Children & Young People's Services

Introduction 
With funding support from the EM IEP - and under the leadership of Regional Elected Member Champion and Leader of Rutland County Council, Councillor Roger Begy - the Directors of Children's Services in the East Midlands are developing a as their over-arching programme to co-ordinate activity within the region. The programme consists of five key action areas: Assured Safeguarding, Common Assessment Framework, Leadership Development, Joint Commissioning and Health Inequalities.

Engagement
Early engagement and commitment to the plan's strategic objectives and key activity areas have been high, both from individuals and organisations across the region and beyond. A number of key improvement organisations are now starting to align their own work to support this plan and, in some cases, making financial contributions to strengthen joint ambitions.

Assured Safeguarding - Three sets of guidance materials are being developed that pose personal questions for leaders to ask themselves in order to identify whether the work of their organisation keeps as many children and young people as safe as possible. The guidance materials are being developed for three key sets of leaders: Directors of Children's Services and Elected Members. Headteachers, Heads of Settings and their Governing Bodies and GPs and leaders of health providers and commissioning organisations. The Assured Safeguarding materials illustrate some ways in which leaders around the East Midlands answer the questions for themselves.

Common Assessment Framework/Integrated Working Standards - aims to develop minimum standards for that can be adopted across the East Midlands by all Children's Trusts.

Leadership - The development of a programme for advanced leadership for existing leaders across the children's workforce that developes advanced leadership within an integrated children's service environment (ALISCE) and has been widely recognised by most partners as a priority need; this regional initiative integrates well with national developments. The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services agreed to support the work started through the JRIEP with a regional grant of around £150,000 which has contributed towards the cost of early cohorts of East Midlands' leaders going through the programme. The programme has been designed to follow after profession-specific leadership programmes but comes before executive leadership programmes such as the Aspirant DCS programme. It is delivered jointly with local universities and leads to credit at Masters level.

Commissioning - The overall aim of this theme is to ensure that Children's Trusts in the region effectively commission high quality services that improve outcomes. The EM IEP-funded ‘Shaping the Market for Looked-after Children' project has delivered cashable efficiency savings of £315k so far and is predicted to deliver savings in the region of £10 million over five years. The local authorities have implemented a protocol to share purchase prices around external provision in social care in order to eliminate unreasonable price variation and negotiate lower prices. All authorities have agreed to demand restraint in price increases. The impact of these regional agreements in 2010/11 are regional savings in social care purchasing of almost £1m. During 2011 an online price comparison tool for social care will be launched to enable purchasers to obtain competitive price information for complex care packages.

Health Inequalities - this theme aims to improve life chances and reduce poverty and service-dependency for famiies in the region.

Next Steps
The project plan for Shaping the Market for Looked After Children has identified a range of activities that will move the region towards a more efficient, collaborative partnership arrangement with service providers. The focus is currently on three key work streams:

A collective annual fee review which seeks to harmonise fees and fee uplifts. This is consolidating the £315K savings made through the ‘quick wins' activity mentioned above. The target is to further reduce the average annual fee increase in 2010/11 from 1.4% to 0% with a target saving of £1.25million in the year. Early indications are that this is achievable.

The introduction of a regional approved provider framework that seeks to consolidate the purchasing power of the region, achieving improved value for money and building stronger partnerships with key providers. Estimates from providers and projects nationally suggest that savings of between 4% and 16% can be achieved, in addition to opportunities for further cost volume savings.

Developing a pricing framework aimed at creating transparency in pricing structures and harmonising placement costs across the region. Working in collaboration with Improvement & Efficiency South East we plan to adapt the existing Care Funding Calculator used in high-cost adult services placements so that it can support both children's residential and foster care placements. Savings of between 5% and 16% are predicted, together with improved outcomes by ensuring each individual's needs are more closely matched with appropriate service provision.

Further information about this plan and the actions that are being developed will be distributed on a regular basis in future JRIEP newsletters. To add your details to the circulation list for the JRIEP newsletters, please email your contact details to peter.chilvers@sdsa.net

Place Based Productivity Programme Newsletter
The Place Based Productivity Programme was conceived in summer 2010 as part of the Local Government Group's response to budgtary challenges. The first Children's Services Workstream Newsletter is now available under 'Newsletters' (in the box to the right of this item). If you would like to receive the Newsletter directly into your inbox please contact Polly Reed at the West Midlands IEP preed@westmidlandsiep.gov.uk