Health, Well-being and Care

Provides planning, monitoring and evaluation of the work of Children and Family Services to sustain continuous improvement. The section pulls together information about the views of children and families and other agencies using our services and the quality and cost of the services that we provide and commission from others. We use that information to plan the actions which ensure that the services we provide and fund are what are needed and also what children and their families want.

Planning and commissioning is in collaboration with the other agencies private, voluntary and statutory providing services to children. We identify the implications for the Division of government initiatives and other changes in the Social Care business environment, and support managers with planned responses. The section produces plans and strategies in response to these initiatives and helps to develop and implement them.

Service Improvement Managers
This team supports and coordinates work within the Division, Directorate and with external agencies to effectively bring about improved outcomes and quality services for children and young people.
Our main focus is to:

• Contribute to initiatives which will deliver continuous service improvement for Children and Families Division.
• Produce plans and strategies in response to these initiatives and changes that build on the strengths of the service and help to develop and implement them.
• Provide advice and support for management and staff teams to assist in service planning and development.
• Lead on designated projects and themes of work and be accountable for the outputs.
• Plan effective service improvement initiatives within the Division

Strategic Commissioning
Commissioning is the process by which the Department identifies the needs of its population of children living away from home and plans and delivers placements and services for them, from within its own resources or from a range of providers in the voluntary and independent sectors.

The Commissioning Strategies aims to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families by providing a choice of individualised high quality services to meet their different needs.
Recent Commissioning activity has focused on improvements to the provision of purchased residential care, working alongside a modernised in-house residential sector; and supported accommodation for care leavers. The current priority is the commissioning of specific fostering provision to meet needs not provided for in-house.

Performance Management
Supporting the Children’s Division Management Team with information to facilitate strong strategic and operational performance, leading to improved services and outcomes for children and young people.

Provision of statutory returns and related information – to both central government departments and the Council - as well as operational information to assist front-line managers with the effective provision of services and outcomes.

Acting as change agents to enable colleagues to develop new approaches to the management of performance and risk.
Contributing to the effective performance management of the Children and Young People’s Department and the Children and Young People’s Partnership.