Appendix 1

Our 4 Strategic Pillars

Delivering our improvement priorities and ambitions for excellence

Our ambition is to build a world class service for children in York will take time and sustained commitment. In focussing on individual improvement and development priorities, including inspection recommendations, we believe this work requires solid foundations which will create the right environment for development to flourish and most importantly to be sustained. Our 4 strategic pillars describe our focussed activity which will establish the right conditions for our more detailed work across all service areas.

Governance and Assurance

The purpose of the Ambition Plan is to drive service improvement and ensure children and young people have services which understand their lived experience and deliver positive outcomes.

The Assurance and Ambition Board meets on a quarterly basis and is chaired by the Chief Operating Officer and attended by Lead Member for Children, Young People and Education. The Assurance and Ambition Board will have oversight of this plan and on a quarterly basis will receive:

· An updated copy of the plan highlighting progress or issues.

· Thematic reports as required providing deeper assurance and insight into workstreams within the plan.

Alongside the Assurance and Ambition board there are further weekly and monthly oversight of performance and improvement activity driven by the Corporate Director for Children’s Services and the Director for Children’s Safeguarding.

Further challenge and assurance will take place through the Executive and Children, Education and Communities Policy and Scrutiny Committee.

The City of York Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (CYSCP) will be an important forum to deliver the changes needed across multi-agency partners as well as the Youth Justice board. The work required to improves children’s services does not sit in isolation and will be closely linked through the CYSCP to improvement activity undertake by North Yorkshire Police, health, and partners across the city.

Ofsted Action Plan – Continuing to improve

Children’s Services were inspected by Ofsted in March 2022 under the Inspection of Local Authority Children Services (ILACS) framework.  The inspection outcome across all domains was that York ‘Required improvement to be good’. An Ofsted Action Plan was submitted to Ofsted in August 2022. The Ofsted Action Plan addressed immediate actions in response to the seven areas identified by Ofsted as requiring action.

As of December 2022, the initial actions following Ofsted are now completed but we know need to go further.  To deliver our ambition for system wide improvements a more holistic plan is required. That is this Ambition Plan.

The table below summarises initial actions taken against the seven areas requiring action following the ILACS inspection. The next stages for these areas are now being taken forward through this Ambition Plan. So that the thread of improvement activity can be clearly seen any actions and outcomes in the Ambition Plan will reference the Ofsted action. For example, actions or outcomes in this plan relating to ‘The consistency of written records so that they provide an accurate account of decision-making for all children.’ will include the reference OA1 (Ofsted Action 1).

OA1) The consistency of written records so that they provide an accurate account of decision-making for all children.	· Reviewed and relaunched Children's Social Care practice standards for the quality of written records. · Developed and delivered Action Learning Sets that drive purposeful home visiting and recording. · Refreshed our library of good practice to share examples of good quality written records and clear accounts of decision making.
OA2) The quality of assessments to ensure that they consistently inform care planning.	· Reviewed and relaunched Children's Social Care practice standards in relation to assessments. · Worked with Service Managers to develop a common understanding as to what constitutes a good, analytical assessment that informs planning. · Reviewed and strengthened the care plan and planning process and how it is driven by assessment. This has been completed with the direct involvement of children and young people.
OA3) The effectiveness of social work supervision in progressing plans for children and addressing practice shortfalls.	· A new supervision template has been agreed and practice guidance updated. · Compliance with practice standards for supervision are monitored weekly. The Director of Safeguarding leads a monthly performance support and challenge session with Heads of Service which includes supervision. · Supervision is now included in every audit template including thematic audits.
OA4) The analysis of return home interviews.	· The Children who go Missing from Home and Care: Joint protocol between CYC, NYCC and NYP has been updated. · Young people have been suggested raising awareness with young people about the process and that the interview is undertaken by an independent person. · Weekly multi-agency meetings now review children missing from home and oversight of our approach to children missing from home. · Missing from Home and Care is a now thematic item on the QA schedule.
OA5) Responses to children aged 16 and 17 who present as homeless.	· Advocacy for 16- and 17-year-olds who present as homeless is provided by the Speak Up Service (Children's Rights and Advocacy). · The protocol for 16- and 17-year-olds who present as homeless has been updated and reviewed by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities. · Young people have supported the development of a new leaflet and online information to help advise young people of their rights.
OA6) The pace of planning for children in unregistered children’s homes.	· The Director of Safeguarding has oversight of children and young people in unregistered or unregulated placements. · We have increased our placement finding capacity. · We are reviewing children in unregistered placements in the last two years to identify learning that would have prevented the use of unregistered placements or resolved them in a timelier manner.
OA7) Children’s influence and attendance at the corporate parenting board.	· We are piloting the role of Corporate Parenting Advisors to improve involvement at the corporate parenting board. · Young people have been directly involved as to how corporate parenting board meetings should work and are involved in setting the agenda. · The council constitution has been updated to commit to children's attendance and influence at the corporate parenting board. · Corporate Parenting Advisors have developed and delivered corporate parenting training to elected members

Priority 1 - Workforce

Strategic lead (Head of QA PSW)

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

What we want to achieve	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
We will develop our leadership pledge that will clearly set our vision, behaviours and how we work together as a leadership team.	Corporate DCS	· We will engage in a directorate wide development of a leadership pledge.	31/03/2023	· Reduced staff turnover · Improved staff well-being (staff surveys and sickness absence) · Feedback from practitioners
We will launch an updated Workforce Strategy setting out how we recruit, retain and develop our workforce. This underpins our commitment to an exceptional workforce.	Head of QA	· Working with the Advanced Practitioners to develop a workforce strategy that sets out a clear plan for how: o We recruit high quality staff. o We retain staff. o We develop staff across all levels of our workforce. This includes a clear staged prioritisation of workforce development requirements in the short, medium and long term. o Relaunch a more meaningful use of annual Performance Development Reviews for staff.	31/03/2023	· Reduced staff turnover · Reduced use of agency · Staff understanding the workforce strategy / offer.
Develop a direct line of engagement from the Director of Safeguarding and Principle Social Worker to front line practitioners on a regular basis.	Director of Safeguarding	· Every 6 weeks for each service area to have the opportunity to meet with the Principal Social Worker to explore challenges, opportunities and understand our shared vision. · The Director of Safeguarding will have 1:1’s with practitioners across the service. ·	01/11/2022	· Reduced staff turnover · Improved staff well-being (staff surveys and sickness absence) · Improved performance (DQIP)
Updated process for staff leaving posts.	Director of Safeguarding Head of QA	· Introduce a staff leaver conversation with the Director of Safeguarding within one week of giving notice. · Develop updated standards for leavers and transferring of active caseloads.	· 01/01/2023 · 31/01/2023	· Improved staff retention · Reduced staff turnover · Feedback from children and families on managing changes in workers.
Hybrid working review	Head of QA	· Review challenges and opportunities of new hybrid working arrangements. Report to SLT identifying what is working well and recommended actions to improve effectiveness.	· 31/03/2023	· Report with recommendations completed. · Actions from report to be added to this Ambition Plan.

Priority 2 - Voice of children, young people, and families

Strategic lead (Head of Innovation and Children’s Champion)

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

Key Improvement Actions	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
Develop a sustainable model for care experienced young people to attend and influence the Corporate Parenting Board. (OA7)	Head of Innovation	· Evaluate the Corporate Parenting Advisor pilot and use learning to develop longer term model. · Ensure a clear feedback loop to young people demonstrate the impact of participation. This will mean providing clear ‘you said, we did’ reports.	31/12/2022	· Feedback from children and young people. (OA7) · Evidence of involvement of children and young people’s involvement in improvement activity.  (OA7)
Improve engagement with participation opportunities for children and young people in care. (OA7)	Head of Innovation	· Refresh the pathway for children and young people to join Show Me That I Matter and I Still Matter. · Review the wider routes of participation (UMatter, advocacy etc) so that children have a range of ways their views can be heard.	31/01/2023	· Improved participation in Show Me That I Matter and I Still Matter. (OA7) · Evidence of involvement of children and young people’s involvement in improvement activity. (OA7)
Ensure children and young people’s voice is more consistently captured through direct work.	Head of Innovation and PSW	· Direct work tools and direct work undertaken where appropriate and recorded on files. · Update library of direct work tools. · Workshops on use of direct work tools.	31/03/2023	· Clear library of direct work tools. · Learning conversations will evidence an increased use of direct work with children and young people · Feedback from IRO’s. · Deep dive audit into recording.
Commission and develop implementation plan for Mind of My Own	Head of Innovation	· Develop a robust plan for launching and embedding the use of Mind of My Own. · Regular reporting of Mind of My Own usage and feedback through DQIP and Quality Assurance framework.	01/04/2023	· Mind of My Own Usage · Feedback from children and young people.
Strengthen the response to complaints.	Head of Innovation	· Improve the management oversight and resolutions of complaints within timeframe. · Through the newly formed Quality Assurance group ensure that learning from trends in advocacy and complaints informs our understanding of practice. This should in turn be used to improve practice.	01/11/2022 Ongoing	· Improved timeliness of complaints resolution. · Feedback from children and young people. · Trends from advocacy and complaints reflected within quarterly Quality Assurance reports.

Priority 3 - Early Help and Targeted Family Support

Strategic lead (Head of MASH)

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

Key Improvement Actions	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
Support and challenge partners to play their role in delivering early help.	Head of MASH	· Review the revised early help strategy and early help assessment with partners. · Strengthen support and training for partners to undertake early help with children and young people with emerging needs. · Link with Family Hubs transformation to ensure that is driving earlier support for families.	28/02/2023	· Increased use of common early help assessments by partners. · Feedback from partners.
Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC)	Head of MASH	· The refresh the Reducing Parental Conflict approach in the city with partners. Develop and launch RPC strategy with the CYSCP. · To use the DWP Reducing Parental Conflict grant to ensure practitioners are equipped to identify and address parental conflict.	31/03/2023	· All practitioners trained to identify parental conflict · Development of strategy and partnership group · Feedback from practitioners
Strengthen our Parenting and edge of care Support	Head of MASH	· Ensure the Immediate Response Team (IRT) are working with the right families · Ensure all children and young people who enter care have had timely and intensive intervention via IRT · All families in pre-proceedings are offered a timely Family Group Conference. · Consideration of ‘No Wrong Door’ model in the City. · Link with Family Hubs Transformation and graduated response of partners at an early help level.	31/03/2023	· Data via tracking of families in IRT and Children’s Resource Panel · Increased use of FGC in pre-proceedings · FGC quarterly report · Feedback from families

Priority 4 - Front Door

Strategic lead (Head of MASH)

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

Key Improvement Actions	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
An end-to-end review of processes within the MASH.	Head of MASH	· To undertake an end-to-end review of processes within the MASH. · Launch a refreshed MASH Development Plan.	15/12/2022	· Improved timeliness of decision making to Children’s Social Care. · Quality assurance will evidence good decision making · Development of a partnership vision · Feedback from partners
Update the MASH scorecard	Head of MASH	· Through the MASH strategic group review and develop the MASH scorecard.		· An updated MASH scorecard launched to give oversight of performance. · Further understand what the performance is telling us which will inform service planning
Ensure consistently good timeliness of decision making for contacts to children’s social care.	Head of MASH	· Daily monitoring in place and tracked monthly through DQIP. · Review approaches taken in other areas and revised our local process to ensure we are as streamlined as possible to ensure families receive the right help at the right time.	18/10/2022	· Improved timeliness of decision making to Children’s Social Care (Target 90%)
Progress recommendations made by DLUHC in relation to 16-17 year olds at risk of or presenting as homeless. (OA5)	Head of MASH	· Further review the housing protocol and share with teams. · Deliver a work plan to deliver the further recommendations made by DLUHC in relation to the housing protocol.	· January 2022 · March 2023	· Planned further review with DLUHC. (OA5) · Annual summary of 16-17 year olds presenting as homeless covering (OA5): o Awareness of rights o Use of advocacy o Compliance with protocol.
Quality of social care advice to EHCPs	Head of MASH Head of SEND	· Review of the process for requesting input into EHCPs. · Review the training across the service. · Development of good practice examples.	31/01/2023	· QA shows an increase of in the quality of social care input into EHCPs. · Improved timeliness in line with practice standard · Identified Designated Social Care Officer · Annual training programme

Priority 5 – Children and Young People in Care

Strategic lead (Head of Corporate Parenting)

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

What we want to achieve	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
More children and young people live with our own carers in their home city.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· Review all children and young people who live outside the city in residential and IFAs and identify where a move back to York could be appropriate. · Advocacy will be provided where appropriate for children and young people who could move back to ensure their wishes and feelings are independently represented.	Ongoing via ‘Making York Home’ Group	· Increasing the proportion of children and young people living in York. · A reduction in out of area placements.
Review and revise our Sufficiency Strategy to ensure we have the ‘right accommodation in the right place at the right time’ (OA6)	Head of Corporate Parenting	· To review the current and projected children in care cohort and map to the sufficiency of placements. · A new Fostering Recruitment campaign to be developed to improve our fostering capacity. · Improve our internal residential placement capacity.	31/03/2023	· Maintain placement stability in line with target. · Reduction in use of unregistered placements and swifter resolution to registered placements (OA6). · Increasing the proportion of children and young people living in York provision.
Improve our Fostering Service.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· Improvement options paper to be developed for the Fostering Service to explore how we can better support Foster Carers. · Deliver the improvement plan set out for the Fostering Service. · In response to the UMatter survey create foster carer profiles that are routinely shared with children and young people ahead of planned moves.	· 31/12/2022 · Deadlines as set out in improvement plan. · 31/03/2023	· Increased number of fostering enquiries and assessments. · Increased number of foster carers. · Feedback from carers and fostering panel about support. · IRO quality assurance of fostering placements. · UMatter feedback from children and young people.
Ensure the right children and young people are in care and their plan is progressed in a timely way.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· All children and young people that enter care will be reviewed by the Children’s Resource Panel at 4-months and 10-months. · Develop a group that oversees the tracking of all children who are placed with parents, on s20 or with a plan SGOs. · Permanence Planning training delivered to all practitioners.	· 01/09/2022 · 10/10/2022 · 28/02/2023	· Reduction of the numbers of children and young people in care · 100% of children will have a permanence plan at the 4-month review · Progress children with a plan for Special Guardianship · A reduction in the number of external residential placements. · Feedback from practitioners on the effectiveness of Children’s Resource panel
Review pre-placement planning to ensure when children and young people need to enter care they are supported, and their needs are met.	Head of Safeguarding Interventions	· Audit to understand the pre-placement planning process · Review the process for Initial Health Assessments	31/01/2023	· All practitioners will understand the pre-placement planning process and importance · Improved performance for Initial Health Assessments
To update the co-produced Local Authority Guarantee to children and young people in care.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· The current Guarantee to Children and Young People in Care is being reviewed with Show Me That I Matter and I Still Matter. · Proposed launch of new Guarantee to Children and Young People in Care.	· 01/06/2023 · 31/08/2023	· A new guarantee for CYPIC is in place. · Feedback from children and young people. · Oversight of guarantee through Corporate Parenting Board.
Ensure all our children and young people are supported to understand their Life Story.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· All children over the age of 11 in care to have a My Care Plan. · Develop the My Care Plan for children under the age of 11. · Commission, deliver and evaluate training on life story work	· 31/01/2023 · 31/01/2023 · 31/06/2023	· All children in care having a My Care Plan. · Feedback from young people understanding the reasons they are in care and UMatter report. · Training delivered on Life Story Work · Feedback from practitioners
Strengthen how the Authority celebrates the achievements of children and young people in care.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· Celebration events planned for care leavers week. · Updated guidance for practitioners on celebrating achievements of CYPIC to be co-produced with children and young people in care and launched.	· 27/10/2022 · 28/02/2023	· Feedback from children and young people. · UMatter survey
Ensure all children and young people in care and their families have time with their families which is of high quality and appropriate to their needs, wishes and feelings.	Advanced Practitioner	· Task and finish group to refresh York’s vision around Family Time. · IROs ensure Family Time is appropriately considered in reviews. · Training identified and delivered to ensure best practice in relation to Family Time.	31/03/2023	· A clear and understood vision around Family Time. · Feedback from children and young people.
Improve how changes of workers are managed.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· To strengthen communication with children and young people where a change of worker takes place. · To establish transition meetings between managers to support introductions to new workers.	31/12/2022	· Feedback from children and young people. · Quality Assurance quarterly reports. · Transfer protocol developed
Young people’s input into Personal Education Plans (Plans)	Head of Virtual School	· Following the move to a new ePEP provider (Squiddle) support young people to more fully participate in development of their PEP.	31/12/2022	· Feedback from children and young people. · PEP Quality Assurance. · Increased timeliness of PEP’s
Consistent access to Health Passports	Head of Corporate Parenting	· Work with carers and health partners to ensure young people have a health passport when entering care and that this is regularly updated.	31/03/2023	· IROs tracking through each CYPIC review.
Devolved decision making policy		· Develop a clear devolved decision making document for carers (Residential and Foster care) to ensure there is clarity on what day to day decisions can and should be made by carers.	31/03/2023	· Devolved decision making policy in place.

Priority 6 – Care Leavers

Strategic lead (Head of Corporate Parenting)

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

Key Improvement Actions	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
Refresh our package of support to young people to help them prepare for independence prior to leaving care.	Head of Corporate Parenting Virtual School	· Ensure all workers and foster carers are using the independence skills booklet with young people. · Co-produce an updated user-friendly pathway plan. · Develop ‘Passport to employment’ covering advice and support during school years and beyond and link young people with Specialist Learning and Employment Advisors.	· Ongoing · 31/03/2023 · 31/03/2023	· Feedback from children and young people. · % Care experienced young people in suitable accommodation. · % Care experienced young people in employment, education or training.
Review and update the care leaver offer	Head of Corporate Parenting	· Working with Corporate Parenting Advisors and care experienced young people update the corporate parenting offer. · Paper proposing changes to the care leavers offer to DMT. · Work with Corporate Parenting Advisors and care experienced young people to develop the communications plan to ensure care experienced young people are aware of and understand the care leaver offer.	· 31/11/2022 · 31/12/2022 · 31/03/2023	· Update care leaver offer in place. · UMatter survey shows awareness and understanding of the offer.
Review the care leaver service against the new inspection framework.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· To review the service for care leavers when the anticipated separate inspection framework is published. Any actions identified as a result of that review would be reflected within updates to this Ambition Plan.	· 31/01/2023	· Assurance of Care leaver service in line with updated inspection standards.

Priority 7 – Practice

Strategic lead (Head of QA PSW)

Context on improvement area.

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

What we want to achieve	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
Practice Model - Development of shared vision and values across the workforce.	Director of Safeguarding	· Come together with the workforce to develop our shared vision, culture and values. · Children’s Services workshop planned for November 2022. · Commission Signs of Safety and develop implementation plan · Develop a clear visual Model of Practice.	31/12/2022	· A clear model of practice will be agreed which will be understood by all practitioners. · Feedback from children and young people and our quality assurance will tell us we are delivering consistently good practice.
High quality of assessments consistently considers a child’s experience and history. Their needs and the risks they are exposed to are consistently identified and responded to in a timely way.  (OA2)	Lesley Furnivall	· The assessment template is being reviewed to support the delivery of assessments that lead to plans which address needs. · Further workshops across the service to develop easily accessible practice guidance for practitioners. · A timeline for oversight of open assessments will be rolled across the full service. · Assessments of SEND children and young people will consistently identify wider support needs.	01/11/2022	· Our QA framework will tell us the consistency and quality of assessments. (OA2) · Deep dive audit into the quality of assessments
Continue to review practice standards to ensure they clearly set expectations. (OA1) (OA2) (OA3)	Head of QA	· Version 9 of the Practice Standards have been shared with the service in October 2022. · The next update to the practice standards should ensure alignment with the Practice Model development and be embedded in its roll out.	· 12/10/2022 · 01/05/2023	· Improved performance as tracked through DQIP. · Quality Assurance shows consistently improved practice.
All practitioners receive high quality supervision in line with practice standards that drive forward the plan. (OA3)	Head of QA	· Further review and revise the supervision policy to ensure it is meaningful and effective. · Workshops (using tools from Research in Practice) will take place across the service. · Develop and embed the consistent use of group supervision (monthly).	· 31/11/2022 · 31/12/2022 · 31/12/2022	· DIP sampling (OA3) · Thematic audit on supervision. (OA3) · Learning conversations (OA3) · Weekly supervision performance data. (OA3)
Ensure consistent analysis of missing from home / care episodes. (OA4)	Head of MASH	· Develop a quality assurance process to give further oversight and assurance of practice relating to missing from home or care episodes. · Review the Terms of Reference for the weekly multi-agency meetings in relation to missing episodes. · Following the end-to-end review of missing episodes embed learning to support all practitioners to develop consistent practice in relation to missing episodes. · Monthly management oversight of missing from home. · Develop the CYSCP Missing Report to further understand themes.	· 31/11/2022 · 31/01/2023 · 31/03/2022 · Ongoing · 31/03/2022	· Monthly assurance and oversight through DQIP of performance (OA4) · Reduction in the number of children who go missing from home and care (OA4) · Quality Assurance shows consistently improved practice. (OA4)
Share assessments and reports with families in a timelier way to enable full engagement	Head of QA Head of Safeguarding Interventions	· A task and finish group to review the IRO escalation process. This is to ensure the escalation process is effective and improving the timeliness of reports. · Work with managers to ensure no reviews are cancelled because timely reports are not completed	31/01/2023 Ongoing	· Feedback from families · A reduction in the need for IRO escalation · Increase in timeliness reported through the IRO report
Outcome focused plans for all children and young people and their families	Head of QA	· Develop a deep dive audit into the quality of plans.	31/03/2023	· More in-depth understanding of the quality of plans and next steps developed
Exploitation screening tools should be routinely updated to inform planning and support.	Head of MASH	· Case work supervision to include use of exploitation screening tools and when these need to be updated to inform plans. · Monitoring through DQIP of currency of screening tools across the service.	31/01/2023	· Improved frequency of updating exploitation screening tools. · Quality assurance demonstrates appropriate use of screening tools and updating of plans.
Social Worker Profiles	Advanced Practitioners	· With young people update and relaunch the use of social worker profiles. · Social worker profiles to be consistently shared with young people.	15/02/2023	· Feedback from children and young people.
School attendance for children open to social care	Virtual Head Heads of Service	· Refresh with education partners the protocol to drive school attendance of children open to a social worker. This will be linked to the expanding remit of the virtual school head.	31/03/2023	· Improved school attendance for children open to social care. · Reduction/sustained low levels of NEET.

Priority 8 – Performance and Quality Assurance

Strategic lead (Head of QA PSW)

Key Improvement Actions Completed

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

Key Improvement Actions	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
Continue to strengthen and develop the Driving Quality Improvement and Performance approach.	Head of QA Head of Innovation and Children’s Champion	· Bring assurance to DQIP on the use of trackers (updated CYPIC and pre-proceedings tracker). · Update the DQIP ‘managing up’ form to capture key areas of performance.	· 31/01/2023 · 31/01/2023	· Improved oversight of performance. · Improved performance against key indicators.
We need to further improve how Quality Assurance and learning drives practice development.	Head of QA	· Develop an overarching QA board with a clear ToR around outcomes. Quarterly reporting draws in all learning to assure us of the quality and impact of practice. · Updated QA and Performance framework to include performance information, feedback from children and young people including analysis of advocacy. · Undertake a peer challenge in relation to Quality Assurance in 2023.	· 31/11/2022 · 31/12/2022 · 31/12/2022 · 2023	· Quarterly Quality Assurance reports. · Arrange a peer · Quality Assurance Peer Challenge.

Priority 9 – Leadership and Partnerships

Strategic lead (Corporate Director of Children’s Services)

What difference has it made

Next steps

Key next actions

Key Improvement Actions	Lead	How we will do this	When	How we will know we are succeeding
Strengthen the pace of change and accountability through the Assurance and Ambition Board.	Corporate Director of Children’s Services	· Secure a stable and permanent Senior Leadership Team to embed improvement activity. · Updated quarterly Quality Assurance and Performance reporting shared with the Assurance and Ambition Board.	· 04/12/2022 · 12/12/2022	· Exception reporting accurately tracking improvement activity. · Quality Assurance shows consistent and improving practice. · Improved performance against the Assurance and Ambition Scorecard.
Revise our Corporate Parenting Strategy.	Head of Corporate Parenting	· Review and update the Corporate Parenting Strategy	31/03/2023	An updated Corporate Parenting Strategy is in place and this includes defined outcome measures.
Continue to build effective relationship with the Judiciary that allows the courts to build confidence in our social work practice.	Director of Safeguarding Head of Safeguarding Interventions	· Ensure engagement with Family Justice Board and seek feedback · Further understand performance in relation to timeliness around court proceedings · Continued oversight of C2 applications · Develop Court Skills training for practitioners. A 12 month training programme will be put in place.	· Ongoing · 31/01/2023	· Feedback from the Family Justice Board · Improve timeliness of proceedings where possible · Court Skills training developed · Reduction in the number of C2 applications
Leadership that creates the conditions for York’s vision for children and young people on a sustainable basis and engages key stakeholders	Corporate Director of Children’s Services Director of Safeguarding	· Work with the management team to deliver an effective workforce plan, management culture and practices for Children’s Services reflecting the council’s behaviours. · Ensuring clear priorities for Children’s Services are articulated and shared across the partnership and roles and accountability are clear · Take shared responsibility for the effective corporate management and improvement of Children’s Services, developing a strong positive local, regional and national presence to represent outcomes for children in York.	Ongoing	· Ambition Board Scorecard · Assurance against ambition plan · Quality Assurance · Staff surveys / feedback · Feedback from children and young people
Strengthen our financial oversight and budget management.	Corporate Director of Children’s Services Director of Safeguarding Heads of Service	· Ensure financial decisions are led by the needs of children and young people. · Strengthen quarterly financial oversight of budgets by Heads of Service with a clear line of accountability through SLT, DMT and wider corporate requirements. · Ensure focused work on areas of high cost (use of agency and placement costs) take place as set out in this plan and children remain at the heart of decision making.	Ongoing	· Improved financial controls · Improved value for money
Review and update York’s scheme of delegation.	Corporate Director of Children’s Services Director of Safeguarding	· Review and update York’s scheme of delegation.	28/02/2023	· New scheme of delegation in place.
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