Local Authority & Political Leadership Support

1. Provide leadership development programmes for new and existing political leaders, with responsibility for children’s services, to ensure they understand their statutory role and can provide effective scrutiny and challenge to senior officials to improve children’s social care and SEND services.
2. Provide leadership development programmes for corporate leaders, with responsibility for children’s services, to ensure a clear understanding of what ‘Good’ children’s social care and SEND services look like, and how to get there.
3. Facilitate and develop regional networking for political and corporate leaders, with a focus on children’s services, so that leaders have a support system to help them deliver their role effectively.

Project Objectives:

1. To provide targeted improvement support to select LAs, to be agreed with the Department, with a focus on the effectiveness of LA senior leaders, the effectiveness of partnerships (with the Police and clinical commissioning groups as a minimum) and the strategic approach to improving children’s social care and SEND services – this will include specifically working with the director of children’s services (DCS), the local authority chief executive, the lead member and partner representatives, as a minimum.
2. To support LA leaders with challenges in their children’s social care and SEND services, arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the development and delivery of recovery plans.
3. To provide diagnostic services to select LAs, to be agreed with the Department, with a focus on the effectiveness of corporate parenting arrangements and advisory support to deliver the resulting recommendations and improvements.

Project Objectives:

1. To provide one to one support to individual political and corporate leaders to improve their understanding of what ‘Good’ children’s social care and SEND services look like, from legal compliance to excellence, and how to get there.
2. To facilitate and develop the understanding of local political groups, such as cabinet and children’s scrutiny committees