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Learning examples: IAS service improvements

This collection of short learning examples is part of a series highlighting the leadership and strategic work of IAS service managers (or service lead officers) supported and funded through the IAS programme

For example, consulting and reviewing the local IAS service offer and devising an overall strategic direction and plan that will result in a change in culture, structure and seeking improvements over time.

The stories may be used as a guide for implementing similar methods in other IAS services, where this is appropriate and useful.

Key common themes are:

  • necessity for strong service leadership skills with sufficient time to lead
  • value of gathering feedback, capturing key data effectively and how to successfully use it e.g. strategically, service planning etc.
  • benefits of using the Minimum Standards to raise the service profile and prioritise service gaps
  • importance and advantages of longer term service planning
  • value of engaging LA commissioners, Health and Social Care professionals and the wider community
  • benefits to improving the children and young people offer and learning from others how to do it well
  • using CPD to maintain growth and improve morale of individuals employed
  • effective relationships with the Parent Carer Forum and other local community groups can help the service to develop
  • benefits of building capacity,  recruitment and training of volunteers
  • recognising the impact of issues affecting recruitment, staffing and training; addressing associated barriers/causes
  • early identification of the key elements to improve IAS service sustainability

The learning examples listed below are published with permission of the service manager in question.

North West

  • Blackpool: Engaging and developing a service plan that works for the IAS service and the community
     
  • Bolton: Moving with the times – demonstrating that you cannot assume you know how the LA views your IAS Service if you don’t ask!
     
  • Cheshire East: Getting to know ourselves well and using our evidence to build an IAS Service team that fulfils its statutory obligations
     
  • Cheshire West and Chester: Strategically developing a sustainable service to meet local need
     
  • Cumbria: Reviewing and planning service improvements
     
  • Liverpool and Knowsley: Building a sustainable IAS Service offer for the future
     
  • Rochdale: Supporting Strategic Decision Making & Use of Resources

North East

  • Durham: Developing a new Youth Offer to improve its engagement and IAS service offer to young people
     
  • North Tyneside: An Approach to strengthen strategic planning of the IAS Service

​​​​Yorkshire and Humber

  • Barnsley: Reviewing and planning service improvements to secure additional LA funding
     
  • Bradford: Reviewing and planning service improvements

East Midlands

  • Derby City: IAS service and next steps

West Midlands

  • Coventry: Reviewing and planning service improvements
     
  • Shropshire: Increasing IAS service efficiency without compromising quality
     
  • Staffordshire: Developing a sustainable IAS Service offer fit for the future
     
  • Wolverhampton: A vision for the IAS Service

South West

  • Bath and N.East Somerset: Reviewing and improving the reach and quality of IASS delivery by effectively collecting and using data
     
  • Bournemouth and Poole : Building a service offer for the future
     
  • Devon: Delivering Information Advice and Support across a large rural county
     
  • Dorset: Working together to build a better IAS Service

London

  • Bexley: Children & Young People with SEND and their families at the heart of what we do
     
  • Bromley: Planning for future sustainability
     
  • Camden: Rebirth of the IAS Service
     
  • Croydon: Engaging and working with parent groups and YP by working flexibly to match their requirements
     
  • Enfield: A multiple route approach to capacity building
     
  • Hackney: Reflections on IAS service developments and improvements
     
  • Hounslow: Improving services to ensure a lasting legacy for IAS Service

East of England

  • Cambridgeshire: Increased confidence in meeting service users’ needs and the minimum standards​
     
  • Suffolk: IAS service review and future development planning

South East

  • Bracknell Forest: Reviewing our IAS Service and planning for the future
     
  • Brighton and Hove: A fresh look at a longstanding service
     
  • Buckinghamshire: Promotion, prevention, prompt response
     
  • Milton Keynes: An IAS Service that does not standstill – building on 4 years’ of growth
     
  • Portsmouth: An empowerment IAS Service model

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        • Learning examples: IAS service improvements
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        • Learning examples: digital solutions to support and enhance the IASS offer
        • Learning examples: exclusions
        • Learning examples: good practice in IAS service delivery
        • Learning examples: mental health
        • Learning examples: partnership working with local Parent Carer Forums
        • Learning examples: refusal to assess
        • Learning examples: working directly with young people
        • Support provided by the national helpline
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