The new flagship office at 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, brings together practice teams previously based in four different locations. A project team comprising Cafcass' national service director, the two assistant directors leading for London private law and public law, HR, estates, communications and business support were charged with designing the new office as well as facilitating the transfer.
On stepping into the flagship office, one of the first things visitors will be greeted by is a colourful, life-size story wall leading to the family and interview rooms. The communications team was given a design brief to work with commissioned designers to create the story wall, which tells the story of the children we work with, rather than of the organisation itself, and illustrates to children, families and corporate visitors just how Cafcass is the voice of the child in family proceedings.
The wall illustrates the feelings children might experience as they go through the different stages of their case, starting with a young girl concerned about her grandmother, her friends and her dog – the very things children and young people often worry about when family proceedings (both private and public law) begin, but which can sometimes be overlooked by the adults around them during this time.
The wall then reflects aspects of our cases, such as talking to practitioners, or parents receiving information about programmes to help them parent in a way that puts the needs of their child first, as well as going to court. The wall closes with the important elements of the girl's family around her, with the back wall reflecting a view looking out into London.
A combination of Cafcass animations and real images are featured on the wall and three "photo frames" highlight feedback from the children and agencies we work with, as well as corporate information providing visitors with key information about our service. Adjacent to the story wall are four family rooms for interviews and direct work with children and adults, each designed around a season.
The favourite feature for many who have visited the office has been the feedback tree and mailbox, designed to engage the children we work with and to encourage them to provide us with their views. Elements and animations from the story wall are included in the teapoint area, where a tree on magnetic wallpaper with writeable leaves is available to children so that they may leave feedback about their experiences of Cafcass which will help shape our practice.
"It's lovely to see children using the wall – some look so surprised when they are told they can write on the leaves and even more surprised when they get to experiment with sticking them on the tree!", said assistant director Sarah Parsons.
Practitioners are able to take photos and scan the feedback into case files, as well as share it with our customer feedback team. For those wishing to leave confidential feedback, there is a postbox on the wall.
With all Cafcass practitioners and the majority of back office staff fully equipped for mobile working, the project team were keen that the office layout reflects modern practice as well as encouraging staff to unlock the potential of the new kit. More than a third of the office is designated as "touch down" space, where practitioners can dock in for a short period in between meetings, visits and interviews with children and families. How will more than 250 staff using the office as their designated base be accommodated by only 165 available desk spaces?
Christine Banim, national service director, explains: "The working model of practitioners going out for interviews or to court, taking notes on paper, and then coming back to the office to type up records and reports has changed quite radically over the last couple of years for Cafcass.
"With changes to the tools we give our staff, like lightweight laptops, tablets and Blackberries, along with the changes we've made to our filing systems so that case files are electronic and accessible remotely, we expect staff to do more directly on to their tablets while they are out with children, or to start reports when they have down time at court. This means that when practitioners come into the office they need more meeting space to catch up with colleagues or for supervision, quiet space for reports, and areas where they can quickly dock on, print or work for a couple of hours, and then be on the move again with little hassle. The touch-down spaces and rooms at 21B reflect the way practitioners work today."
The new office will be a base for operational and backoffice support staff, a model used throughout Cafcass to keep everyone focused on the frontline.
"When I see the families we work with and see and hear our practitioners working on cases with such passion it really makes me aware of the organisation's focus and why I am here," says Holly Jeapes, corporate support officer. "All of a sudden the need to change a template, or update a link to our website becomes more critical, as you can see exactly how this impacts the people we work with and ultimately is going to help a child. I couldn't imagine not being immersed in the very work Cafcass is here for."
Cafcass has made savings of more than £500,000 through its estates programme this financial year. Seven other government departments and agencies are moving to 21 Bloomsbury, saving £60m through the move and reducing the government's property footprint by 110,000 square feet. The project for the move was co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office's government property unit, alongside nine other departments and agencies, and won an award for excellence in property management from the Association of Chief Estates Surveyors.
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