Our Work

We work with children’s services - social care, youth justice, education and health - in England and Wales, with central government departments, and with a wide range of voluntary organisations.

Although our current work reflects the changing themes and concerns in children’s services, our approach and our aims stay the same – to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of vulnerable children.

Delivering service improvement

A project that uses the analytical framework to underpin the authority’s improvement programme for staff at all levels in and across the organisation.

Commissioned by Sandwell Council

Establishing a culture of quality practice across children’s social care and health

A series of learning sets – organised on a locality basis for first-line managers in education, health and social care – to help embed a move to service delivery under the auspices of the ‘Right First Time’ programme.

Commissioned by: Gloucestershire County Council

Change Project: Analysis and Critical Thinking in Assessment

Working alongside managers and practitioners, we developed and piloted a set of evidence-informed resources and approaches to promote analysis and critical thinking in assessment.

Commissioned by Research in Practice

Case Study workshops - for practitioners, supervisors and first-line managers

We offer popular case study workshops where practitioners across children’s services develop clear needs-led, outcome-focused plans for children and families they are currently working with. Strategic managers have found the approach valuable in developing their Ofsted and Munro Implementation Plans.

Commissioned by various local authorities

Action learning sets - for middle and senior managers

These facilitate an analytical approach as the basis for assessment, planning and review; in supporting leadership skills and team working; and as the basis for implementing change, including recommendations from the Munro Review.

Commissioned by various local authorities

Case Reviews and independent assessments

When we carry out these independent overviews of cases causing concern to local authorities we ensure they can act as a learning opportunity for practitioners across the organisation.

Commissioned by various local authorities

Children in secure accommodation

An analysis of the needs of a group of children admitted to secure accommodation in one local area, to understand how such admissions might be reduced in future.

Commissioned by Cumbria County Council

Assessment skills and analysis

Delivery of workshops for team managers, using case material to develop analytical skills in assessment.

Commissioned by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Coaching programme for practitioners to improve assessment skills

A series of workshops for teams and individual practitioners to introduce a needs-based outcome-focused approach to analysing practitioners’ cases.

Commissioned by various local authorities

Developing needs-led, outcome-focused services

A project to achieve organisational and cultural change at all levels to support the development of services which are needs-led and outcome focused rather than service-led and process focused.

Commissioned by Cumbria County Council