisure, cultural, sport and social activity to
enable them to fulfil their potential
•
Leaving care – to support looked after
children and care leavers to prepare for the
future and make positive choices for
independent living, in order to become
successful, fulfilled members of society.
12
This Commissioning Strategy is critical to the delivery of the Corporate Parenting
Strategy. The analysis undertaken consistently demonstrated that getting the
placement right has a positive effect on all other domains.
It also highlighted that the trend of increasingly complex cases requiring placements is
leading to an increase in the use of more costly, disruptive out of area placements.
This Commissioning Strategy prioritises developing the correct range of good quality,
cost effective local services.
Young Carers Strategy
The Young Carers Strategy provides a strategic plan for Newport City Council and
relevant partners. The Strategy improves outcomes for young carers ensuring that
they and their families have the same opportunities as others and are not
disadvantaged.
13
What will our new delivery model look like?
Distribution of assessments for social care, CAF and universal services in Newport
Children
who have
acute needs
CONTINUUM OF
NEEDS
Children in
need
Children
thought to be
vulnerable
Children whose
needs are met by
universal services
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
LEVEL 4
350children
Children in
need core
assessment
LEVEL 3
650 children
LEVEL 2
9,000 children
LEVEL 1
23,000 children
Children in
need initial
assessment
CONTINUUM OF
ASSESSMENTS
Common
assessment
framework
Universal screening
assessment tools
There are approximately 23,000 children within Newport. The majority of these children
have their needs met through universal services provided by statutory agencies such as
Health and Education and may be involved voluntarily in third sector provision. It is
important that universal screening tools are in place to identify any children who may be
vulnerable and for staff working with these children to know how to access additional
support services where necessary.
There are around 9,000 children who are considered as vulnerable but are below the
criteria for statutory intervention. These children and young people may be identified by a
wide range of professionals including schools, GPs, or services being accessed by their
parents/guardians. The Families First Programme and Team Around the Family pilot is
specifically targeted at this group of individuals. It aims to identify any areas of need
promptly and deliver effective focused services to avoid any further escalation of need.
There are currently around 650 children who have been identified as having needs at a
level great enough to require statutory support from the Local Authority but are typically
remaining within their family environment. These needs may be due to disability, neglect
or abuse. Services to this group of individuals aim to prevent any further escalation of
need whilst ensuring ongoing protection and family support.
There are currently around 350 children and young people within Newport that we deem to
be the most vulnerable and require looking after by the Local Authority. This population
includes around 270 Looked After Children (LAC); children in youth custody, those with
complex learning or physical disabilities, or those with acute mental illness. It is known that
outcomes for this group of children and young people are generally poorer than non LAC
so it is essential that, where possible, support is provided to enable young people to
remain with their families and that any placement made away from the family is suitable
and stable.
14
Mapping Children and Family Services
Key:
Frontline social work teams
and business support
Family support services
Services to children in care
Preventative services
This diagram shows the services that are available for the most vulnerable children
and young people (levels 3 and 4 above).
The spine of the services is made up of the front line teams and the business functions
that support them.
To the right of the spine is the range of services that are available to Looked After
Children. They include placement services (both internal and external) and services
that seek to ensure the stability and quality of placements made. Respite services for
disabled children are also within this segment.
To the left of the spine are services to support children in need and are focused on
ensuring good quality family support that prevents further escalation of need. The key
to this is early intervention so that services intervene promptly and in a manner that is
appropriate to the situation.
15
What is Commissioning?
Commissioning of public services is about public sector agencies working with
purchasers, providers and, most of all, communities, to identify and understand end
users’ needs so that services can be designed to meet them.
This is done by working within a structured and planned process, called a
commissioning cycle (see below), which ensures services are improved and developed
against past experience and current community need.
Commissioning is increasingly recognised as the primary mechanism for delivering
better outcomes, while using resources more efficiently. We have adopted the Welsh
Government’s definition of commissioning:
‘Social care commissioning is a set of activities by which local authorities
and partners ensure that services are planned and organised to best meet the
social care outcomes required by their citizens. It involves understanding the
population need, best practice and local resources and using these to plan,
implement and review changes in services. It requires a whole system
perspective and applies to services provided by local authorities, as well as
public, private and third sector services.’
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD COMMISSIONING
• Understand the needs of those using the
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
service
Consult provider organisations when
setting priorities
Put outcomes for users at the heart of
the process
Map the fullest practical range of
providers
Consider investing in the provider base
Ensure contract processes are
transparent and fair
Ensure long term contracts
Allow for risk sharing
Seek feedback to review effectiveness
of the commissioning process.
16
Why do we need to change our current model and service?
During 2011 detailed collaborative needs analysis was undertaken by Newport City
Council in partnership with NHS and third sector colleagues. This needs analysis has
underpinned all of the transformation agenda
implemented to date and has heavily
contributed to Newport gaining additional
revenue to pilot initiatives ahead of a
comprehensive strategy. The needs analysis
is the very cornerstone of our Commissioning
Strategy and gave us clear indications that
we must change the way we currently
commission and/or provide services for
children in need and their families.
The full needs analysis can be accessed via
the City Council’s web site –
www.newport.gov.uk. The table on page 19 provides a summary of the salient points.
17
Monitoring and Review
This Commissioning Strategy has set out our priorities for remodelling children’s
services which will have significant measurable benefits for our most vulnerable
children, young people and families. In order to achieve our ambition we recognise
that we will need to monitor and review progress against the Strategy ensuring that
commissioning decisions and service user experiences remain at the heart of what we
do.
We will routinely gather and collate information from a range of sources. We will
closely monitor responses and systems of support delivered by providers in terms of
outcomes for service users, best value and best practice. The approach will involve:
• adopting a Results Based Accountability model that will align with corporate
aims, and the performance targets for teams
• enabling a contribution to be made from the experiences of service users to
inform the review of key priorities of this commissioning plan and demonstrate
that they are clearly linked to the outcomes specified by individuals in their
care plans
• evaluating progress achieved against specific priorities using local and
national performance indicators and benchmarking our performance against
other local authorities
• continually reviewing our responses against the current and projected need
within strategic and performance management frameworks to ensure there is
sufficient capacity to meet any shifts in service user demand
• adjusting our approach to build on existing good practice to accelerate the
implementation of good ideas which strengthen the key elements of our vision
• ensuring that the Commissioning Strategy is reviewed on a yearly cycle in
order to align and refine priorities with corporate and wider partnership
priorities.
18
Summary Needs Analysis
Demographics
Establishing Sustainable
Service Models
Service User & Carer
feedback
Performance
Finance
4th most deprived area in
Wales
Need to develop family
focused approach that
mitigates risks and
establishes a mechanism for
reducing the dependency on
permanent long term care
arrangements
Children with Disability
Review has identified
frustrations that agencies do
not work collaboratively
Generally performance
against targets is good and
above benchmark group
43% of the total current
budget is spent on
placements and 53% on
employee costs
Higher than Wales average
alcohol dependency levels
% of smokers in Newport is
above Welsh average – for
the LAC population 48%
smoke compared to 28% of
non LAC
Significant growth in the use
of Independent Fostering
Agency placements
nd
Newport has the 2 most
diverse population in Wales,
and a disproportionate
representation of LAC from
the ethnic minority
community
Sibling placements are
commonly made out of area
Significant increase in
Children with Disabilities
accessing services
Educational attainment of
Care Leavers is below that of
non LAC which contributes to
a continued cycle of poverty
Difficulty in meeting the needs
of challenging young people
locally
The consultation supporting
the Corporate Parenting
Strategy identified a number
of issues with communication
between staff in different
agencies
Findings from Fostering
Services Review identified
frustrations with the way
placements are made and the
support provided to carers –
leading to placement
breakdowns
Reviews of complaints
demonstrate that the lack of
clear point of access causes
frustration for people trying to
access services
Overall downward curve in
number of LAC, although the
number of LAC placed with
their parents has declined
Placement changes are
higher than WG target
(method of recording being
developed)
Placements affecting school
changes are well below
benchmark group, yet LAC
achieving Key Stage 2 and 3
are below benchmark average
Referral rates are higher than
benchmark group
All children on Child
Protection Register have an
allocated Social Worker
In terms of service costs,
65% are attributable to
Children in Care and only
14% towards Family
Support
Safely reducing the number
of children in care will
release funds to divert into
greater family support and
preventative services
During 2011/12 a 4%
budget saving was achieved
without decommissioning
preventative services
Further savings at a
minimum of 3% required in
the following 2 years
The Newport Junior
Safeguarding Board regularly
gives feedback on the issues
that are most pertinent to
them
19
Strategic Priority 1: Support children to safely remain with their families
What will we do?
(Condition of
Wellbeing)
How will we do it?
Who?
All families, including the
most vulnerable, are able
to access the services
that enable them to
remain as a family unit,
negating the need for
further services
Ensure there is a continuum of support that works
with the Families First Programmes
Service Manager –
Integrated Family
Services/Assistant
Director of Children
Services
Barnardo’s
Cymru/Assistant
Head of Education
(Inclusion)/Families
First
Extend the remit of the IFST to work with families
who have risk factors other than substance misuse,
such as domestic violence or mental health
Develop a single point of referral to the IFSS so the
most appropriate resource can be deployed
according to need
Implement and evaluate the Team Around The
Family pilot and ensure that lessons learnt are
applied to future commissioning activity
Develop a single point of access to Families First
(made up of the Preventative Services Group
(PSG) and the Early Intervention and Prevention
Service (EIPS)). We will be able to offer
intervention packages to families below the
statutory threshold, and ensure that any referrals to
the Duty and Assessment Team are appropriate
By working with our third sector partner to
commission appropriate support services that
respond to needs identified through the assessment
processes and target evidence based interventions
on those children and families most at risk of
requiring local authority care or needing increased
protection within the home
Service Manager –
Integrated Family
Services/
Barnardo’s
Development
Children Services
Manager/Families
First
By when?
April 2012
Review March
2013
March 2013
Evaluation
March 2013
How will we know if we are
succeeding? (How much?
How well? Who better off?)
By contributing to safely reducing
the number of children in care, in
proceedings and on the Child
Protection Register and/or
expediting care proceedings for
those children who are not safe
enough in their home environment
By reducing the number of children
removed from families before a full
assessment of risk has been
completed
The number of young people that
have been diverted away from the
CPR/ LAC/PLO
Improvement in family resilience
and reduction in risk using
distance travelled tool within
preventative services
December 2012
(schedule for
each element
developed)
Overall there are less referrals to
the Duty and Assessment Team
(those that need signposting or
minimal intervention will have been
filtered out). Of those referred,
more families have assessments
completed
20
What will we do?
(Condition of
Wellbeing)
How will we do it?
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we are
succeeding? (How much?
How well? Who better off?)
By contributing to safely reducing
the number of children in care, in
proceedings and on the Child
Protection Register
Families will be supported
to identify the outcomes
that they want to achieve
and will be able to identify
they have succeeded
Staff from preventative services as well as statutory
ones will be trained to use goal setting and
motivational interviewing so they can support
families to identify the most important outcomes
and the steps needed to achieve them. This will be
embedded in the range of family support services,
through training, and then cascaded to front line
teams to incorporate into care business
Service Manager –
Integrated Family
Services/
Assistant Head of
Education
(Inclusion)
December 2012
Discreet training
for teams
March 2013
Develop tool for
care
management
March 2014
Full
implementation
Children and families with
substantial needs receive
coherent assessments of
their needs that enable
them to access services
supporting them to
remain as a family unit
There is support to families of children with
additional needs that enables them to continue to
care for their children at home
As part of the Families First Programme, develop a
preventative service based on the family support
model specifically for children with additional needs
Undertake a collaborative review of services for
disabled children and work to create more ‘joined
up’ services that are focused on the family
Service Manager –
Assessment &
Care Planning
/ABHB / Torfaen
CBC
Service User feedback
demonstrates a reduction in unmet
need
Increase in number of staff
attending motivational interviewing
training and goal setting
Number of courses run and
number of individuals trained
Demonstrating that families
receiving services have reduced
assessed risk factors
March 2013
Increase in customer satisfaction /
reduction in number of complaints
regarding lack of service
September 2012
Number of young people who have
been diverted from residential care
March 2013
Outcomes demonstrated through
the distance travelled tool
21
What will we do?
(Condition of
Wellbeing)
How will we do it?
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we are
succeeding? (How much?
How well? Who better off?)
Review arrangements for short breaks and respite
services to ensure there is sufficient service to meet
need
August 2013
% increase in the number of
assessments and subsequent
allocations of equipment
Review the use of Assistive Technology to ensure
that families are equipped with the support that they
need
March 2013
% increase in the number of direct
payments
March 2014
Number of young carers diverted
away from statutory services
Encourage the uptake of direct payments so that
parents can take a more active role in deciding
which services would meet their children’s needs
Young Carers are
supported to have a life
beyond their caring
responsibilities and do
not require reception into
statutory services
Children and Young
People with emotional
and mental health
problems are encouraged
to live as independent a
life as possible, and are
able to exercise choice
and control
Integration of Newport CC & Torfaen CBC Children
with Disability Teams
Implement the actions of the Young Carers
Strategy (2011) which will demonstrate that the
design and delivery of services has been influenced
by the voice of young carers
By providing high quality emotional and mental
health services that are available at the point of
need and can demonstrate lasting benefits to the
individuals that use them
Assist in the development of an integrated,
comprehensive CAMHS service and develop a joint
approach for improvement (e.g. joint training)
Develop greater integration of the Family Support
Service within CAMHS
Carers
Development
Officer
Service Manager –
Child Protection
Barnardo’s
Development
Children’s Services
Manager
Service Manager –
Integrated Family
Services
General Manager,
Family & Therapy
Services, ABHB
Assistant Head of
Education
(Inclusion)
Service Manager –
Residential and
Resources
Outcomes demonstrated through
the distance travelled tool
April 2014
Outcomes demonstrated through
the distance travelled tool
Feedback from service users on
accessibility and effectiveness
April 2014
22
Strategic Priority 2: Improve outcomes for Children in Care and Care Leavers
What will we do?
(Condition of wellbeing)
How will we do it?
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we
are succeeding? (How
much? How well? Who
better off?)
Children in care have a permanent
stable home environment
Increase the number and improve the
timeliness of children moving from care to
permanence through adoption,
guardianship or residency orders
Service Manager –
Residential and
Resources
October 2012
By increasing the % of
permanent placements made
Invest in front line teams to increase
capacity and reduce caseloads
Ongoing
Reduce time taken in agreeing
and identifying permanent
solutions
Work with partners through the South
Wales Adoption Agencies Consortium
(SWACC) to improve access to adopters
December 2012
Reduction in the number of
placements per child
Ensure processes for residency orders
and guardianship arrangements are
understood by staff and can be safely
utilised
Ongoing
Participate in a Gwent wide collaboration
to produce a regional adoption team
April 2013
Explore the potential to develop
concurrent planning arrangements
Children and Young People who are
received into the Care System
experience stable placements that
allow them to continue with their
education and social networks and,
where appropriate, family contacts
We will improve placement stability by
ensuring a range of placements are
available locally to meet the needs of
Children in Care by always considering
family or connected people before placing
children elsewhere
Service Manager –
Residential and
Resources
Planning &
Development Project
Officer
April 2013
Review
Reduction in the number of
placement changes
% reduction in the use of out
of area placements
23
What will we do?
(Condition of wellbeing)
Children are placed with Foster
Carers who are local, well trained
and able to meet their needs
appropriately
How will we do it?
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we
are succeeding? (How
much? How well? Who
better off?)
Reviewing out of area placements to
identify what factors have prevented a
local placement from being made
Ongoing
Improved mental wellbeing of
Children in Care,
demonstrated through LAC
reviews
Review the cases where there have been
numerous placement breakdowns to
understand what preventative measures
could have been used and then ensure
these lessons are learnt going forward
Ongoing
Increase in number of
supervised contacts
Increase in satisfaction
reported through LAC reviews
Implement the learning from the Strengths
and Difficulties questionnaire pilot to
ensure that the emotional needs of
Children in Care are understood and
appropriately addressed
Partnership
Manager
April 2014
Develop systems to capture the unmet
needs of the LAC population to better
inform future commissioning plans
Service Manager Assessment & Care
Planning
April 2013
Provide opportunities for supervised family
contact that are family friendly and where
families and other stakeholders report that
contact has been a positive
Service Manager –
Integrated Family
Services
Ongoing
Extend the remit of the Family Contact
Service (FCS) to include supervising
family contact for families not yet in care
proceedings
Implement the findings from the Fostering
Services Review that seeks to band foster
carers into 3 tiers, and improve the
training and support available
Increase in satisfaction
reported by families within
family contract reviews
July 2012
Service Manager –
Residential and
Resources
April 2012
Outcomes demonstrated
through the distance travelled
tool
Increase in number of
supervised contacts facilitated
by FCS (include Section 20
cases and those less frequent)
Year 1 provide baseline
information
% decrease in the use of
placements made through
independent foster agencies
24
What will we do?
(Condition of wellbeing)
Ensure all Children and Young
People, including those with the
most complex needs can access
good quality services close to home
How will we do it?
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we
are succeeding? (How
much? How well? Who
better off?)
Grow a new therapeutic support team that
will design and deliver therapeutic
services to carers, residential units and to
children in care. Includes a crisis
intervention team and clinical psychology
October 2012
Improve the recruitment and assessment
of foster carers
December 2013
Increase in the number of new
foster carers
October 2012
% decrease in the use of
placements out of area
Undertake a joint review of all jointly
funded placements, that are out of area to
gain an understanding of the services
being purchased and consider whether
these needs can be met locally
Analyse and plan to meet the need for
local integrated services for disabled
children, particularly those with Autism
and challenging behaviours
Develop a distance travelled tool for 16+
Explore options for developing a local
provision for young people with Autism
Service Manager –
Assessment & Care
Planning/Deputy
Head of Education
(Inclusion)/Principal
Commissioning
Officer Children
Services
Children’s Specialist
Placement Manager
ABHB
General Manager,
Family & Therapy
Services ABHB
Barnardo’s
Development
Children’s Services
Manager
Service Manager –
Residential and
Resources
% reduction in the number of
children placed in out of area
specialist services
October 2012
Outcomes demonstrated
through the distance travelled
tool
March 2013
April 2013
Feedback from service users
on accessibility and
effectiveness
25
What will we do?
(Condition of wellbeing)
How will we do it?
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we
are succeeding? (How
much? How well? Who
better off?)
Ensure young people leaving care
are equipped with the skills and have
the required support to transition into
independent living
Undertake an accommodation review to
assess level of need and develop a
greater range of accommodation options
for care leavers including the George
Street Scheme
Service Manager Assessment & Care
Planning
April 2013
Increase the number of care
leavers who continue into
further education / training /
employment
Increase number of supported lodging
placements
Aftercare Manager
April 2014
Develop a 16+ yrs LAC service, with
funding of £100k to support new provision
Enable care leavers to access education
and employment opportunities
Housing Needs
Manager
Service Manager Assessment & Care
Planning
December 2013
April 2014
% of former looked after
children in education
employment or training at age
19 increases
Service Manager Assessment & Care
Planning
Principal Service
Manager (Adult
Services)
October 2012
Reduction in the number of
complaints
Service Manager –
Child Protection
Ongoing
Care Leavers, including asylum
seekers have happy, healthy
prosperous and inclusive lives
Ensure the transition from Children’s
Services to Adult Services is
seamless and does not cause
unnecessary distress to young
people and their families
Children and families feel that they
have oversight of our strategic
intentions and are empowered to
hold us to account for the services
that we deliver
Develop a range of apprenticeship
schemes and educational opportunities
that can be accessed by care leavers
(Corporate Parenting Strategy Actions 5.2)
Develop a system of budgetary
management to enable future costs to be
predicted and planned for
Establish a shared culture between
Children and Adult Services that focuses
on the outcomes for the young person
Regularly attend the Newport Youth
Council, Junior Safeguarding Board and
the Children in Care Council to update on
key activities
Ensure engagement with children and
families using services is an integral part
Reduction in the number of
Young People presenting as
homeless reduces
March 2013
Results of satisfaction surveys
Head of Children
and Family Services
Ongoing
26
What will we do?
(Condition of wellbeing)
Homeless and vulnerable 16 and 17
year olds have the same aspirations
as Looked After Children (have
happy, healthy prosperous and
inclusive lives)
How will we do it?
of service review
Ensure lessons from the Southwark Ruling
are learnt and implemented within the
Social Care Support and Housing
Services
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we
are succeeding? (How
much? How well? Who
better off?)
Supporting People
Team Manager
Housing Services
Aftercare Team
Manager
April 2012
Reduction in number of 16 and
17 year olds presenting as
homeless
An in principle agreement to progress joint
commissioning is established to underpin
the approach within Newport to deliver
efficiencies and improve outcomes for
young people
April 2012
Improve prevention at the point of crisis by
delivery of a seamless joined up
homelessness prevention and assessment
service for young people in housing
need/at risk of homelessness
April 2013
Review of services being
delivered to young people
presenting as homeless
Feedback from service users
27
Strategic Priority 3: Make best use of resources
What will we do?
(Condition of wellbeing)
How will we do it?
Who?
By when?
How will we know if we
are succeeding? (How
much? How well? Who
better off?)
Ensure our Care Management
Teams are as effective as possible
Improve the quality of assessment and
planning and case management and
maintain a focus upon outcomes for
children
Service Manager Assessment & Care
Planning
Service Manager –
Child Protection
Ongoing
% reduction in vacancy levels
% increase in retention rates
% reduction in absence levels
Ensure safeguarding and quality is
delivered effectively
Streamline the transfer of work between
teams and increase capacity where
necessary
April 2013
Support new Social Workers and ensure
manageable caseloads and low vacancy
rates
Ongoing
Support the professional development of
all staff
Develop policy, procedures, aide memoirs
and audit arrangements for social care and
partner agencies that support consistency
of best practice
Ongoing
Service Manager Safeguarding & QA
April 2013
Quality Assurance of
assessments. Audits produce
positive results
% reduction in absence levels
Feedback from service users
Findings from case audits
Ensure legacy commissioning
arrangements are still fit for purpose,
decommissioning any that
Ensure that Independent Reviewing
Arrangements support best practice care
planning
June 2013
Review
Fully implement ICS and a document
management system to create ‘paperless
files’
Review of historical voluntary sector spend
to ensure that services align with the
Families First Programme and the
priorities of this Strategy
April 2013
Head of Children
and Family Services
April 2013
Outcomes demonstrated
through the distance travelled
tool
28
What will we do?
(Condition of wellbeing)
are not, so that funds can be
reinvested according to identified
needs
Utilise all collaborative working
arrangements to ensure that
maximum value for money is
achieved
Ensure that all funding is used to
maximum benefit
How will we do it?
Remaining committed to the regional
collaborative and engage in the review of
all fostering and placement arrangements
in the independent sector
Disability Review will include exploring
integrating budgets
Ensuring a collaborative approach to
commissioning that seeks to realise
funding from multiple sources
Ensure a mixed market of provision
where services are delivered by the
most capable provider
Develop a confident and capable
workforce
By implementing transparent
commissioning arrangements and
conducting best value reviews on services
to ensure they are delivering the outcomes
required
Undertake a training needs analysis and
develop an appropriate action plan
Who?
Service Manager –
Residential and
Resources.
Principal
Commissioning
Officer
Service Manager Assessment & Care
Planning
Service Manager –
Residential and
Resources
Service Manager –
Child Protection
Service Manager Safeguarding &
QA/Principal
Commissioning
Officer
Service Manager –
Child Protection
Corporate HR
Officer/ Principal
Training Officer
By when?
Ongoing
September 2012
How will we know if we
are succeeding? (How
much? How well? Who
better off?)
Feedback from service users
on accessibility and
effectiveness
Reduction in the average unit
cost for placements in the
independent sector
Efficiency savings realised
Ongoing
Ongoing
Unit cost benchmarking
March 2013
Training plan in place
Number of individuals trained
Retention levels
29
If you would like this information in another language or format, please contact the Social Services Public
Information Officer on 01633 656 656 or email swhinfo@newport.gov.uk
www.newport.gov.uk