Transcript Slide 1

turning the curve:
children’s services and
outcomes based
accountability
Jacky Tiotto
Deputy Director, Government Office
planning and performance support,
DfES
16th April 2007
for this workshop

introduction
challenges and opportunities ahead
 what is inspection telling us?
 changes on the horizon
 what has an outcomes approach got to offer for
this ‘middle’ policy term of Every Child Matters?
‘are we up for this’?
“ we must become the change we want to see.”
Mahatma Gandhi
some of the challenges we have
 it is difficult to describe what ‘making a difference’ looks like or to agree what
things look like when we have been successful
 we still muddle up population outcomes and service effectiveness
 we have learned to be target and indicator submissive and sometimes these
have become the ends rather than the means
some of the opportunities ahead
 our policy documents refer increasingly to outcomes and about doing less
better – the national indicator set
 there is significant cross - government commitment to outcomes and asking
what difference we are making?
 Children and young people are high on the political and policy agendas
 there is a new performance assessment framework to influence
what is inspection telling us?
 most
data collected describes process change and
improvement

the job description!
agreed!
but there are
25!
these confuse
service outcomes
with population
outcomes
disjointed!
we chase
these and not
the outcomes
why these?
encourage
perverse
behaviour
and may not
be local
priorities
changes ahead?

the outcomes framework will re-launch in the Autumn

the local government white paper with a 200-strong national
indicator set, of which a significant number will describe
children’s services, and those areas of work where the local
authority is a significant but junior partner

Local Area Agreements will be reshaped to become the “delivery
contract” between a local area and central government
 Each will have a set of targets against up to 53 of the national
indicators, with 18 of these the DfES’ statutory targets for
attainment and early years
 JAR and APA will come to an end in 2009
 Annual Comprehensive Area Assessment, based on risk
 Some inspection will continue on a regular basis (eg vulnerable
children) but for the most part will only occur when “triggered” by
the findings of the CAA
so what is it looking like out there?
lots of structural reform
is anyone better off?
definitions
RESULT or OUTCOME
A condition of well-being for children, adults, families or communities
Children born healthy, Children succeeding in school, Safe communities, Clean Environment, Prosperous
Economy
INDICATOR or BENCHMARK
A measure which helps quantify the achievement of a result
Rate of low-birthweight babies, Rate of GCSE, crime rate, air quality index, unemployment rate
PERFORMANCE MEASURE
A measure of how well a program, agency or service system is working. Three types:
1. How much did we do? 2. How well did we do it? 3. Is anyone better off?
IS IT AN OUTCOME, INDICATOR OR
PERFORMANCE MEASURE?
1. Safe Community
outcome
2. Crime Rate
indicator
3. Average Police Dept response time
perf.measure
4. Children are safe at home
outcome
5. % of children in need
indicator
6. % of children in the child protection register
perf.measure
means not ends
(to improving results) (in themselves)
1. PARTNERSHIP
2. SYSTEM REFORM
3. SERVICE INTEGRATION
4. DEVOLUTION
5. JOINT BUDGETS
Quality
how much did we
do?
how well
did we do it?
effort
Quantity
effect
is anyone better off? # or %
%skills and knowledge, %attitude and opinion, % circumstance and
% behaviour
the matter of use
1.
first purpose is to Improve Performance
as a contribution to improving results
2. avoid the Performance Measurement
equals punishment trap
● acknowledge the experience as real.
● work to create a healthy organizational environment
● start small.
● build bottom-up and top-down simultaneously.
leaking roof/pakistani boys absent from school
(outcomes thinking in everyday life and school!)
experience:
measure:
Inches of Water/Rate
of GSCE passes
Not OK
? Fixed
Turning the Curve
story behind the baseline (causes):
partners:
what works:
action plan:
turn the curve exercise: performance assessment:
young people engaged in positive activities
5 min:
Starting Points
- timekeeper and reporter
- identify a program to work on
- two hats (yours plus partner’s)
5 min:
Performance measure baseline
- choose 1 measure to work on from lower right quadrant
- forecast – OK or not OK?
15 min:
Story behind the baseline
- causes/forces at work
(information & research agenda part 1 – causes)
10 min:
What works? (What would it take?) (2
pointers to action)
- what could work to do better?
- each partners contribution
- no-cost / low-cost ideas
(information & research agenda part 2 – what works)
10 min:
Report Convert notes to one page
Programme: _______________
Performance
Measure
Baseline
Story behind the baseline
-----------------------------------------------------
Performance Measure
(Lay definition)
(List as many as needed)
Partners
----------------------------------------------------- (List as many as needed)
Three Best Ideas – What Works
1. --------------------------2. --------------------------3. --------No-cost / low-cost/Off the Wall
Sharp
Edges
‘turning the curve for children’?
I want children to smile. If they are smiling, they will be relaxed. If
they are relaxed , they will be confident. If they are confident, they
will dare to be curious. If they are curious, they will grow in
understanding.
Anne Wood – Director
Ragdoll productions
turning the curve:
children’s services and
outcomes based
accountability
Jacky Tiotto
Deputy Director, Government Office
planning and performance support,
DfES
16th April 2007