One Children's Workforce tool for children's trusts
What is this tool and what is it for?
This online tool is to help every children's trust establish the progress they have made in developing one children's workforce — a workforce that is reformed and integrated and making the best contribution possible to local Every Child Matters outcomes and the Children and Young People's Plan.
By using this tool you will easily understand those areas for potential improvements, and thus focus any development activity on the areas that are likely to have the greatest positive impact on Every Child Matters outcomes.
How does it work?
It begins by providing a One Children's Workforce framework, the rainbow to assess and plan against. It provides an opportunity for children’s trusts and their partners to consider the breadth and depth of assessment they should undertake that will provide the maximum possible insight.
This assessment can take place through applying a number of tactics, including simple questionnaires, short one-hour focus groups or larger workshops looking at existing children's services working practices in more detail.
Once completed the tool will help bring evidence together that will enable you to compare where you are and where you would like to be. It then goes on to provide support in planning what you would need to do next to achieve this target end state, as well as signposting you to various areas of potential support.
Video introduction to the tool for children’s trusts nominated leads...
Other people might also find this a helpful introduction.
The Flash 9 plugin is required to view this video.
Alternatively you can download quicktime or avi versions of the video.
When?
The tool was trialled with children’s trusts (through their nominated lead) between October and December 2008. Trusts have now completed their plans for using the tool and are working through their self assessments. Each trust's self assessment summary report needs to be submitted to CWDC by the end of June 2009.
Between January and June 2009 we will be evaluating the tool so that it can be developed in the best possible way for future use.
Not from a children's trust?
If you aren't from a children's trust, the framework will still help you. Although only children’s trusts, or those they have invited to take part, can login or use the tool, you can still ‘walkthrough’ the framework and the approach to the tool and see how they work. As part of our evaluation of the tool we are considering how organisations other than children's trusts can use the framework.
We want to get feedback from anyone who looks at the framework and tool about how it can be improved. So contact us to let us know what you think.