Workforce Development Strategy

Workforce Development Strategy 2018 2021 1

Message from the Chief Executive At Sandwell Children s Trust, we are looking forward to the future with confidence whilst driving an ambitious programme of improvement. Across all our services, whether it is in a frontline or other role, we are all focused on improving the life chances of the most vulnerable children and families in our borough. We are developing a strong child centred learning and improvement culture driven by accessible and visible senior management. We look for creative and talented individuals to strengthen our teams and who can help shape our longer-term plans for the Children s Trust in Sandwell. We also have a commitment to support our staff with a range of benefits, including a competitive benefits package, personal and professional development, generous annual leave and a final salary pension with significant employer contributions. Our learning programmes, comprehensive introductory programmes, reflective supervision and a wide range of differing and specialist roles will support career development. We strongly believe that everyone can achieve and reach their full potential. By being part of our story, you can share in the interesting and exciting opportunities we have to offer and deliver services to Sandwell s community. I m proud of the people who work in Sandwell s Children s Trust. I see commitment, motivation and a passion to improve lives, raise aspirations, build achievements and make a difference to the many children and families across Sandwell. listening, learning, caring - being ambitious, confident - encouraging innovation acting with openness and transparency 2

The Trust s purpose and values Our strategic objectives With our partners, we will ensure we work to improve the life chances of vulnerable children and deliver changes for the better. To do this, we are guided by our strategic objectives: Listening to and hearing children and young people Knowing ourselves well Effective partnerships Committed confident, competent workforce Efficient and effective use of resources We will only achieve our purpose through ensuring that we have a well-supported and competent workforce, and effective partnership working across agencies, including schools, voluntary and community sector partners, the police and health services. All of us placing the needs of children, young people and families at the centre of everything we do. This workforce strategy is developed to ensure we have the skill and experience mix of competent staff to deliver these objectives. 3

Aims of the Strategy Provide an understanding and an overview of the Trust s workforce structure. Outline the main strategic activities being taken to enrich and develop the workforce to meet the Trusts vision and objectives. Sets out how we will attract, retain and support the development of a talented and committed workforce which has the skills, knowledge and motivation to improve children s lives National and regional context Working with children and young people is one of the most inspiring and rewarding jobs anyone can do. It can also be the most demanding and difficult 1 which is why we believe it is so important to have a culture which is both supportive and promotes dynamic confident practice. The 2020 Children and Young People s Workforce Strategy sets out the government s vision that everyone who works with children should be: Ambitious for every child and young person Excellent in their practice Committed to partnership and integrated working Respected and valued as professionals This strategy for the Trust has been developed within the context of some key national documents, drivers and strategic groups: National: 1 Margaret Atkinson 2020 Children and Young People s Workforce Strategy 4

The Munro Review of Child Protection: A Child Centred System (2011) and the government response published in July 2011 The Children Act 1989 and 2004 Childcare Act 2006 The Children and Families Act 2014 Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2015 Serious Case Review findings HCPC Capabilities Framework and Standards for Employers The Social Work Reform Board Skills for Care ASYE Programme Signs of Safety practice framework Department for Education Knowledge and Skills Statements for Child and Family Social workers Department for Education Knowledge and Skills Statements for Practice Supervisors House of Commons Education Committee Social Work Reform 3 rd Report 2016/17 Voice of children and young people We will put the voice of children and young people at the centre of all we do. We will put in practices and processes to continually collect feedback and engage with them as well as using more conventional routes such as analysis of complaints and enquiries. How we collect the voice will be defined in our Participation Strategy, and we will nurture the relationships with the Looked After Children Board, the Leaving Care Forum 5

and children subject to Child Protection Plans. We will also work with colleagues in Education and the SHAPE forum to capture the voices of children in receipt of universal services. We have established a forum for Young People Advisors who will meet on a monthly basis with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Trust to directly feed issues to the Trust Board. We already know through engagement that with children and young people in Sandwell want stability, and to be listened to and supported by practitioners who care about them. The following quotes come directly from our children and young people: I would like a Social Worker who will be in my life for a while, and someone who can understand me and fight my corner. I want my Social Worker to listen to me, and be there when I need them. 6

I want my Social Worker to listen to me, and be there when I need them. I want my Social Worker to see me on a regular basis, be on time and not cancel any appointments. 7

The Trust s Workforce The Trusts workforce is divided into four directorates: Operations Quality & Performance Strategy & Transformation Resources The details of the organisational structure and workforce are available through the Trust s HR manager It is expected that the organisation will develop alongside the improvements to services. Any such development will be outlined in a separate document. 8

Workforce Development Priorities 2018-21 Promote the trust as an employer of choice through targeted media and recruitment activity on our unique selling points of being small enough to care and large enough to support opportunities Building on active partnerships with FE and HE and through apprentices Improve recruitment practices and process Ensure caseloads are manageable Create a safe and supportive working environment Develop effective leadership skills Ensure effective supervision and management in all service areas Enable staff to reach potential with appropriate support and career progression opportunities Ensure skilled and experienced staff are motivated to stay Provide staff with the tools to effectively do their jobs including the implementation of the Signs of Safety methodology Encourage permanent commitment to the Trust Ensure workforce planning is informed by data and analysis which takes account of emerging priorities Ensure all managers understand the data and regularly use it to inform workforce development Embed a culture of continual learning and improvement Deliver a comprehensive training support and development programme Ensure there are a range of opportunities to offer continuous learning Ensure staff have the right skills to do their jobs effectively and safely 9

Attraction and Recruitment We will continue to explore and support a range of routes into social work, through partnerships with local universities, and other national social work education providers including Step up to Social Work. We are committed to a diverse workforce, where different skills, experiences and qualifications are welcomed and valued and continue to develop strategies and ideas to ensure that we are able to attract the best people to our jobs. We will continue to refresh and update our recruitment processes; creatively using social media, targeting our advertising and recruitment activity, further developing our interview and assessment processes and ensuring that we actively include young people and service users in the process. In addition, we will work to offer a range of benefits to increase the appeal of working for the Trust. We will also look to grow our own talent and provide pathways to step-up to social work We are committed to working in conjunction with our regional colleagues to develop a sustainable social work job market. 10

Retention We are committed to providing a safe and supportive working environment, where our people are committed to the Trust. We believe this is best achieved if they know they are valued, can make a difference and their voice is heard. We want our people to be able to perform to their best ability. As well as ensuring our people are developed, we will also ensure their continued wellbeing through striving for quality working environment, the effective use of Occupational Health support and a flexible working arrangements. Senior managers commit to listening actively and continually to their people. To this end, they will carry our regular 1:2:1s, team and town-hall meetings and exit interviews. This feedback will be used to drive continuous improvement in the way we work. Meaningful engagement, with all effected staff, will also be built into any initiatives which change service delivery or organisational structure. Additionally, practitioners, along with our children and young people, will be put at the heart of designing new service delivery and continuous improvement. We will look to develop tools (such as systems thinking and agile product development) to support this objective. We are committed to improving the frequency and quality of supervision and monthly 1:2:1 catch-ups, ensuring that all staff have regular access to reflection, support, direction and management oversight. The performance management method brought over from the council will be reviewed to ensure it meets this aim and the Trust. We believe in celebrating success and making the workplace an enjoyable place to be. We will develop a reward and recognition system that allows all managers to immediately and appropriately recognise individual success and outstanding performance, while also providing longer term recognition such as annual commendations from the Chair and Chief Executive. We will also actively recognise success in personal development such as holding annual ASYE award ceremony and recognising people who obtain professional qualifications. Alongside recognition and reward events, there will be several communication channels through which we will highlights success. This will include the Chief Executive s regular blog, e-mails and, potentially, an intranet. We will encourage all Board and senior staff to play an active role in celebrating success. We are committed to providing an appropriate working environment for all our staff, and are continuing to review accommodation options and IT requirements including supporting flexible working. We will also have service structures with appropriate spans of management control, to ensure efficient use of resources, and sufficient capacity for all managers to support their staff well. We committed to a 5-year implementation of the Signs of Safety practice methodology. This will be rolled out across the workforce; building workers skills, confidence and ability to effectively work in partnership with children and families. 11

Continuous Professional Development and embedding a Learning Culture We are committed to embedding a learning culture across the Trust, where learning and knowledge is shared and valued. We are also committed to identifying opportunities for professional and personal development for all our people. This will be a key part our performance management system and senior managers will review its effectiveness on a regular basis. Where professional qualifications are required for a person s role, the Trust will cover the cost and time required. We will also consider other development wishes and, annually, will consider how much funding can be committed to them. We will ensure that the knowledge and capability our people need to do their jobs is appropriately developed from induction onwards. We will have a general induction programme to the Trust and key policies (such as H&S, child safety, data protection) and then more specific training depending on the roles. The Trust will commit that all staff, who work in a role where awareness of safeguarding children in required, will undertake and be assessed against locally developed Safeguarding Competencies. Integration of these competencies with other expectations for social workers (HCPC, PCF, DFE practice standards) needs to be completed to ensure compliance. Each profession (for example, social work, finance, commissioning) will have a defined career development training scheme which will show how we expect practitioners to develop their knowledge during their time with the Trust. Specific, role related training will include: Systems and processes training developed to meet need eg Liquid Logic, Asset Plus ASYE programme (workshops, 1-1 support and mentoring, group supervision) Early Help Qualification Bespoke and specialist training - eg Achieving Best Evidence training or PAMS training Signs of Safety practice methodology implementation LAC Diversity Panel (based on the Heritage Model, Trust 2000) YOS Diversity Panel Secure Base Model training - residential staff, fostering and adoption in particular roll out to wider division to be considered. Finance training Commissioning HR Project management 12

We are committed to a grow our own leaders strategy, identifying, encouraging and supporting our people to become managers and senior managers and thus retaining in house expertise. We will develop a tiered leadership development programme from supervisors to senior managers. All managers will be required to develop a set of core skills such as: Management and Leadership principles. Planning and strategy. Performance management and coaching Difficult conversation handling Engaging staff methods Recruiting Project management Continuous improvement (systems thinking and agile product development) Managing a flexible workforce There will also be access to more specialist leadership development for those who wish to go further. We will also promote a culture of learning through access for all to general opportunities for training and learning. Managers will be encouraged to allow their people time to shadow other teams to find out what they do. We will also use in-house expertise to hold regular lunch and learn sessions and regular practice workshops. These will include learning from Serious Case Reviews and feedback from clients and customers. A range of training and development resources will be made available. We will maintain and promote our membership of Research in Practice (RiP), which provides access to webinars, research, practice materials and learning events, and promote social media such as articles and resources on the Principal Social Worker s twitter feed and general management discussions on LinkedIn. We will also look to gain access to other learning hubs : such as those developed by universities to support Social Care training; and more general ones, such as that provided by the Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV). We will look to partner with FE and HE organisations to further develop our learning offer for our people. We will continue to review and evaluate our training offer in conjunction with feedback from staff and service users. We are committed to developing training and systems that support the ongoing impact of training and positive change to work practices. Effective monitoring and evaluation of impact to be an expectation of all training options. 13

The Trust s social work offer The Trust is working to raise consistently high standards of practice, which will lead to improved outcomes for service users and an enhanced profile and reputation of social work as a profession. To do this, we will look to offer a range of programmes to support practitioners at different levels in their career in social work: Step up to Social Work programme Programmes to provide new routes in social work including looking into the Frontline Programme into Social Work (2-year programme for high potential university leavers and career changers) Assessed Supported Year Employment (ASYE) Programme (12-month programme supporting and assessing newly qualified social workers) Ongoing CPD workshops and role specific and specialist training Practice Education qualifications (On site supervisor, Practice Educator 1 & 2) Leadership programmes for existing managers (for first line managers of front line social workers to develop skills to create change at a personal, relational and cultural level.) Aspire programme for aspiring Team Managers The Trust s Work Progression framework maps out our expectations of Social Workers, at each stage in their career. It is a proactive tool to support the performance management process. It provides both clarity and guidance on the expectations for each respective level of social work. Progression through the levels is based on the Professional Capabilities Framework and through the submission of portfolios of evidence which demonstrate the requirements outlined in this framework. Progression through social work career grades is approved at the Operational Workforce Group following the consideration of evidence. We will look to plan for the national implementation of Social Worker accreditation based on the DfE Knowledge and Skills statements for child and family social workers, supervisors and Practice Leaders. We need to understand the expectations and process and to develop internal processes to ensure that Accreditation is aspirational, the endorsement process is simple and to minimise any repercussions for the social work workforce. The Trust can then be committed to support all social work staff to achieve endorsement and accreditation; providing the relevant support. 14

Teaching Partnerships The Department for Education and Department for Health established the Social Work Teaching Partnership programme in 2015, to build strong partnerships and promote excellence in the collaborative delivery of social work education between Universities and their partners. Sandwell Children Services were members of the former West Midland Partnership comprised of 7 Local Authorities and 1 other Children s Trust (Stoke-on Trent, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Telford and Wrekin, Coventry, Solihull, Shropshire, Sandwell, Birmingham (the lead Authority) and the University of Birmingham. Sandwell Children s Trust will work together with other HEIs and regional Children s services as part of the teaching partnership ethos to change organisational cultures through investment at all levels to strengthen social work and strengthen leadership, and build a practice learning culture from student and newly qualified social worker to Assistant Director and aspiring Director The knowledge and skills statements developed by the Chief Social Worker and endorsed by the Department of Education are the foundation for the introduction of a post-qualification specialist career pathway for child and family social workers. They are crucial for child and family social work: education recruitment career development performance appraisal These statements will form the basis of the national assessment and accreditation system (NAAS) for child and family social workers. The statements are for: frontline practitioners (staff) practice supervisors practice leaders The statements provide a refreshed narrative by which employers and social work professionals map development, measure knowledge and skills to more effectively plan our aspirations. 15

Agency We see an ongoing need for social worker agency staff to provide flexibility in meeting surge in workload, team changes, sickness and redundancies. The initial funding for the Trust included the budget to cover a 20% establishment of agency workers (at an establishment of 215 social workers). We believe this level provides more than sufficient flexibility. As stability in the permanent workforce is achieved as the initiatives within the strategy are implemented, this percentage can be reduced. At the initiation of the Trust this figure was approximately 30%. A range of initiatives will be developed to reduce this to the target level. These will be outlined in the Recruitment and Retention plan which will be overseen by the R&R Task and Finish Group. We will ensure that agency staff are provided with the same level of flexibility of employment and access to professional development as that of our permanent social workers. Apprenticeships The Trust will look at developing apprenticeships within relevant directorates. This will include support and front-line staff. A separate apprenticeship policy for the Trust will be developed. Equality and Diversity The Trust is committed to ensuring that services are provided that embrace diversity, promote equality of opportunity and access. As an employer, we are also committed to equality and valuing diversity within our workforce. Our goal is to ensure that this commitment is embedded in our day to day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners. We will develop the council s approach to equality reviewing best practice from other workplaces and engaging with staff to develop an inclusion and wellbeing strategy. 16

Manage Capacity and Skill Mix We will look to develop our ability to track workforce capacity and development. We will develop a range of management information statistics (MIS) to ensure this strategy and its associated key policies are working. The MIS will include: % of people having professional supervision and regular 121s % of people having an annual appraisal and career discussions % of completed specified learning needs in personal development plans % of people receiving professional or additional qualifications % of people completing compliance training % absence rates % vacancies % of agency staff Exit interview comments Performance management procedures Age profile Time to recruit Governance A Workforce Strategy project team, with representatives from all areas, will support this strategy s development and implementation. It will report progress to the Executive Management Team, the Recruitment & Retention Task and Finish Group and the Board. It will also ensure any legislative or other external changes are considered and appropriate response are developed for the Executive s consideration. END: 17