Children’s Services in Hertfordshire: Reflections on the Journey

1. Launching the new Children’s Services in Hertfordshire Children’s Services in Hertfordshire: Reflections on the Journey John Harris – Director of Children’s Services PARTNERSHIP CONFERENCE June 16th 2011

2. Reflections on the Journey Outcomes for Children and Young People Beyond CSF, Every Child Matters and HCTP Question Zero A Policy Narrative for the Future Concluding Thoughts

3. Children’s Services ‘performing well’ Safeguarding adequate andimproving, with good leadership andmanagement Unannounced inspection ‘highly effective’ Improvement evident across mostareas of children’s services Schools and all partners make a majorcontribution Keep focus on ‘narrowing the gap’ Outcomes for Children and Young People

4. Performance Profile C4EO three – year trend analysis shows improvement in virtually all key PIs against statistical neighbours and nationally

5. Beyond CSF, ECM and HCTP • CSF ahead of its time in 2001 and experienced usual challenges of trailblazers • Every Child Matters an important landmark • Strong buy –in from partner organisations and majority of professionals • Children’s Trusts provided a strong framework for determining shared outcomes, directing resources, and holding to account locally • Innovative service design and delivery based on multi-agency working

6. Beyond CSF, ECM and HCTP • Schools and NHS not always appropriately linked and engaged • Distinctive role and contribution of social care not taken into account fully • Insufficient focus on workforce development and leadership for cultural change • Too many priorities and scope too broad • Too much emphasis on ‘top down’ performance targets • Legacy based on partnerships, shared agenda to ‘narrow the gap’, and track record of integrated working.

7. Question Zero – Public Value Public Value Proposition (e.g. To halve child poverty by 2020) Elected Members Health and Well –Being Board Partners and Stakeholders Service structures Common Processes Workforce Development

8. Hard Measures, Soft Outputs? Measures Longitudinal study and controlled conditions No. Children on CP Plan for 2 years + Students report that they are more in control of feelings at home and in school Percentage of CLA Reviews Held in Time Outcomes

9. Question Zero - Better Outcomes and Lower Cost Invest in universal and targeted services to improve life chances of the poorest and reduce ‘downstream’ costs to society

10. Early Intervention • Policies and programmes to give children and young people aged 0-18 the social and emotional bedrock to achieve their full potential • Evidence-based programmes for 0-5, 5-11, and 11-18 • ‘Early Intervention’ places • Local funding strategy • Children’s Centres and Schools at the centre • To tackle poverty invest more in Foundation Years and have a clearer set of ‘life chance measures’

11. The ‘Big Society’ and Localism

12. Key Principles for Children’s Services in a Big Society • High aspirations on behalf of every child • A moral purpose to improve the life chances and outcomes of every child, particularly the poorest • An ethos that promotes prevention, early intervention, and personalised services • A culture of co-production with children and families • An investment in the social capital of our community, working in partnership locally • A commitment to continuous improvement, working as part of a self-improving system of Children’s Services locally and nationally