In It Together I: achieving quality outcomes for young people with complex needs

Vulnerable children deserve the best education, care and support available to meet their often challenging needs. Looked after children, those with learning disabilities, or those who are victims of neglect and abuse, rely on local authorities, and the providers that work with them, to provide high quality care and education services matched to their specific needs.

Across the country, services of the highest quality are being designed and delivered in partnership between local authorities and service providers from the public, private and voluntary sectors. It is essential that this good practice is celebrated and shared widely.

Local authorities are required by the Children and Young Persons Act (2008) to secure sufficient high quality care placements for looked after children in their areas and to ensure that those placements are able to meet the individual needs of each child. Using available resources effectively is central to the successful implementation of this duty. Working constructively with local and national providers, councils can meet the needs of the children they look after and guarantee that value for money is achieved through sustainable, cost effective, and high quality children’s services.

Leading service providers recognise that local authorities have to operate within budget and that by working with local authority commissioners in positive and creative ways, they can provide services that deliver the best possible outcomes for children.

The Local Government Association and the members of the Children’s Services Development Group collaborated on this project to highlight examples of best practice. The document sets out instances of effective partnership working between providers, commissioners and other agencies.

Leading service providers recognise that local authorities have to operate within budget and that by working with local authority commissioners in positive and creative ways, they can provide services that deliver the best possible outcomes for children.

The case studies include material demonstrating how young people can contribute to their own care plans, methods for promoting placement stability for children who have suffered from multiple placement breakdowns, examples of innovative commissioning and flexible block contracting, as well as developing a team- parenting approach to foster care and working with multi-agency partners to manage the difficult transition into adulthood.

It is aimed primarily at those with responsibility for making commissioning and placement decisions at the highest level professionally and politically, including Directors of Children’s Services, Lead Members for Children’s Services, heads of commissioning and placement managers. It will be equally useful to private, voluntary and independent sector children’s services providers as they seek to work ever more closely with local authorities to deliver the best possible outcomes for the children in their areas.

To read our report, please click here: In It Together I: achieving quality outcomes for young people with complex needs