Integrating Children’s Workforce

Despite considerable progress, integrated working practices within Children’s Services has so far produced only pockets of good practice, e.g. in extended schools, children’s centres, Targeted Youth Support or as part of the Common Assessment Framework/lead professional roll-out. However, there is insufficient evidence of the systemic change that is needed to be sustainable in the long term. The extent of progress varies between local authority areas and there is a need to improve the speed and quality of implementation in some areas.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has commissioned Tribal’s Children, Young People and Families Team to provide it with high-level support as it develops a strategy for accelerating integrated working and implements the strategy. This will include a focus on increasing personalisation around a child’s specific needs and earlier intervention for unmet needs, so that every child will have access to the services they need, as soon as they need them, to improve their outcomes, irrespective of their age, level of need or service setting.

The key objectives of the project will be to develop a coherent vision and preferred model for integrated working, to ensure that implementation is accelerated, and to support the development of a workforce action plan. It will run from December 2007 to mid February 2008, possibly extended to 31 March 2008.