Guidance

Get support from children’s social care sector-led improvement partners

Updated 13 September 2024

Applies to England

Sector-led improvement is about local authorities supporting each other to improve their children’s services.

The programme aims to improve the overall performance of children’s social care by using the strongest-performing local authorities to provide peer support to authorities that are working to improve their services.

What support is available

There are currently 21 sector-led improvement partners across England. Sector-led improvement partners are local authorities that are rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ for children’s services by Ofsted and that have been selected through a Department for Education (DfE) procurement exercise to deliver this support.

Each sector-led improvement partner has its own approach and expertise in working with other local authorities, and specific regions in which they are able to work.

Who can access support

Sector-led improvement support can be accessed by any local authority rated as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’.

Support can also be accessed by local authorities rated as ‘good’, where there is significant evidence of a decline in performance.

How to access support

Use the list of children’s social care sector-led improvement partners that follows to find a partner best placed to support your needs. It includes the regions in which the partners can work and a summary of the support they can provide.

Once you’ve identified a partner you would like to work with, contact them directly to see if they are able to offer support. The partner will then work with their grant manager in DfE to develop a proposal for work to take place, subject to DfE approval.

Sector-led improvement partners

Achieving for Children

Regions

We are based in London.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

We provide children’s social care services across 3 local authority areas: Richmond, Kingston, and Windsor and Maidenhead. We have improved services in Maidenhead from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ and, in Kingston, from ‘inadequate’ to ‘outstanding’.

We take an innovative, person-centred approach to improvement work and have worked with 7 local authorities so far.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• performance management, including service data
• digital transformation
• the progression and development of colleagues and culture development, including:
  • training
  • workforce development
• social care policy, practice and improvement
• financial management
• commissioning, projects and savings management

Contact details

Lucy Roberts, Head of Commissioning and Business Development

Email: lucy.roberts@achievingforchildren.org.uk

Bexley

Regions

We are based in London.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Bexley was last inspected by Ofsted in 2023, receiving a rating of ‘outstanding’. Ours was the first local authority to receive the ‘outstanding’ judgement for leaving care services. We have experience not only in swift improvement, gained following a critical inspection in 2012, but also in maintaining improvement and momentum, having recently received our second ‘outstanding’ judgement. We remain a low-spending authority.

We have a well-embedded vision and culture, supported by our relationship-based practice model, which translates into an ambition for the highest-quality practice and outcomes for children. Our approach, and the learning offered by our experienced team, can be tailored to meet your needs.

We have experience of improvement activity across the spectrum of children’s social care and are happy to consider all areas of practice improvement. In particular, our offer focuses on supporting effective strategic frameworks to improve and drive change.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• effective development and implementation of quality assurance frameworks, mapping need, practice consistency and improvement planning
• workforce development
• performance management review
• practice model implementation and sustainment
• effective resource allocation and strengthening partnerships
• multi-agency safeguarding hub development, systems, interface and partnerships
• effective assessments practice and quality
• support to young adults leaving care
• developing a bespoke local offer
• developing effective pathway planning and engagement
• implementing and embedding signs of safety practice
• direct work understanding, implementation and toolkits
• family network meetings and kinship support
• fostering service development and recruitment

Contact details

Amanda Gillard, Head of Professional Standards and Quality Assurance

Email: amanda.gillard@bexley.gov.uk

Telephone: 07916 762463

Bi-borough (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster City Council) with Hammersmith and Fulham Council

Regions

We are based in London.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Since 2017, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster City Council and Hammersmith and Fulham Council have worked together delivering sector-led improvement through the Centre for Systemic Social Work.

This approach has increased both the skill level and confidence of our practitioners and managers, and improved the outcomes for children, young people and families.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• introducing and embedding systemic practice
• delivering systemic practice courses for social workers, managers and multi-agency partners
• developing safeguarding family group conferencing
• supporting organisations to actively challenge racism, oppression and all misuses of power
• developing a systemic assessment within early help and youth offending services
• integrated partnership working
• developing family hubs
• integrating working and family hubs
• trauma-informed approaches
• non-violent resistance
• workforce strategy, training and development

Contact details

Kati Maskell, Operations Manager

Email: katharine.maskell@rbkc.gov.uk

Telephone: 07590 629924

Helen Bowring, Programme Manager

Email: helen.bowring@rbkc.gov.uk

Telephone: 07730 024446

Camden

Regions

We are based in London.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Camden has a strong track record of delivering early help services, investing effectively in prevention, and early intervention in children’s services.

We have an appetite for experimentation and are keen to test and learn from new approaches. We want to share the learning from our innovation projects and to collaborate in improving systems and outcomes for children and young people. We offer expertise in 5 areas, which can be brought together in any combination.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• early help:
  • developing effective strategic partnerships, the foundations of operational infrastructure, and family help across the continuum as a practice model
  • developing the systems architecture and practice culture that support demand avoidance and seamless systems, including an integrated ‘front door’, early help and multi-agency approach to helping families
• relational practice culture:
  • developing an evidence-based systemic practice model and creating the building blocks for a collaborative, participatory and relational practice culture – the Camden Centre for Relational Practice delivers the support as a partnership between practice leaders, residents with lived experience and knowledge institutions
• support for care leavers and the care-experienced:
  • developing collaborative ways of working with partners to build a broader package of support for the care-experienced
  • empowering and facilitating care-experienced young people to participate in service development and scrutiny
• contextual safeguarding and child exploitation:
  • developing strategic and operational responses to children and young people experiencing exploitation concern
  • multi-agency child exploitation protocols, single-exploitation workflow for child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation, and improving timely decision-making for child victims of modern slavery
• unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and support for refugees:
  • supporting UASC and also supporting refugee families in both bridging and contingency hotels
• other areas of support, including:
  • performance management and data
  • quality assurance

Contact details

Frances Winter, Principal Policy and Projects Officer

Email: frances.winter@camden.gov.uk

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• early help and prevention:
  • sharing an approach to supporting partners with their early help activity and engagement
  • optimising local authority-led early help activity and using supported families funding effectively to meet need
• partnerships:
  • engaging across the partnership to develop a shared approach to practice that enables a transformational culture change (this received independent evaluation in 2021 and innovation unit codification in 2022)
  • achieving effective and respectful partnership arrangements across the likes of a children’s trust and safeguarding children’s partnership
  • creating collaborative partnership to drive innovation in specific areas of challenge, such as mental health
• trauma-informed practice:
  • sharing our approach to developing and embedding a trauma-informed approach to practice
  • developing and embedding an approach to multi-agency group supervision and learning conversations
  • developing a trauma-informed refugee response and delivering psychological first-aid to a diverse workforce, including the voluntary, faith and community sectors
• corporate parenting:
  • developing a co-produced corporate parenting strategy
  • developing an approach to sustainable and long-term engagement of partners and colleagues
• domestic violence services and integration:
  • delivering a non-commissioned domestic abuse provision
  • taking a whole-family approach to domestic abuse
• social work practice:
  • developing a successful approach to social work progression and development
  • becoming effective in a ‘grow our own’ approach
  • achieving effective and in-depth assessments with children and families
  • implementing a reflective practice approach across the workforce
  • encouraging staff engagement and collaboration to enable positive wellbeing across the workforce

Dorset

Regions

We are based in the South West.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Dorset has a well-embedded, quality-assured, multi-agency locality model to deliver joined-up services for children and families. Our restorative approach brings partners together to work with children, young people and families, and we were selected as one of the pathfinders for Stable Homes, Built on Love. 

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• leadership support and development
• ‘front door’ and multi-agency safeguarding hub
• multi-agency locality working, social care, education and early help
• quality assurance
• performance management and business intelligence
• virtual school
• safeguarding, including in education, and the local authority designated officer
• partnership working and key priorities (neglect, domestic abuse and extra-familial harm or contextual safeguarding)
• participation, engagement and co-production embedded in all areas and for improvement
• quality of social work practice

Contact details

Lisa Reid, Corporate Director, Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Partnerships

Email: lisa.reid@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Essex

Regions

We are based in the East of England.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

In 2011, Essex was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. To become ‘outstanding’ in 2018, we focused on quality of practice and developed innovative, whole-system solutions, improving outcomes at a very low cost. In our 2023 Ofsted inspection, we were rated ‘outstanding’ across all domains.

We partnered with 50 local authorities to successfully deliver change and will share our learning to help you design solutions to fit your needs.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• examining practices, and identifying strengths and areas for development in your team
• building peer-to-peer relationships to support improvement
• running learning workshops or practice events across the full range of services we offer
• delivering training and diplomas in solution-focused practice through our Solution-Focused Centre
• implementing strengths-based and relationship-based approaches throughout large complex systems
• developing a single point of contact for services and advice, and redirecting to community resources, where appropriate
• early help
• developing effective assessment and short-term intervention to support analysis and change
• developing effective care and life-planning with young people, and wrap-around support
• creating a seamless delivery and transition from 0 to 25 years, with assessments that focus on achieving appropriate independence
• performance management
• developing effective safeguarding boards
• creating high-success interventions to support children to remain at home or return home
• providing trauma-informed and therapeutic fostering
• adopter recruitment, training and support

Contact details

Dave Barron, Head of Children’s Improvement Partnerships

Email: dave.barron@essex.gov.uk

Hartlepool

Regions

We are based in the North East.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

In March 2024, Hartlepool Borough Council received an Ofsted ILACS (inspecting local authority children’s services) rating of ‘outstanding’, building on many years of ‘good’ judgements across all regulated services. Inspectors recorded that they saw consistently good practice across all parts of the service, with exceptionally strong management oversight and a leadership team that has an unwavering commitment to both children and the workforce.

We bring this highly experienced, person-centred senior leadership team to our sector-led improvement work. Our support focuses on making sure that everyone has the skills, resources, knowledge and expertise to do their job to the best of their ability and to serve children and their families well.

We work with local authorities to support them to identify their own improvement solutions, and provide the time, resources, expertise and capacity to deliver these. The quality of our work with vulnerable children means we have a lot to offer local authorities on their improvement journey.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• effective social work assessment, interventions and evidence-based decision-making with children, so they receive the right support at the right time
• delivering high-quality, responsive care and support to children in our care and to care leavers
• delivering consistent, good-quality, relationship-based systemic social work practice
• developing an organisational culture for a strong and stable workforce based on high support, high expectation and high challenge
• undertaking direct work with children and young people to understand their lived experience and the child’s world
• embedding performance management and quality assurance that provide a clear line of sight and management grip on frontline practice which enriches that practice and promotes a participative learning culture
• evidencing improvement through performance data, and service user and workforce feedback

Contact details

Sally Robinson, Director of Children’s and Joint Commissioning Services

Email: sally.robinson@hartlepool.gov.uk

Telephone: 01429 523910

Jane Young, Assistant Director, Children and Families

Email: jane.young@hartlepool.gov.uk

Telephone: 01429 523957

Hertfordshire

Regions

We are based in the East of England.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Hertfordshire County Council has been rated by Ofsted as ‘outstanding’. It has been a leading authority in the DfE’s innovation programmes and a sector-led improvement partner since 2021.

Our dedicated improvement team, The Centre for Family Safeguarding Practice, includes a wide range of subject-matter expertise in all areas of children’s services leadership and delivery. We are experienced in supporting partnerships to transform their culture and practice to those envisaged in Stable Homes, Built on Love and the care reforms.

We are leaders in high-performing integrated ‘front door’ services and have earned autonomy status in recognition of the high standard of maturity of our early help partnership. As well as supporting the implementation of our ground-breaking family safeguarding model, our sector-led improvement partner services have been expanded to improve services for children and families across the whole system of help, support, protection, care and quality assurance.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• conducting a peer review of children’s services across the whole-services pathway and wider partnership arrangements to identify what needs to change and the support required to improve
• redesigning integrated ‘front door’ services to ensure families get the right help at the right time
• engaging with strategic leaders, partners and elected members on improvement work, helping make the invest-to-save case for establishing multi-disciplinary teams
• establishing family help services, as envisaged in Stable Homes, Built on Love
• coaching and mentoring for senior leaders, practice leads and project managers – including from former directors of children’s services, and health and education specialists – for the duration of a programme of support
• establishing a comprehensive practice development programme that offers a curriculum aimed at working to the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, and in line with the vision of Stable Homes, Built on Love
• working with leaders and with children in care, placement or fostering services to support increased family reunification
• analysing the likely costs and benefits of setting up an alternative delivery model to support the business case for investment
• the technical requirements needed to implement any information technology changes, by liaising with suppliers
• workforce design and human resources matters in relation to the recruitment of multi-disciplinary teams
• sustainability planning, and post-improvement review and support
• establishing a high-quality academy and learning offer for the whole workforce
• strengthening quality assurance frameworks so that quality assurance activity gives a good insight into practice and provides effective learning loops

Contact details

Angela Clarke, Programme Director

Email: angela.clarke@hertfordshire.gov.uk

The Centre for Family Safeguarding Practice team

Email: FSProjectTeam@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Islington

Regions

We are based in London.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Islington has been delivering sector-led improvement programmes with children’s services since 2018 and with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) since 2022. Our delivery is based on Islington’s motivational practice model, which aims to be purposeful, child-focused, collaborative, strengths-based and trauma-aware.

Ofsted rated the impact of our social work practice with children and families as ‘outstanding’ in both 2017 and 2020. It stated that “senior leaders and members of the council demonstrate an unwavering commitment to improving and enriching the lives of children and their families… evidenced by… the wide range of highly successful initiatives that are having a positive impact”. It noted that we have “embedded rigorous quality-assurance processes, which have enabled a comprehensive knowledge of performance strengths and areas for improvement”.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• strategic leadership:
  • change management
  • outcomes planning
  • mentoring
  • peer-matching and policy
  • Ofsted preparation
  • statement of evidence form writing
  • annex A dry run
• intelligent use of data:
  • data dashboard
  • feedback loops and link to practice
  • becoming a learning culture
• anti-racist practice:
  • equality, diversity and inclusion
  • creating safer spaces
  • coaching for black and racially minoritised staff
• leadership development for middle managers:
  • coaching
  • psychological safety
  • management oversight, supervision and planning
• creating conditions and systems to support change and good practice:
  • workforce development
  • practice workshops
  • practice standards and quality assurance
• contextual safeguarding:
  • missing children
  • exploitation
  • edge of care
  • return-home protocol

Contact details

Chrissie Gregory, Partners in Practice (SLIP) and SLIP-SEND Manager

Email: christine.gregory@islington.gov.uk

Telephone: 07798 843059

Deborah Idris, Interim Director of Safeguarding and Family Support

Email: deborah.idris@islington.gov.uk

Kent

Regions

We are based in the South East.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Kent was rated ‘outstanding’ in 2022, after developing systemic and relationship-based practice.

We implement:

• robust quality assurance and practice frameworks
• a strong culture of learning
• commissioning arrangements to ensure UASC and non-UASC have the best opportunity to settle within regulated arrangements

Areas of support and expertise

We can support local authorities on:

• the development of quality assurance and practice frameworks
• becoming inspection ready
• developing sustainable training and development opportunities at low cost, now and in future
• developing family group conferencing and improving father-inclusive practices
• improving inclusive practice by developing skills in self-evaluation
• peer-to-peer evaluation and developing bilateral arrangements to inspect each other’s services to increase learning
• completing informed service evaluations of efficiencies and redesign, drawing on our strengths across services
• making a career and qualification pathway for social workers and team managers that contributes to recruitment and retention
• UASC, and developing frameworks and practice to support integration into communities
• implementing commissioning frameworks to support placement sufficiency, particularly around UASC experiences

Contact details

Hollie Brennan, Project Officer, Sector Led Improvement Programme

Email: SLIP@kent.gov.uk

Lancashire

Regions

We are based in the North West.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Lancashire’s improvement journey began in 2018, and we are a past recipient of sector-led improvement support. The experience and insights we have gained since then have been invaluable. We have embedded a whole-system change in culture and practice to reflect the family safeguarding model.

We are really excited about the prospect of building collaborative, constructive relationships as a sector-led improvement partner, and the opportunity this offers to both support our partners and reinforce our own drive toward excellence. 

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• designing and delivering ‘front door’ services, including:
  • early help
  • social work-based support
• developing a chosen practice model and embedding it into culture and practice, with specific reference to trauma-informed principles
• developing a quality assurance framework to drive practice and improved outcomes
• re-designing child protection conferences to reflect relational practice values and promote family engagement
• shaping services to children in care and care leavers to reflect a focus on placement stability and loving relationships
• embedding participative practice and life-story work

Contact details

Louise Anderson, Director of Children’s Social Care

Email: louise.anderson2@lancashire.govuk

Leeds

Regions covered

We are based in Yorkshire and the Humber.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Through changes in leadership and practice, we have successfully implemented a culture and whole-system change that focuses on improving outcomes for children, young people and their families.

At the heart of this change has been:

• restorative and relational approaches
• supporting practitioners across the local authority and partnership to drive practice improvement
• promoting a culture of family-led decision-making that allows children to live in their family networks and communities
• developing a child-friendly city
• making a city-wide commitment to be the best area for children to grow up in

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• relational and restorative approaches to improvement across children’s services and partnerships
• leadership and management development for strategic, middle and family-facing managers
• approaches to quality assurance, learning and performance
• early help
• ‘front door’ arrangements
• establishing effective workforce development strategies
• organisational structures and redesign
• developing action learning sets, workshops and training sessions
• service area diagnostics
• family-led decision-making and family group conferencing
• consulting children and families, and encouraging their participation in service design, so they feel valued and listened to
• child-friendly initiatives

Contact details

John Maynard, SFPC Strategic Lead

Email: john.maynard@leeds.gov.uk

Lincolnshire

Regions

We are based in the East Midlands.

We are available to support local authorities in:

• the East Midlands
• the West Midlands
• Yorkshire and the Humber
• the East of England

Introduction

Lincolnshire children’s services has been consistently rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and is a DfE pathfinder.

We are innovative, ambitious and future-focused, with a proven track record of working collaboratively with partner authorities in the successful implementation of transformative change. We champion continuous service-wide development, working with communities and other agencies to support service redesign that improves children’s experiences and outcomes.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• visioning and strategic planning to:
  • shape service improvement
  • co-develop improvement plans, policies and processes
• establishing quality assurance frameworks and performance benchmarks through:
  • data analysis
  • case audits
  • the review of care pathways
• inspection readiness and service reviews to assess existing strengths, challenges and opportunities for improvement
• supporting strong partnerships by developing robust governance arrangements
• improving local networks to come together around shared objectives
• service redesign and restructure, workforce development, recruitment and retention, mentoring and coaching for new leaders and frontline managers
• good practice for services, including:
  • early years, early help and adolescence-specific models
  • family group conferencing and networking
  • ‘front door’
  • safeguarding
  • children in care transformation, including edge of care, residential provision and sufficiency
  • mainstream and kinship fostering
  • adoption and permanence planning
• robust financial modelling and impact assessment
• commissioning services, including:
  • sufficiency reviews
  • commissioning strategies and plans
  • procurement advice and support
• legal services

Contact details

Danielle Marshall, Head of Service, Sector-Led Improvement

Email: danielle.marshall@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Norfolk

Regions

We are based in the East of England.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Having undergone our own improvement journey, Norfolk is well placed to work with local authorities to put in place the building blocks of improvement.  We are rated ‘good’, with inspectors highlighting areas of ‘exemplary’ and ‘exceptional’ practice.

We work in a relationship- and strengths-based way, taking a whole-family and whole-system approach. We have a strong commitment to the child’s voice and to supporting all children and young people to flourish. We can provide improvement journey support, diagnostic work, and development work on specific business areas. 

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• leadership and setting a departmental vision
• establishing an ambitious transformation programme and undertaking service redesign
• developing robust quality assurance and performance frameworks informed by:
  • data
  • the child’s voice
• strategic partnership arrangements and system collaboration
• inspection readiness and other diagnostic activities
• meeting the needs of UASC
• ‘front door’
• support for:
  • children in care
  • care leavers
• growing residential and semi-independent accommodation services
• the approach to:
  • edge of care
  • exploitation
• delivering independent statutory services
• developing a participative approach
• family networking
• sufficiency and valuing care

Contact details

Lisa Flood-Powell, Inspection Preparation Manager

Email: lisa.flood-powell@norfolk.gov.uk

Telephone: 01603 222447

Children’s Services Transformation team

Email: cs.transformation@norfolk.gov.uk

North Tyneside

Regions

We are based in the North East.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Our children’s services were rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2020, and our youth justice service was rated ‘outstanding’ in 2021. In 2022, their focused visit to assess ‘front door’ services found highly effective provision, and a skilled and knowledgeable workforce offering a good range of early help support for children and their families.

North Tyneside has a proven track record of working in partnership with local authorities across the country to improve the quality of practice and the effectiveness of services to achieve positive outcomes. Our approach is strengths-focused and built on relationship-based practice. It draws on our performance and learning culture, and prioritises the voice and experience of the child and those closest to them.

We offer a wide range of complementary improvement products, including strategic planning, quality assurance, referral and assessment, care planning and placement management. We have also worked in partnership with local authorities on practice model implementation, edge of care, public law outline and fostering services. Our support is varied and tailored to individual authority needs.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• early help
• ‘front door’
• delivering multi-agency support
• practice model
• workforce development
• quality of practice
• performance management
• policy review
• trauma-informed approaches
• effective partnership engagement and working
• partnership with the voluntary sector
• case-management system alignment
• placement management
• local authority designated officer service
• edge of care
• youth justice

Our methods include:

• service reviews and diagnostics
• peer support and action learning
• case-file audits and learning reviews
• thematic audits and improvement testing
• peer-to-peer mentor support

Contact details

Vicky Wark, Improvement Manager

Email: vicky.wark@northtyneside.gov.uk

North Yorkshire

Regions

We are based in Yorkshire and the Humber.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

North Yorkshire’s children’s services have been rated as ‘outstanding’ in all areas for the second consecutive inspection (2018 and 2023). Since 2016, we have been a DfE partner in practice, working with a range of local authorities on their improvement journey.

Drawing on our experience of working with other local authorities and in national programmes, we have established a proven record of providing effective support and guidance. We are open to discussing any bespoke requests.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• peer reviews to scope priority improvement areas and develop effective plans to identify and embed change
• designing and developing practice models embedding culture and practice aligned to the strategic vison
• understanding performance, data and quality assurance to inform and improve practice
• coaching and mentoring by experienced and effective managers and leaders
• ‘front door’ – multi-agency screening team and multi-agency safeguarding hub – and effective partnership approaches
• edge of care and residential offers, including:
  • North Yorkshire’s No Wrong Door® and multi-agency risk management approach
• leaving-care approaches, including:
  • pathway planning
  • the voice of the child
• fostering approaches, including:
  • strategic support
  • operational support
• reviewing virtual schools arrangements to identify strengths and areas for effective provision
• workforce development, including:
  • continuing professional development
  • recruitment
  • retention
  • succession planning
• through-care approaches, including the role of the independent reviewing officer

Contact details

Chris Houghton, Project Manager

Email: christopher.houghton@northyorks.gov.uk

North Yorkshire Partners in Practice

Email: nypartnersinpractice@northyorks.gov.uk

Somerset

Regions

We are based in the South West.

We are available to support local authorities in the South West, West Midlands, South East, East Midlands, and London.

Introduction

Somerset has been on an improvement journey from ‘inadequate’ in 2015 to ‘good’ in 2022. This was only possible through strong service leadership that keeps children at the centre of everything we do, alongside whole-service transformation focussing on quality of practice. 

We are now pushing ahead with ambitious changes from early help and education to our innovative Homes and Horizons partnership for children in care. We are keen to share our learning and support other local authority colleagues to implement the changes that best meet your needs.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• the social care improvement journey:
  • diagnostics and whole-system review
  • effective governance and quality assurance
  • recruitment, retention and a stable workforce strategy
  • developing a high-support, high-challenge culture
  • strengths- and relationship-based approaches to practice and partnerships
  • developing flexible approaches to advocacy for children
  • innovative partnerships, including Homes and Horizons
• data systems:
  • data sharing, data matching and data lake
  • school app for data sharing for pupil needs
  • Microsoft data suite, including Azure, Power BI, Dynamics, Copilot
  • supporting families data quality improvement
  • testing predictive analytics
• community early help:
  • delivering the early help system guide
  • developing a community- and locality-based delivery model
  • increasing early help for families
  • whole system transformation
• commissioning improvement:
  • market development
  • working with partners, including health
  • transformation and change management
  • systems thinking and system design

Contact details

Richard Selwyn, Service Director, Children’s Commissioning

Email: richard.selwyn@somerset.gov.uk

Stockport

Regions covered

We are based in the North West.

We are available to support local authorities in the North West, but open to considering other regions, where requested.

Introduction

Stockport has been a sector-led improvement partner since the inception of the programme in 2019. We are rated by Ofsted as a ‘good’ local authority. We have strong leadership and a relational and restorative model of practice across an integrated system of social care, education and health known as Stockport Family.

We enjoy sharing our knowledge and support with other local authorities and have partnered with more than 10 on their improvement journey. We use a collaborative, restorative, sustainable approach, delivering positive outcomes and receiving excellent feedback. We are passionate about practice development and improvement across the region, with the aim of ensuring that, collectively, we achieve the best possible outcomes for children and families.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• restorative practice, complemented by a systemic and trauma-informed approach
• integration with health and education partners, including:
  • ‘team around the school’ innovation
  • whole-system restructure
• a quality assurance framework and practice improvement, including:
  • collaborative reviews
  • practice-week model
  • thematic auditing
  • learning from success
• peer reviews on a range of practice areas, including:
  • diagnostic activity
  • audit activity
• a ‘front door’ and multi-agency response to safeguarding and support, including out-of-hours
• complex safeguarding (child exploitation) and domestic abuse
• care leaver offer
• children in care and edge of care services, including:
  • sufficiency
  • commissioning
  • residential, family and fostering placements
• pre-proceedings and court work
• safeguarding children partnership work and effective scrutiny
• relational leadership
• workforce development offer, including:
  • early career framework assessment
  • support for newly qualified and second-year social workers
• training and practice improvement needs, including:
  • development
  • delivery
  • a train-the-trainer approach

Contact details

Rebecca Key, Director of Children’s Social Care

Email: rebecca.key@stockport.gov.uk

Telephone: 07809 618771  

Warrington

Regions

We are based in the North West.

We are available to support local authorities in the North West and bordering areas.

Introduction

In 2015, Ofsted rated Warrington as ‘requires improvement’. Since 2015, the leadership team has embraced purposeful innovation and continual improvement, starting with the introduction of the systemic practice model. Our improvement journey resulted in a rating of ‘good’ in 2019.

We were supported on that journey via the old partners in practice framework, which led to the development of our own model for planning, Circle of Change. Our drive for purposeful innovation and continual improvement remains. For example, in 2020, we introduced Mockingbird to our fostering services. It continues to be a successful model. It is about to be extended to a fourth constellation via a regional bid in which Warrington led 7 other authorities to successfully secure an opportunity to embed Mockingbird themselves.

Our approach is to find a way that works for you, as you are the experts in your practice system. We will be transparent in sharing what we have learnt about the processes we have embedded and what has worked well. 

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• workforce development, including our:
  • evaluated induction training
  • direct work tools and skills sessions
  • training offer
• a quality assurance framework, including:
  • peer reviews of specific practice areas
  • practice audits and deep-dive case reviews, analysis and recommendations
  • impact of change
• an assessed and supported year in employment offer, including our practice development role, which is part of an evaluated programme
• improving partnership working and relationships, including:
  • observation
  • shadowing opportunities
• bespoke practice and process areas, including:
  • care orders at home
  • missing from home
  • a package of support that meets DfE target outcomes for the receiving local authority

Contact details

Tania Young, Service Development Manager and Programme Manager, Sector-Led Improvement

Email: tania.young@warrington.gov.uk

Sean Hayes, Project Officer, Service Development

Email: sean.hayes@warrington.gov.uk

Fiona Cowan, Head of Service Safeguarding and Quality Assurance

Email: fcowan@warrington.gov.uk

Sharon Dixon, Principal Social Worker

Email: sharon.dixon@warrington.gov.uk

Warwickshire

Regions

We are based in the West Midlands.

We are available to support local authorities in any region.

Introduction

Warwickshire County Council received an Ofsted rating of ‘good’ in all areas in 2021. During our focus visit in 2023, Ofsted commended our effective work on enhancing services for care-experienced young people.

We successfully implemented large-scale change through DfE’s strengthening families, protecting children (SFPC) programme’s family-value model. Our progress is due to cultural changes achieved through our restorative and relational practice approach, investing in early help, and applying a ‘safe uncertainty’ model.  

Ours was the first local authority to establish a clear, stepped approach and a bespoke triage tool for family intervention. This has allowed more than 3,000 children to access timely support, addressed social inequalities and enabled families to self-help before issues escalate.

We are open to exploring further avenues of assistance beyond those outlined to follow, tailored to facilitate your ongoing journey of improvement.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• the early help offer, including the family intervention service
• multi-agency decision-making through integrated ‘front door’ arrangements
• foundations of practice, including:
  • chronologies, the voice of the child and recording practices
  • outcome-focused specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound plans
  • supervision and management oversight
• child protection, including:
  • reducing the number of children in child protection
  • developing a service that is confident in ‘safe uncertainty’
• strong pre-proceedings and reducing-care proceedings, including:
  • streamlined processes
  • a single children’s decision-making meeting with legal representation and a restorative approach, chaired by a senior social worker manager
• family group conferencing, including:
  • child-centred, family-led decision-making
  • expanding the mandatory family group conferencing offer to include parenting apart, mediation and the lifelong links programme
• special guardianship orders, including:
  • increasing the number of children living with their connected others
  • embedding a culture of developing policy and procedures, implementing a team that supports special guardianship order carers and promotes access to the adoption support fund for therapeutic services
• developing strong UASC and care leaver services, focused on:
  • restorative practice
  • education
  • employment
  • social opportunities
• establishing an effective leadership and workforce strategy, including:
  • ‘grow your own practitioners’ initiatives
  • a workforce wellbeing offer
• developing a child-friendly initiative and bringing together resources to help communities and individuals be safe, healthy and independent, including:
  • improving the voice of the child
  • influencing and changing the approach with children, young people, and parents and carers

Contact details

Anita Lekhi, Service Manager for Continuous Improvement

Email: anitalekhi@warwickshire.gov.uk

Wiltshire

Regions covered

We are based in the South West.

We are available to support local authorities in the South West, South East, East Midlands, West Midlands and London.

Introduction

Wiltshire Families and Children have been on an improvement journey to ‘outstanding’. Ours is an innovative and dynamic local authority that leads on local and national projects that are changing the way that children’s and families’ social care is delivered.

Our practice is evidence-based, with a focus on impact and outcomes for our children. There is a strong commitment across our organisation to delivering sector-led improvement so we can share our knowledge and expertise and support local authorities on their own improvement journey.

Areas of support and expertise

We can provide support to local authorities on:

• service diagnostics and auditing to identify areas of strength or requiring improvement
• quality assurance framework, data collection, insights and analysis, including:
  • trust and confidence in the use of children’s social care data
  • closing the learning loop
• financial sustainability, including:
  • proven track
  • preventing escalated costs in statutory services
• care reforms, including:
  • their impact on practice
  • adapting the national agenda for local needs
• developing a relational- and strengths-based practice culture, including ‘ways of writing’
• culture and leadership, including:
  • support, coaching and mentoring
  • developing leadership and practice
• reflective supervision, including:
  • establishing a culture of reflective thinking
  • feedback and support
  • closing the learning loop
• early help and developing early intervention initiatives
• ‘front door’ and multi-agency safeguarding and support
• the voice of the child and the participation of children and their families
• edge of care and pre-proceedings, including:
  • working with mothers after care proceedings
  • pre-proceedings and care proceedings, including tracking and monitoring
  • substance misuse intensive support and education for parents
• permanence planning
• supporting:
  • children in care
  • care leavers
  • UASC
• working with and supporting fathers, including negotiating barriers to their engagement
• pre-birth intervention, including working with vulnerable parents

Contact details

Tim Sandle, Head of Service – Quality Assurance, Partnerships and Sector-Led Improvement

Email: SLIP@wiltshire.gov.uk