Safeguarding case study, Lancashire County Council

97%

97% of C&F Assessments completed on time

100%

100% of statutory visits within agreed timescales

262

262 children and 161 families case managed

Innovate Services, social work-led, safeguarding, children's services, Lancashire County Council, end-to-end solution, case study

The challenge

Lancashire Children’s Social Care was facing a significant challenge in recruiting experienced social workers to meet its Children’s Safeguarding needs in the North of the County. The Council decided that the most practical short-term solution was to commission an external team. A team that could quickly deliver reliable expertise across Children’s Safeguarding within the locality. This team needed to have multidisciplinary expertise to cover all areas of children’s social work. This included duty and assessment, Children in Need (CIN), Child Protection (CP) case management, pre-proceedings and proceedings through to permanency as well as Looked-After Children (CLA), Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) and those on the edge of care.

Our approach

We offered Lancashire Council a much more agile alternative to the traditional agency resourcing model. We delivered a social work-led fully-managed service, providing a comprehensive end-to-end solution over a 9-month period. Since Innovate CYPS’ teams are self-reliant, proactive and results-focused, there was no need for the Council’s in-house staff to devote time or resources to project management or oversight.

Mobilising a team

We quickly mobilised a team of highly trained and experienced Innovate CYPS social workers, supported by in-house business support staff. We also appointed a skilled Project Manager who built a strong partnership with Lancashire, keeping them informed throughout the project.

Quality control

Our robust performance management and quality control process meant that Lancashire could focus on other service demands with the reassurance that children and young people were receiving a high-quality service. A key component of the Innovate CYPS solution was our 14-week CIN programme. Delivering intensive, home-based intervention, it’s a proven method of progressing or resolving CIN cases, avoiding drift and providing better outcomes for children and families. As always, we provided robust and detailed reporting against agreed benchmarks and key performance indicators (KPIs), including weekly data reports. Our team also provided the Council with valuable feedback and insight to help drive service transformation.

The results

In total, across the whole project timeframe, our team progressed cases involving 262 children and 161 families; all of which were subject to statutory plans. Of these, just under 65% (170 cases) were safely closed or stepped down. Innovate CYPS’ social workers carried out statutory weekly visits involving 120 children, with 100% being seen within timescales.

Of 220 Child and Family (C&F) Assessments carried out, 97% were completed on time.

Of 65 children subject to Child in Need Plans, over 50% were safely de-escalated. This was as a result of the intensive 14-week programme delivered and by strengthening the confidence of multi-agency partners. Innovate CYPS ensured that there was proactive partnering and joint working with early help and universal services.

Crucially, we invested the time to transfer skills. We delivered training and provided resource packs and tool kits to the service on the 14-week CIN model and SMART business support process, so that when we left, Lancashire Council could continue with the new model.

What our clients say

“Your approach has always been one based on a “can do” attitude and your helpful, responsive manner has made things work so smoothly. Thank you for all your dedication, professionalism and the invaluable support you have offered my teams.”

Senior Manager, Children’s Social Care
Lancashire County Council

Do you need support in progressing your current child in need cases?

Innovate CYPS’ 14-week Children in Need (CIN) programme significantly reduces the long-term reliance on CIN plans, eliminates drift and identifies those children at risk, earlier.

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We can support you in providing a sustainable alternative by managing cases to identify suitable stable placements or by taking children and young people through our residential Innovate Therapeutic Care programme.

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Innovate can support you by reducing your children-looked-after (CLA) numbers and create direct cost-savings.

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We provide extra capacity to handle incoming cases and/or to work those that may have drifted, and introduce proven sustainable longer-term solutions to reduce the risk of drift and delay.

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Do you need support to manage your current cohort of children with disabilities?

Innovate CYPS’ 14-week Children with Disabilities programme reduces costs whilst identifying new care pathways for children, young people and their families.