Every child
matters
Inspection of childrens’ services:
grade descriptors
February 2006
AllFebruary 2006 HMI 2516
Contents
Introduction
The joint area reviews (JARs) and annual
performance assessments (APAs) evaluate and report on the outcomes for
children in the area and assess and judge the contributions made by
public services to sustaining and improving them. The judgements of
a review team are made through scrutiny, analysis and discussion of
evidence and are detailed in the report. These grade descriptors have
been developed to support the overall judgement for the council’s
children’s services, the capacity to improve judgements and the judgements
for the outcomes area of being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving,
making a positive contribution, achieving economic well-being and service
management.
The grade descriptors identify key aspects
in determining the contribution of services to improving outcomes for
children and young people. They have been devised to:
make inspection judgements
more transparent
enable judgements to be derived
securely from a consideration of outcomes
ensure consistency in gathering
evidence and making judgements.
For each grade, the descriptors for
the following outcome areas are built on a series of generic demands
around the following four themes:
the impact of actions on
sustaining/improving outcomes
response and engagement of
children and young people
factors that contribute to
outcomes
value for money.
For reference, the generic demands are
outlined on pages 4 and 5
Partnerships may find the criteria helpful
in formulating their self-assessment and as a guide to identifying areas
for improvement.
The descriptors will be used during
JARs and to support the graded judgements for APAs. Inspectors will
use the illustrative examples to decide on the appropriate grade on
the balance of evidence on a ‘best fit’ model. It is not necessary
to have met all of the descriptors to be awarded a particular grade,
nor, in a complex system, does failure in one aspect necessarily lower
the overall judgement. An authority will not necessarily be judged inadequate
on the basis of a failure to meet one requirement. Judgements will be
made in a rounded way balancing all of the evidence and giving due consideration
to local and national contexts, priorities and decision-making.
In order to take into consideration
any new requirements, and the expectation that performance will improve
continuously, the descriptors will be subject to regular/periodic revision
and updating. This might mean annually, especially in the first instance.
Judgement terms
Grade 4:
Excellent/outstanding
A service that delivers well above
minimum requirements for users
Grade 3:
Good
A service that consistently delivers
above minimum requirements for users
Grade 2:
Adequate
A service that delivers only minimum
requirements for users
Grade 1:
Inadequate
A service that does not deliver minimum
requirements for users.
Generic demands
(* For the definitions for the proportions
please see the table at the end of the document).
Outcomes/actions
having impact
Services are making a discernable
difference/ are of clear benefit for almost all.*
In
addition to meeting the demands for a grade 3:
Generic demands for a grade 4
Evidence of notable impact
for almost all through the reduction of vulnerability and improvement
for mainstream.
Response
and engagement of young people
Children and young people
contribute routinely to strategic planning and in judging the effectiveness
of provision.
The responses of children
and young people to almost all* service provision and delivery are very
positive.
Factors contributing
to outcomes (including analysis
of need, focus and quality of work and working in partnership)
A wide range of high quality,
innovative, diverse and accessible services that empower/enable users,
especially communities.
Well established commissioning/de-commissioning
of services on the basis of needs, costs and outcomes and which takes
into account anticipated change in need and demand.
IncrementalClear and successful
focus on prevention.
Working in close partnership
is embedded and coherent, for all key partners, including the voluntary
and private sector. It has led to a range of sustainable initiatives
which are making a demonstrable impact across a broad range of areas.
Private and voluntary services
are clear partners in commissioning and make a highly significant contribution.
Value for money
Informed choices about the
balance of cost and quality in, for example, planning at all levels
and in commissioning and de-commissioning services.
Optimum use is made of joint
commissioning and partnership working to improve the economy, efficiency
and effectiveness of local services.
Outcomes/actions
having impact
Services are making a discernable
difference/ are of clear benefit for most.*
In addition to meeting
the demands for a grade 2: Generic demands for a
grade 3
Evidence of impact through
reducing vulnerability or increasing improvement for mainstream.
Response
and engagement of young people
Children and young people
are routinely consulted as part of strategic planning and on provision.
The responses of most of
the children and young people to service provision and delivery are
positive.*
Factors
contributing to outcomes (including
analysis of need, focus and quality of work and working in partnership)
Services are aligned well
to needs; are accessible to most users; and are sufficiently bespoke
to meet the range of individual circumstances.*
Some successful focus on
early identification/prevention.
Partnership working is increasingly
coherent with clear remits for all key partners, including the voluntary
and private sector. Well targeted initiatives in a range of areas are
making a notable difference.
Private and voluntary services
are commissioned to make an increasingly notable contribution.
Value
for money
There is clear evidence that
information about costs in relation to quality is used in some areas
of strategic and service planning and in commissioning to improve the
economy, efficiency and effectiveness of local services.
Generic demands continued
Outcomes/actions
having impact
Outcomes and provision are
inadequate in no major respect, and may be good in some respects.
Generic
demands for a grade 2
Some evidence of impact and
outcomes for the majority that are in line with comparators/similar
areas.*
Some evidence of impact and
outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.
Response and engagement
of young people
Children and young people
are consulted through representative groups.
The responses of the majority*
of children and young people to provision are positive.
Factors
contributing to outcomes (including
analysis of need, focus and quality of work and working in partnership)
Incremental
Improvement in services are
being made where necessary (or in the absence of formal needs analysis
across services a clear and accurate awareness of what needs to be done,
especially for vulnerable children and young people and those at risk).
Partnership working includes
voluntary and private sector partners, is coordinated, underpinned by
shared goals and has led to some measurable improvement.
Resources and expertise,
including from private and voluntary agencies, are generally used effectively.
Referral and assessment services
identify and respond promptly to the needs of children and young people
at risk. In particular, child protection systems and processes are working
effectively across the local area.
Statutory requirements are
met or reasonable steps are taken to meet them.
Value for money
The costs of key services
are known and there is some benchmarking of costs and quality against
national comparators and/or other areas.
There is a failure on one or more respects
to meet the requirements for a grade 2.1 Key features of this might be
–
Generic demands for
a grade 1
Outcomes/actions
having impact
Limited evidence of impact
or discernable benefits for only a few.*
Response
and engagement of young people
Children and young people
have major and well-founded reservations about the quality of some services.
Factors contributing to outcomes (including analysis of need, focus and quality
of work and working in partnership)
Reactive services/limited
needs analysis/ insufficient focus on preventative activities.
Lack of timely response to
children and young people at risk.
Partnership working is not
well coordinated and is insufficiently built on shared goals and priorities.
Some key partners are not engaged fully. There is limited evidence of
partnership working making a difference.
Ineffective use is made of
private and voluntary agencies.
Value
for money
Insufficient knowledge of
the costs of some key services and a lack of understanding of how costs
and quality of local services compare with national and/or other areas.
SECTION 1:
Guidance and descriptors for grading the overall effectiveness
of the council’s children’s services and the judgements
for capacity to improve.
The overall effectiveness of the council’s children’s services
The overall judgement
for the counc
il
’
s children
’
s services incorporates the contribution made to delivering all
five
Every Child Matters outcomes.
The grade is based on inspectors
’
professional judgement, and is made by taking a balanced view of
the full range of key judgements and eviden
ce in the five outcome areas an
d in service management. The judgement encompasses
more than the activities in
‘Staying Safe’
and
‘
Enjoying and achieving
’
and is not, therefore, a simple aggregation of those two grades.
This having been said, social care
and education activities can obviously be expected to weigh heavily
within the overall score.
Due weight should be
given within each of the five outcome areas and in service management
to the contributions the
council
can reasonably be expected to make.
Similarly, an assessment needs to be made of the extent to which
the effectiveness in delivering the outcomes can be attributed to the
activities of the
council
, rather than to those of its partners.
Example
s
of activities within the five outcome are
as in which the
council
can be expected to make a contribution include:
promoting healthy lifestyles for children
and young people and preventing them from taking illegal drugs, for
example through
work in
schools and youth activities
ensuring that chil
dren and young people with mental health problems have access to
services, and that their additional needs are supported in schools
ensuring that proper social care support
is provided to protect children and young peop
le at risk of abuse and neglect
ensur
ing children and young people are safe from bullying, discrimination
and anti-social behaviour in schools and within the wider community
through the pr
omotion of effective strategies
contributing to raised standards and
improved performance, through, for
example, early years education and effective monitoring, ch
allenge and support for schools
ensuring sufficient
school places and
robust
admission arrangements through, for example, a consideration of vulnerable
children and young people and
those who do no
t attend school
involving children and young people
in making key decisions about their future, in the council
’
s decision making
and in enterprising behaviour
supporting the preparation of young
people for employment and helping to ensure that they engage
in further education, employment or training on leaving school;
ensuring that community regeneration
strategies take proper account of the need
s of children and young people
promoting increased social and educational
inclusion, particularly for vulnerable
groups such as children and young people looked after and those with
learning difficulties and/or disabilities, for example through high
quality preventative and support services, early identification and
assessment of need and smooth transition to adult s
ervices.
Importantly, inspectors
should consider the improvement made over time (or whether high standards
of performance are being maintained) in the five outcome areas and the
contr
ibution made by council service function
to this, bearing in mind the l
ocal context and circumstances. In making judgements account
should be
taken of the challenge of the targets set and the progress in meeting
priorities, objectives and targets.
For
councils
to be graded good overall in the effectiveness of
their
children
’
s services
,
clear evidence
is needed
of demonstrable impact
on
the delivery of outcomes
as a result of the
authority
’
s actions
. This might, for example, be found within:
contribution of service function
s
to good/outstanding outcomes
for children and you
ng people
in the majority of the five outcomes, with signs of improvement evident
in the weaker ones;
contribution of service functions
to good/outstanding outcomes for specifi
c groups of young people
, such as looked-after children, those with learning dif
ficulties and/or disabilities, and those from Travellers
’
communities/ minority ethnic groups;
contribution of service functions
to favourable performance indicators overall, despite a very small
number (
no more than
one or two) falling below a
n acceptable or adequate level
;
service functions
that are overall effective with no
major
weaknesses
.
C
onversely, for those
councils
graded
adequate the impact of service functions
will have been more limited. This might be because initiatives are
at too early a stage in their development and/or implementation and
have not yet made a difference to outcomes
2
. For inadequate
authorities there will be significant inconsistencies in provision with
little positive impact on outcomes.
Where there are wide variations in the
quality of service
functions
there are some key influential factors that contribute to ou
tcomes that inspectors will take into consideration when reaching
an overall judgement. These include:
the quality of political c
ontrol and corporate leadership
the quality of strategic action planning,
and especially the extent to which corporate polic
y and strategic planning defines and
determines well focused actions
the extent to which challenging but
realistic targets for improvement are set;
the effectiveness of the use of resources, especially
in supporting and sustaining improvement in a cost effective way
the effectiveness of performance management
and the use of evaluation a
nd review to secure improvement
the effectiveness of partnership working
across services within and beyond the local authority, and the extent
to which solutions to problem
s cut across traditional sector
and area
boundaries
the extent to which children and young
people are consulted and engaged in decision-making.
In reaching the overall judgement inspectors
will:
consider the impact of any differences
in the quality o
f so
cial care and education service functions
on children and young people overall, and their combined overall
impact;
n
ot give different weightings to universal and specialist/targeted
services
;
c
onsider the impact of any differences in the quality of ed
ucation and social care services on children and young people overall
;
p
lace emphasis on strengths or weaknesses
found regularly
in systems, procedures and practice as opposed to more isolated examp
les of success or problem areas;
r
ecognise the rights of
councils and their partners to set local priorities, as well as their
responsibilities to respond to national
and regional
priorities.
i
dentify the key elements from the trail of evidence t
hat lead to the final judgement.
j
udge the pace of developments an
d the rate of progress.
Grade descriptors: The overall effectiveness of the council’s
children’s services
Excellent / outstanding
(4)
In addition to meeting
the requirements for a grade 3:
The council’s contribution
to delivering outcomes for children and young people is at least good
in almost all service functions across the five outcome areas, and is
outstanding in the majority of service` functions. There is evidence
of notable impact for almost all children and young people (or high
performance is maintained) through the reduction of vulnerability and
an improvement for those in mainstream. No service function is inadequate,
and for those graded adequate there are clear signs of improvements
in outcomes for children and young people. Service management
is at least good.
The following factors
contribute significantly to outcomes:
Highly competent and determined
leadership skills of senior officers and elected members champion the
needs of children and young people and respond effectively to needs.
Senior officers empower effective staff contribution within the organisation
and across the partnership to planning and delivery of key priorities
and to meeting suitably ambitious outcomes.
Young people contribute routinely,
widely and effectively to decision making and to judging the effectiveness
of provision. Contributions have made a discernable difference across
the five outcome areas. He responses of children and young people to
almost all service provision and delivery are very positive.
Strategic planning is highly
effective, anticipating necessary change and representing a timely response;
associated action planning across services is almost always effective.
Accurate information and
data analysis is used effectively to challenge performance, raise aspirations,
set and meet ambitious targets and secure rapid/sustained improvement.
Performance management is
comprehensive and highly effective, including financial management and
planning.
Good use is made of joint
commissioning and embedded partnership working to improve economy, efficiency
and effectiveness of local services and to empower users, especially
communities.
Informed choices are made
about the balance of cost and quality in, for example, planning at all
levels and in commissioning and de-commissioning services.
Good
(3)
In addition to meeting the requirements
for a grade 2:
The council’s contribution
to delivering outcomes for children and young people is good in most
service functions across the five outcome areas. Services are
making a discernable difference and are of clear benefit for most children
and young people through reducing vulnerability or increasing improvement
for those in mainstream. Most service functions are good. Where
weaknesses/ inadequacies occur, these affect a very small minority of
children and young people.
The following factors
contribute significantly to outcomes:
There is effective leadership
and direction from senior officers and elected members, resulting in
a shared vision and agreed, sharply focused priorities and challenging
targets for improvement and successful actions for improvement.
Services are aligned well
to needs, are accessible to most users and are sufficiently bespoke
to meet a range of individual circumstances.
Children and young people
are increasingly engaged in strategic planning, and have made a notable
difference in key areas. The responses of most children and young people
to service delivery and provision are positive.
The vision and priorities
are supported by well co-ordinated and deliverable multi-agency plans,
which enable challenging targets to be met, remedy weaknesses and secure
continuous improvement, including efficiency and effectiveness (value
for money), all within a realistic timeframe.
Medium term financial plans
are in place and demonstrate there is the financial capacity to deliver
the priorities in the plans and sustain good quality core services.
Performance management is
effective.
Partnership working is increasingly
coherent with clear remits for all key partners.
Information about costs in
relation to quality is used in some areas of strategic and service planning
and in commissioning and procurement to improve economy, efficiency
and effectiveness.
Adequate
(2)
The council’s contribution to delivering
outcomes for children and young people is at least adequate in almost
all service functions across the five outcome areas. Services
are making a difference for the majority of children and young people,
including some evidence of impact for vulnerable children and young
people. Most service functions are adequate. Service management is at
least adequate. For key service functions graded inadequate there
are clear signs of progress and improvement.
The following factors
contribute to outcomes:
Leadership by senior officers
and elected members in key areas is clear and supports the necessary
action for securing improvement.
Vision is shared and understood
and priorities are emerging on the basis of a clear analysis of need.
There is regular consultation
with representative groups of children and young people and some evidence
that this has made a difference. Vulnerable and other minority groups
of children and young people are involved fully in making decisions
that make a difference to their own lives. The responses of the majority
of children and young people to service provision and delivery are positive.
Plans are increasingly comprehensive,
linked strategically and identify national and local priorities.
Extensive and realistic targets
are set and the majority are met.
Financial planning is clearly
linked to priorities and is realistic.
Coordinated working arrangements
both across the council and with external partnerships are reflected
in strategic planning and there is evidence that this working has resulted
in a demonstrable contribution to improvements.
Joint procurement and commissioning
are leading to some improvements, including in value for money.
The costs of key services
are known and there is some benchmarking against national comparators
and/or other areas of cost and quality.
Inadequate
(1)
There is a failure in one or more
respects to meet the requirements for a grade 23.
Key features of this failure might be that:
There is limited evidence
of impact of service functions or discernable benefits for only a few
children and young people.
A substantial minority of
services are at the threshold of adequate and inadequate.
There has been limited improvement
in key service functions graded inadequate.
There is little or no improvement
in service functions or performance data compared to similar areas or
there may be deterioration in key aspects.
Service management is inadequate.
The following factors
are evident:
Leadership by senior officers
and/or elected members is insufficiently clear and/or effective.
Vision and priorities are
not sufficiently shared or well matched to need. Key plans are not in
place to deliver improvements in priority areas.
Children and young people
are not consulted regularly or sufficiently engaged in decisions that
affect them as individuals. Conversely children and young people
are repeatedly asked similar things by a range of services to no discernible
effect. Children and young people report that consultation is no more
than tokenistic.
Children and young people
have major and well-founded reservations about the quality of some services.
Performance management and
evaluation processes are under-developed within a range of services
and there is limited evidence of improvement.
Partnership working is not
well co-ordinated and is insufficiently built on shared goals and priorities.
Some key partners are not engaged fully and there is limited evidence
of partnership working making a difference.
There is insufficient knowledge
of the costs of some key services and a lack of understanding of how
costs and quality of services compare with national and/or other areas.
The capacity for improvement
Judgements about the capacity for improvement
are not just a matter of how services are planned and managed; they
also encompass the effectiveness of arrangements in delivering improvement.
Again the grades awarded are based on inspectors’ professional judgement,
and are made by taking a balanced view of the full range of key judgements
and evidence.
The basis for making judgements includes:
The trend in improvement
and whether this is consistent and improvements sustained
The extent to which improvements
in outcomes are linked to improvements in services
The accuracy of self assessment
and its application to evaluation and performance management to secure
continuous improvement
The quality of leadership,
and especially the extent to which senior managers have a track record
in securing improvements
The strength and quality
of strategic planning and the extent to which there is clear and sustained
focus on value for money
Workforce planning and
development.
For the council and the council and
its partners to be graded good overall in the capacity for improvement
there needs to be clear evidence of effectiveness in delivering improvements.
This might be found in:
a good track record in securing
improvement, including in responding to recommendations from previous
inspections/reviews/assessments and in meeting its own priorities, objectives
and targets
proven ability to prioritise
issues, target resources and secure improvements;
a rigorous and accurate self-assessment
timely and effective action
to remedy weaknesses
robust performance management
leadership with vision, with
substantial capacity and strong capability to drive improvement
a strategy for recruitment,
retention and staff development that seeks to anticipate difficulties
and identifies relevant training needs
an ability to work in partnership
with institutions and stakeholders across council services.
Grade descriptors: Capacity for improvement
Excellent
/ outstanding
(4)
In addition to meeting
the requirements for a grade 3:
There is a history of
delivering innovative solutions to especially intractable problems and
this leads to secure, sustainable and notable improvements in outcomes
for children and young people. High quality core service functions
are maintained.
There is very active,
visible and highly effective leadership at all levels which empowers
staff to contribute fully and to inform the planning and delivery of
key priorities. Young people contribute routinely to strategic planning
and in judging the effectiveness of provision. The vision and priorities
are supported by comprehensive, coherent, well linked and co-ordinated,
carefully resourced and deliverable multi-agency plans.
As a result of systematic
long-term forward planning, there are the people, skills and capability
in place at all levels to deliver service priorities and to maintain
high quality core services.
Performance management
is comprehensive and highly effective, including financial management
and planning.
Informed choices are
made about the balance of cost and quality in, for example, planning
at all levels and in commissioning and de-commissioning services. Optimum
use is made of joint commissioning and partnership working to improve
economy, efficiency and effectiveness of local services.
Good
(3)
In addition to meeting the requirements
for a grade 2:
There is strong track
record of improvement in key service function areas and performance
data, including satisfaction data and outcomes for minority ethnic,
vulnerable and other groups. This is sustained and compares well with
local and national comparators.
Change is implemented
well and has delivered clear benefits for service users, and in particular
vulnerable groups.
There is effective leadership
and direction resulting in a shared vision and agreed, sharply targeted
priorities for improvement, which are understood within and beyond the
organisation. Children and young people are increasingly consulted on
provision as part of strategic planning. The vision and priorities are
supported by well-co-ordinated and deliverable multi-agency plans, which
remedy weaknesses and secure continuous improvement, including efficiency
and effectiveness (value for money), all within a realistic timeframe.
Medium term financial plans are in place and demonstrate there is the
financial capacity to deliver the priorities in the plans and sustain
good quality core service functions.
Systematic forward planning
ensures that there are the people, skills and capability in place to
deliver service priorities. The Human Resource framework maximises internal
capacity and ensures that service developments are provided for, through,
for example, staff training and development, absence management policies.
Performance management
is effective:
The arrangements are secure,
and mostly consistently comprehensive, with ambitious targets, which
are mostly met.
Progress is monitored, reported
and slippages result in timely and effective remedial action
Financial management is secure
and integrated with strategic and service planning.
Self-evaluation and learning
is used effectively to make improvements.
Information about costs
in relation to quality is used in some areas of strategic and service
planning and in joint commissioning and procurement, and changes to
services, to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
Adequate
(2)
There is a track record of improvement
in services and performance data in some areas including outcomes for
vulnerable groups. For the majority of areas this is sustained and in
line with local and national comparators.
Leadership in key areas
is clear and staff, service users and partner agencies participate in
some service planning and improvement. Vision is shared and understood
and priorities are emerging on the basis of a clear analysis of need.
Plans are increasingly comprehensive and linked strategically and address
key developmental areas. Financial planning is clearly linked to priorities.
Joint procurement and commissioning are leading to some improvements.
Sufficient people, skills
and capability to deliver plans and improvements are mostly in place.
Clear HR frameworks are in place and are suitably targeted on key areas
with evidence of impact.
Performance management
arrangements are in place and are increasingly comprehensive:
There with some evidence
of impact.
Realistic targets are set
and the majority are met.
Progress is monitored and
reported and there is some effective remedial action.
Financial management is feasible
at all levels.
Self evaluation is generally
accurate and is used to secure continuing improvements.
Learning is used to make
improvements and there are some strategies to maximise and share this
within and across organisations.
The costs of key services
are known and there is some benchmarking against national comparators
and/or other areas of cost and quality. There is joint procurement and
commissioning and some improvements in value for money. Necessary changes
are made and result in some improved services or outcomes for service
users.
Inadequate
(1)
There is a failure in one or more
respects to meet the requirements for a grade 24.
Key features of this failure might be that:
there is little or no improvement
in services or performance data compared to similar areas or there may
be deterioration in key aspects.
leadership is insufficiently
clear and/or effective and vision and priorities are not sufficiently
shared or well matched to need. Key plans are not in place to deliver
improvements in priority areas.
there are notable gaps in,
for example, staffing, skills, capability, finance, and approaches to
procurement and commissioning. Self-assessment is inaccurate
or incomplete in important areas and learning is not maximised.
performance management is
not always leading to improvement.
there is insufficient knowledge
of the costs of some key services and a lack of understanding of how
costs and quality of services compare with national and/or other areas.
change is not always implemented
effectively and there is limited evidence of positive improvements for
service users, in particular minority ethnic, vulnerable and other groups.
Internal changes do not always support service development.
SECTION 2: Grade descriptors for the
five outcome areas and service management
Being healthy:
based on the combined work of all
local services in keeping children and young people healthy.
Excellent
/ outstanding
(4)
In addition to meeting
the requirements of a grade 3:
The national targets for health for
children and young people are met in all and exceeded in most areas.
There is a demonstrable link between this health improvement and investment
in preventative services. Outcomes match or exceed those for similar
authorities. Children and young people contribute routinely to strategic
planning, judging the effectiveness of services and are positive about
almost all service provision. Support is well targeted at vulnerable
groups (e.g. young and single parents, those with housing needs and/or
socially excluded groups). Support is coordinated at all levels across
different agencies, including the private and voluntary sector. It is
signposted and targeted and is effective in identifying, preventing
and tackling health inequalities.
There is effective and coherent multi-agency
working in promoting healthy lifestyles for almost all children and
young people, especially those at risk of poor health and coordinated
support is well targeted. Services are having notable impact. e.g. reduction
in smoking, drugs, alcohol, obesity, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted
diseases and improvement in birth outcomes.
Physical health needs are well anticipated
to inform current and future service provision at strategic level. Most
services, including those from the private and voluntary sector, work
together effectively and resources are pooled to enable joint commissioning.
Improved outcomes follow action and timely access to appropriate services.
There is prompt access to a full range
of assessment and treatment services for all children and young people,
including transition to adult services and children and adolescent mental
health (CAMH) services. Prevention strategy is aligned with age-appropriate
support services that are well coordinated across all children’s services
to form a secure continuum of support.
There is notable improvement in the
health of vulnerable groups as a result of effective monitoring and
reviewing of identified needs to provide the basis for commissioning
additional services, timely preventative and specialist intervention
services’ provision.
Informed choices are made about the
balance of costs and quality in, for example, planning at all levels
and the commissioning and de-commissioning of services.
Good
(3)
In addition to meeting the requirements
of grade 2:
The health national targets for children
and young people are met in most areas and exceeded in some, and a range
of multi-agency support services are available and accessible to most
parents and carers. Children and young people are increasingly consulted
as part of strategic planning, judging the effectiveness of services
and a majority are positive about service provision.
Well embedded multi-agency working in
promoting healthy life-styles and coordinated support is targeted on
most children and young people at risk of poor health. Services are
having an impact. e.g. reduction in smoking, drugs, alcohol, obesity,
teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and the council
has robust systems to measure progress.
Physical health needs are identified
to inform current service provision at strategic level. Most services,
including those from the private and voluntary sector, work together
effectively and resources are pooled to enable joint commissioning.
Improved outcomes follow action and timely access to appropriate services.
There is good and appropriate access to sport activities for children
and young people, including those from vulnerable groups.
There is prompt access to a full range
of assessment and treatment services for all children and young people,
including transition to adult services and mental health (CAMH) services.
Prevention strategy is aligned with age-appropriate support services
that are well coordinated across some children’s services to form
a secure continuum of support.
There is improvement in the health of
most vulnerable groups (e.g. young and single parents, those with housing
needs and/or socially excluded groups) as a result of effective monitoring
and reviewing of identified needs to provide the basis for commissioning
additional services, timely preventative and specialist intervention
services’ provision.
Information about costs in relation
to quality is used in some areas of strategic and service planning and
in commissioning to improve the economy, efficiency and effectiveness
of local services. Private and voluntary services are commissioned to
make an increasingly notable contribution.
Adequate
(2)
Health care targets for children and
young people are met in many areas and outcomes are in line with similar
authorities.
There is a common framework for universal
screening of health needs, timely access to assessment services, local
services are aware of health needs of children and young people and
children are reasonably healthy. There are clear plans to target support
to vulnerable families or those at risk of poor health. All parents,
carers, children and young people are involved in the assessment and
referral process. Assessments and referral processes are largely well
coordinated, including access to therapy and other services managed
by the authority.
All parents and carers receive timely
access to suitably qualified named health care professionals following
notification of pregnancy/birth of a baby or movement into the area.
Access results in early intervention and suitable support for services.
There is multi-agency working, including
private and voluntary agencies, in a range of preventative services
that are accessible to the majority of children and young people and
parents in the local area, including Sure Start and sexual health services.
The responses of most all children and young people to provision are
quite positive. There is good support for healthy schools
Mental health services’ provision
is well integrated, targeted to need and accessible to the majority
of children and young people resulting in some improvements in the time
they have to wait to receive services. Mental health needs are known
and indices are used to monitor provision.
Looked after children receive the necessary
health assessments, checks and care. Health needs are reviewed regularly.
Identified health care needs and actions taken are recorded sufficiently.
There is a designated doctor/nurse in place for children looked after
and information on health issues and services.
There is some effective multi-agency
commissioning of specialist services for children and young people with
learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Most needs are met or reasonable
steps are taken to meet them.
The costs of key services are known
and there is some benchmarking of costs and quality against national
comparators and/or other areas.
Inadequate
(1)
There is a failure in one or more
respects to meet the requirements for a grade 25.
Key features of this failure might be that:
parents and carers do not
have timely access to suitably qualified named health care professionals
following notification of pregnancy/birth of a baby/movement into the
area resulting in lack/delayed support and early intervention services’
provision
there is no multi-agency
working in a range of preventative services that are accessible to children
and young people in the local area. Support available to children and
young people to embark on health enhancing activities is ineffective
several health care targets
for children and young people are not met or performances on targets
are not in line with similar comparators. There is no common framework
for universal screening of health needs, undue delay in accessing assessment
services, local services are unaware of the health needs of children
(particularly vulnerable groups) and the health of young people and
children is poor
mental health services’
provision for children and young people is not integrated/targeted to
needs across the local area and there is a delay in accessing services
available. Mental health needs are not known and indices are not used
to monitor provision
there is lack/limited access
to necessary health assessments, checks and care for looked after children.
There is also no designated doctor/nurse for looked-after children and
there is a lack of/limited information for CLA on health issues and
services
there is no effective multi-agency
commissioning of specialist services for children and young people with
learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Most needs are not met. Parents,
carers, children and young people are not involved in the assessment
and referral process. Assessments and referral processes are uncoordinated
there is insufficient knowledge
of the costs of some key services and a lack of understanding of how
costs and quality of local services compare with national and/or other
areas.
Staying safe:
based on the extent to which children
and young people are safe, have security and stability and are cared
for.
Excellent
/ outstanding
(4)
In addition to meeting
the requirements for a grade 3:
In almost all cases outcomes are significantly
and consistently higher than in similar authorities. There is a sustained
trend of significant improvements or high standards are maintained.
Almost all children report feeling safe,
consulted with and that their concerns are listened to and responded
to with very suitable actions that promote self protection and personal
empowerment. Life chances of almost all children looked after and young
people leaving care have been improved significantly. Services to almost
all children looked after significantly improve their life chances by
providing access to leisure, healthy living, education, training and
employment opportunities.
Outcomes are reviewed regularly to ensure
that information, support and guidance is sharply targeted to meet all
needs and is increasingly empowering individuals, groups and the community
as a whole in ensuring local children stay safe. Almost all workers
are aware of and routinely use a wide range of high quality preventative
support services and this has led to a discernable, significant and
sustainable reduction in the incidence of child abuse and neglect and
is clearly enabling children to be well cared for who otherwise would
become looked after. Almost all services are of a consistently outstanding
quality and provide very good value for money. Partner agencies, including
the voluntary and private sectors, jointly commission mainstream and
innovative new services to meet current and future needs. These services
are secure and consistently delivering significantly improving economies,
efficiencies and outcomes.
Relevant agency and inter-agency strategies,
policies, procedures and standards are all very well established. They
are effective and comply fully with statutory requirements, current
government guidance and local standards. Strategies and protocols are
well established for routinely sharing information, and applying consistently
the agreed individual and inter-agency thresholds and responsibilities
for safeguarding children. This leads to the early identification of
potential risk and the prompt provision of cohesive and versatile support
services that appropriately enables children to be safely cared for
within the family unit.
Good
(3)
In addition to meeting the requirements
for a grade 2:
In most cases outcomes are higher than
in similar authorities and/or the rate of improvement in outcomes exceeds
the average improvement rate in similar authorities. Most children report
feeling safe and feel that their concerns are listened to and responded
to promptly.
Most children looked after have a secure
and stable placement and have easy access to secure and stable education
and health provision that is contributing to improved outcomes. There
are effective contracting, support and monitoring arrangements for children
placed outside their local areas. The workers allocated to the majority
of looked after children and children on the Child Protection Register
provide continuity and a regular service that is valued by most children.
Support for care leavers includes access to health and other services
along with suitable accommodation. In most cases assessments of need
are undertaken in a timely way. Well focused support or intervention
is put in place and most cases are closed appropriately so there are
very few unnecessary re-referrals and reassessments. Safeguarding children
and ensuring effective child protection are evident as core elements
in the commissioning, planning, delivery and review of all services
for children and young people.
A wide range of information, support
and guidance is easily accessible to children and their carers that
reflect the well targeted action being taken to combat the local safeguarding
issues and the diversity of needs. Children, including those with disabilities
have access to high quality, independent advocates. Most workers are
aware of and use a wide range of preventative support services and this
is reducing the incidence of child abuse and neglect and preventing
children having to be looked after. Most services are well targeted
on needs; increasingly engage with children and their carers; and there
is a strategic focus on securing value for money to improve the economy,
efficiency and effectiveness of local services. Partner agencies jointly
plan, procure, resource and review key services to meet current needs
and these services are increasingly innovative and improving outcomes
significantly.
Partnership working is increasingly
coherent, characterised by clear remits for all partners, including
the voluntary and private sectors. Relevant agency and inter-agency
strategies, policies, procedures and standards are almost all in place
and comply with statutory requirements and current government guidance.
Strategies and protocols are in place for routinely sharing information
and for applying consistently agreed individual and inter-agency thresholds
and responsibilities for safeguarding children. Almost all groups of
workers are trained to identify and respond to safeguarding issues in
accordance with national and local arrangements.
Almost all children and their carers
are actively participating in planning and reviewing the services they
receive and how effective these are. There are discernable improvements
as a result. The experience of children and their carers is routinely
collected, collated and used in the design, de-commissioning and re-commissioning
of services. There is regular and innovative consultation with those
groups of children who are traditionally harder to reach and harder
to engage. This consultation is impacting positively on service design.
Adequate
(2)
Outcomes are in line with
similar authorities or the trend is one of notable and sustained improvement.
Referral and assessment services promptly
and accurately identify children at risk of significant harm and services
to minimise risk are delivered in a timely way. The majority of children
report feeling safe and feel that their concerns are listened and responded
to. All children, including looked after and children with learning
difficulties and/or disabilities, have a safe environment and are protected
from abuse and exploitation. Children looked after do not change placements
on a frequent basis and all placements are regularly monitored and meet
statutory requirements. All children on the Child Protection Register
and/or looked after are allocated a suitably qualified worker who is
actively co-ordinating a care plan or child protection plan which is
regularly reviewed in accordance with standards set out in national
guidance. There is some sustained improvement in outcomes for children.
Serious Case Reviews have been focussed correctly and action plans have
been agreed and implemented to address identified concerns. In the majority
of cases, assessments of need are undertaken in a timely way to inform
support or intervention and cases are closed appropriately so as to
minimise the incidence of unnecessary re-referrals and reassessments.
A range of information, support and
provision is readily available to the majority of children and their
carers, including the most vulnerable children. This range reflects
the diversity of needs and the action being taken to combat the local
safeguarding issues. The majority of workers are aware of and use a
suitable range of preventative support services to minimise the incidence
of child abuse and neglect and prevent children having to be looked
after. All services comply with the requirements to detect and deter
people who are unsuitable to work with children. The majority of services
are generally of a consistent quality and there is some focus on securing
value for money. There is some evidence of the partner agencies jointly
planning, commissioning and delivering key services. The costs of key
services are known and there is some benchmarking against national comparators
and/or other areas of cost and quality.
There is an established culture of safeguarding
which is evident in the routine work of individual agencies and key
partnerships such as the Children’s Strategic Partnership and Area
Child Protection Committee/local safeguarding boards. Partnership working
involves the voluntary and private sector agencies. Relevant agency
and inter-agency strategies, policies, procedures and standards are
mostly in place and comply with statute and current government guidance,
including the practice recommendations from the inquiry into the circumstances
surrounding the death of Victoria Climbie.
Arrangements are in place to check routinely
for compliance with the policies, procedures and standards and corrective
action is taken promptly where necessary. Strategies are being developed
and protocols are being put in place for sharing information and agreeing
individual and inter-agency thresholds and responsibilities for safeguarding
children, including those children at risk of becoming lost to monitoring
arrangements such as children excluded from school and children who
move between different local authorities and hospital trusts. Key groups
of workers are trained to identify and respond to safeguarding issues
in accordance with national and local arrangements.
Most children and their carers are actively
involved in planning and reviewing the services they receive and how
effective these are. The responses of all children to provision are
quite positive.
Inadequate
(1)
There is a failure in
one or more respects to meet the requirements for a grade 26.
Key features of this failure might be that:
outcomes are lower than in
similar authorities with little or no trend in improvements and/or outcomes
are deteriorating
referral and assessment services
are not always timely and some children might be left at risk of harm.
Cases are closed inappropriately in order to deal with demand resulting
in repeat referrals and reassessments. There are cases of children looked
after and/or on the Child Protection Register who wait too long to have
a suitably qualified worker and/or are not always reviewed in accordance
with the National Standards
services are sometimes limited
in range, reactive and/or demand led with little or no evidence of the
basic components of effective commissioning such as an accurate needs
analysis, systematic procurement and contracting and reviewing arrangements.
As such there is insufficient knowledge of costs of some key services
and a lack of understanding of how the costs and quality of local services
compare with national and/or other areas
partnership arrangements
are underdeveloped resulting in some fragmented services operating in
relative isolation from other services, poorly coordinated information
sharing, less than clear thresholds for individual and inter-agency
service provision and less than coherent multi-agency strategies, policies
and procedures
the arrangements to detect
and deter people who are unsuitable to work with children and young
people are underdeveloped and do not always comply with current national
requirements
the involvement of children
and carers in planning and reviewing the services they receive is not
always systematic and is not secure. Children and young people have
major and well-founded reservations about the quality of some services.
Enjoying and achieving:
based on how much children and young
people enjoy learning and make progress.
Excellent
/ outstanding
(4)
In addition to meeting
the requirements for a grade 3:
Progress in raising standards, improving
attendance and reducing exclusions is good or better against similar
areas in all or nearly all respects. It is sustained over time in notable
elements, such as the value added across key stages, or high standards
are maintained. Almost all vulnerable, minority ethnic and other groups
of children and young people make better than expected progress given
their starting points, and achieve high standards in relation to their
capability. The effectiveness and range of school provision is ‘very
good’ in almost all cases. Sharply targeted support and intervention
ensure that schools do not fall into categories of concern. There have
been no additional schools placed in special measures for 12 months.
There are systematic and well-established
procedures for monitoring the costs of services across the range of
education functions. Regular cost comparisons are made with services
in similar areas. The cost-effectiveness of alternative mechanisms or
means of provision is considered. Services are commissioned to meet
emerging needs and all provision is sufficiently diverse, relevant and
highly sensitive to the present and future needs of all groups of children
and young people, including those out of school. Necessary changes are
anticipated well and there is a timely, sustained and successful response
to national requirements and emerging local needs. Schools, partners
and children and young people contribute routinely to strategic planning
for enjoying and achieving and to the evaluation of the effectiveness
of provision. Effective partnership working, including links with voluntary
groups and private providers, is well established and contributes strongly
to outcomes which are of clear benefit to children and young people.
The responses of most children and young people to the vast majority
of service provision are very positive.
Services empower parents and carers
and this facilitates self help between parents thus building the capacity
of communities to provide their own support. A well-conceived strategy
supports an integrated approach to development in the Early Years and
this contributes strongly to provision that is of very good quality.
The availability of childcare support meets the needs of diverse groups
of parents and carers such as those requiring ‘out of hours’ provision
or care for children with learning difficulties and/or and disabilities.
Recreational, cultural and leisure facilities
are wide-ranging, imaginative, and accessible. They demonstrably meet
the needs, wishes and diverse interests of most children and young people
and consequently are used very well.
Good
(3)
In addition to meeting the requirements
for a grade 2:
Most children and young people, including
vulnerable, minority ethnic and other groups generally make better progress
than expected given the starting points, and achieve well in relation
to their capability. The responses of the majority of children and young
people indicate that life is very enjoyable and that they feel very
happy at school. The overall effectiveness and progress of the majority
of nursery, primary, secondary and special schools are high and the
progress made by children and young people is ‘good’. A high percentage
of early years settings receive at least a ‘good’ grade in Ofsted
inspections. Proportionately few schools cause concern and the number
is declining.
Education services match need, are progressively
more innovative and diverse, and are accessible. Partnership working
is increasingly coherent with clear remits for all, including voluntary
and private providers. Children and young people are increasingly consulted
about provision as part of strategic planning. Information about costs
in relation to quality is used in key areas and there is a clear and
successful focus on securing value for money.
Attendance is above local and/or national
averages and exclusions are well below average or it shows a rapid improvement
over time, especially for vulnerable, minority ethnic and other groups.
There is strong and successful collaboration between relevant services,
including detailed analyses and clear focus on those children and young
people at greatest risk of non-attendance and from being excluded and
on those schools in greatest need. Strong multi-agency worki