Why?
Sheffield city council were keen to maximize the impact of the Bright Spots findings with a focus on individual reflection and collective action across the service. Due to Covid-19 an in-person event was not possible so the council worked with Coram Voice to design online events.
What did they do?
Sheffield wanted all of their workforce to hear the findings from their children in care and have space to reflect on what this meant for their practice. A two-part dissemination session was developed for all those working with children in care e.g. children social workers, IRO, Personal Advisers, designated teachers, foster carers and associated team managers etc. The expectation was that delegates attended both sessions.
- Session 1 – opportunity to hear the findings and use the reflection sheet to think about own practice and actions in response to how children were feeling (July 2021)
- Discussion held in-between sessions – teams were encouraged to review the findings in relation to their own work and commit to changes based on how their children were feeling
- Session 2 – representatives from different services presented their collective actions and commitments (Sept 2021)
- Ideas from the session informed the development of the Corporate parenting plan
Over 70 people attended the event.
What difference is it making?
Each service has committed to a range of actions to progress in the coming year linked to the Bright Spots findings . Progress against the individual actions is rigorously challenged by the young person’s reverse scrutiny panel, and by the Corporate Parenting Board. The young people (on the panel) also offer advice and consultation direct to Service Managers.
Regular sharing and linking meetings are held where each service manager updates on what they are doing to ensure synergy and identify opportunities for services to work together on actions.
