Increasing sufficiency of placements in Islington and developing new models of care with SMEs and ch...

<p>Islington Children’s Services are judged by OFSTED to be Outstanding. Our commitment to our children and young people is exemplary and we have consistently evolved to ensure that we are delivering effective social work and social care services. Five years ago, we developed and implemented motivational and trauma informed practice across Islington’s Children’s Services. This evidence-based practice model is routed in relationship and strength-based practice with children and families and is designed to assist families to stay together and avoid admissions to care where possible. For children in care, it provides an effective framework for social workers and foster carers to work with and understand the trauma that exhibits because of abuse and adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s). We know that the complexity of needs within our child population is increasing and that this is causing a pressure across all systems. We also recognise that the placement sector is struggling with demand. All parts of the system are affected by workforce pressures including recruitment and retention challenges exacerbated by covid and financial pressures. We must find new and innovative ways of working that ensure the best outcomes and impact for our children and which enable us to work effectively and efficiently together within the envelope of financial resources. We want to hear your thoughts about this. We are particularly interested to hear from charities and small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) within our borough and within North London and Greater London who can help us to meet our sufficiency duty. We would also be keen to hear from providers who deliver nationally. We want to learn from you about any innovative ideas you have tried and tested that we can scale up as well as what we can develop together. Challenging inequalities is at the heart of everything we do, and we are keen to undertake focused work with SMEs owned by providers from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, and with charities who represent groups who are disproportionately represented in the care system or who face inequalities. We want to explore opportunities to develop and transform services, with your help. Please express interest and complete the questionnaire to share your views. We intend use the feedback to frame a focus group discussion to help shape a road map for development and delivery.</p>
<p>Please return completed questionnaires to <a>Angela.Elliott@islington.gov.uk</a></p>