The first national inspection of Cafcass by Ofsted has found that outstanding leadership has led to a wholesale transformation in organisational culture, leading to radical improvement in the services children and families receive. So how has an organisation which only four years ago was branded as "not fit for purpose" by the Public Accounts Committee turned itself around?
Set up in 2001, Cafcass brought together 117 local services into a national organisation, with insufficient prior development work to establish its new core functions properly. Its first four years were a series of organisational cul de sacs. The first steps towards a sustainable and contemporary front-line service were taken in 2005, but that strengthened oversight only showed up just how troubled services were on the ground, particularly private law services. Whilst many individual practitioners worked effectively to a high standard, the organisation as a whole did not. Ofsted inspections between 2007 and 2010 raised significant concerns about aspects of Cafcass' practice, particularly about a lack of awareness of the impact of domestic abuse on children. Despite improvement programmes being in place from 2007, in 2010 the Public Accounts Committee found sickness absence unacceptably high and exceeding levels elsewhere in the public sector; low compliance by staff; poor assessments in care cases causing delay; and poor management information systems.
Since 2010, chief executive Anthony Douglas and his senior management team have overseen a series of programmes that have generated profound and lasting improvement throughout Cafcass. These include practice improvement which systematically raised the general standards of casework, and business transformation programmes which challenged the organisation to introduce models to create greater efficiencies, embrace technology and free up resources to focus on direct work rather than non value-adding processes. The most recent drive saw an intensive practice development programme led by national service director Christine Banim, setting out the expectations and means of arriving at consistent provision of quality work nationally. Douglas notes that this consistency is critical for the families Cafcass works with at a time when they are going through intense turmoil and change. "Despite having over 1700 staff in 81 teams throughout England and being the largest single employer of social workers we can now say that children and families receive the same good to outstanding service no matter which team is working with them – what you see on our website or leaflets will be the same whether it is in Cornwall or Cumbria."
Some hard decisions were made along this rocky road to improvement. Ofsted reported that Cafcass has seen a turnover of 700 staff, which Douglas puts down to a relentless pursuit of strong performance management. "There is now no hiding place for poor social work practice in Cafcass. We have equipped our managers with the tools for effective oversight and development to ensure the organisation has the right staff and this has been a key reason for why our standard of practice has improved so much. Our approach to managing performance is teamed with an organisational culture which values supportive management, with high expectations and ambition." Given the demands of the social work profession Cafcass has made strides to provide a comprehensive health and wellbeing strategy, which includes a health benefits programme which rivals that provided in the private sector, and schemes to foster professional growth such as talent development.
The inspection result is made that much more remarkable given that this transformation within Cafcass has been achieved despite huge increases in demand, following the tragic baby Peter Connolly case, and cuts to funding. Douglas points to the innovation led by his senior management team and the take up by teams to new ways of working. "We had no choice but to change the way we do things but in this process we have developed a culture of innovation which bucks usual perceptions of the social care sector, in fact in the public sector." He explains that all Cafcass social workers have the tools for practice in today's world, with tablets and laptops and access to electronic records anywhere allowing staff to make the most of the time spent with children and families and reducing bureaucratic processes. Teamed with electronic systems which allow individuals and managers to view their own performance metrics, which are unique to the social care sector and are being heralded by external HR and organisational agencies, innovation in Cafcass has led to large decreases in staff sickness and reduced cost – from £3.3m in 2009-10 to a projected £1.8m for the 2013-14 financial year.
Douglas now recognises the challenge in maintaining performance levels for Cafcass: "A key part of achieving outstanding for our national leadership was the work we have carried out with other family justice agencies. Maintaining momentum in this area is vital if we are to continue to ensure that family courts have the right information at the right time to make the best decisions for children. I am pleased that Ofsted recognised that our staff are highly motivated, share a common purpose and are committed to continuous improvement. We are a people service, provided by people to other people who are at their lowest ebb. The work is complex and highly emotional, and it takes a toll on all concerned. We have sought and built many partnerships with parents and their carers to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the country. This is what spurs us on to achieve still more."
Watch the partner zone over the coming weeks for more in-depth articles on practice and organisational improvements in Cafcass.
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