- Action 1: Develop a clear pathway of early help services which support the journey of the child where they need to step across services through the early help redesign and the development of family hubs aimed at preventing unnecessary referrals into statutory services.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Deliver the family hubs phase one delivery plan to develop a model across the County. April 2025 Each Early Help locality area has a clear plan outlining the steps required to create a functioning hub in their area. Monthly reporting to the Family Hubs Steering Group Progress arrangements to bring family hubs delivery into the Local Authority as an in-house service. April 2025 A smooth transition is achieved for staff and for partners impacted by the change Monthly reporting to the Family Hubs Steering Group Create clear processes, in line with targeted early help service procedures, to ensure an effective pathway from the family hubs community based delivery to a more targeted response as required. April 2025 A clear and identifiable pathway for families and partners. Overseen by the Early Help Strategic Partnership Board. - Action 2: Work with the provider market to develop provision which meets the need of the most complex children and young people. Ensure that providers can adapt their offer to meet individual need to promote stability.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Monthly provider conversations are in place and used to actively work with the market to develop solutions.September 2024Providers are actively engaged in working with the local authority to build provision and work on solutions for this vulnerable group of children and young people.Regular meetings and opportunities to engage are in place. Progress reported through A Place Called Home Programme Board.Engage local providers of care in the Steps Programme. This aims to ensure children are in the right home (according to the assessed permanency plan) by stepping them into that which is most appropriate.Programme under way. Review effectiveness by April 2025Children and young people are better able to meet the outcomes assessed as required to live full and happy lives.Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board.Use Lot 2 of the Peninsula Flexible Purchasing System for Registered Childrens Homes to pursue identified solutions. Ensure all providers interested in finding solutions are engaged.April 2025All local providers are registered with Lot 2. Possible innovations to increase provision are being pursued through this process.Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board.Continue to progress the development of Local Authorities in-house children’s homes.All current developments should be open by January 2026More options are available locally for our most complex children.Monitored and progressed through the capital projects steering group. - Action 3: Work with health partners to increase the therapeutic and health related input into care packages. Jointly commission specialist provision for children leaving hospital and place of safety provision.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Review all children and young people with health related needs to ensure the health-related input is proportionate to the need. Ensure plans are amended to reflect review findings. December 2024 Increase stability of placements and resilience of children and young people. Monitor progress through the Joint Agency Panel review
Develop and implement a working process to ensure health input into care plans is agreed and embedded from the placement inception. April 2025 Increase stability of placements and resilience of children and young people. Monitor progress through the Joint Agency Panel review Develop a plan in partnership with the ICB to create a jointly commissioned provision for children leaving hospital and other tier 4 provision. Solution identified and plan in operation by April 2025 Creation of a home to enable children and young people leaving tier 4 provision to stabilise and to find the right next step home to suit their needs. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board.
- Action 4: Progress innovative solutions (already identified) for those with complex needs such as gap homes; utilising available land to create homes for complex post 16 young people; piloting emergency accommodation schemes with providers to stabilise young people; and solutions to step children across from residential to fostering with an emphasis on those under the age of 12.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Develop and agree a business case to progress the Gap Homes project, increasing provision for young people aged 16+ December 2024 Increase options available to complex young people and work differently to meet their needs. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Start work to progress the gap homes project to design the provision with the provider. April 2025 Increase options available to complex young people and work differently to meet their needs. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Pilot the provision of emergency accommodation with providers who are able and willing to engage from lot 2 December 2024 then monthly monitoring Increase options available to complex young people and work differently to meet their needs. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Continue to embed and process the steps programme to ensure children are in the right home (according to the assessed permanency plan) by stepping them into that which is most appropriate. Monthly tracking and monitoring. Increase options available to complex young people and work differently to meet their needs. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. - Action 5: Review the effectiveness of the local offer for children in care and care experienced young people, available on the ‘Stand Up, Speak Up’ website, to ensure young people are able to access the information and advice they need quickly.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Through the feedback from young people as gathered by the engagement team, review the information available on the website and ensure it is meeting needs. April 2025 Young people can access the information they need, when they need it, in a way that is accessible for them. Reported to the Care for me Subgroup of the Corporate Parenting Board. - Action 6: Commission or create a sustainable and affordable care resource to enable placement stability, support children to return home (including those in Special Guardianship Orders) and where absolutely necessary, provide support to those children who are placed in unregistered provision.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Develop a preferred provider list to manage the current commissioning needs and ensure a level of quality assurance is in place. December 2024 Increase the stability of homes for children and young people across all settings. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Create an options appraisal and commissioning intentions plan for future care requirements. April 2025 Increase the stability of homes for children and young people across all settings. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. - Action 7: Develop individualised commissioning to look at complete packages of care including educational, health and transport needs. Ensure staff are appropriately trained to effectively understand and negotiate costs where appropriate and explore the procurement of tools to support the process.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Review the Homes for Children working practices to align with the new ways of working to meet outcomes required. November 2024 Children and young people can have stability across all aspects of their life improving outcomes and permanence. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Develop and implement an effective training package for Homes for Children staff to ensure they have the necessary skills to manage the work. January 2025 Children and young people can have stability across all aspects of their life improving outcomes and permanence. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Develop a common costing framework and review and amend the standard contract terms and conditions to ensure a fair cost of care in all packages agreed. January 2025 Children and young people can have stability across all aspects of their life improving outcomes and permanence. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Introduce a contract management approach to ensure that providers are delivering high quality services to address identified needs and required outcomes. Ensuring that any placement concerns are identified at the earliest opportunity and support provided to mitigate against the risk of placement breakdown. January 2025 Effective contract monitoring to secure high quality care delivery to address needs and meet outcomes. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. - Action 8: Progress the ‘A Place Called Home’ workstream to increase the recruitment and retention of foster cares to ensure no net loss and to enable in house carer to accept more complex young people (with focus on the younger age ranges who are in residential care).
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Progress the marketing campaign to encourage expressions of interest form new foster cares, including letters flyers attached to council tax letters. Review progress April 2025 More availability of in house fostering for all children and young people. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Develop a plan to address the training needs of foster carers to increase their ability to take same day referral and more complex children. Create and implement by April 2025 More availability of in house fostering for all children and young people. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Review and implement changes to fostering fees and allowances to ensure the allowance provided is appropriate to the need of the child. April 2025 More availability of in house fostering for all children and young people. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. - Action 9: Work with independent fostering providers to develop a more flexible offer where foster carers are able to manage greater complexity and more flexible arrangements are possible on a respite and emergency basis.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Work with Independent Fostering Agencies to support marketing and development opportunities to increase the number of foster carers in Devon able to respond flexibly to support same day placements and respite for children and young people with complex or challenging presentations April 2025 Greater access to Devon’s fostering beds for more children where same day placements or respite are required Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Work with providers to identify the skills needed by foster carers to take children with complex or challenging presentations and implement targeted recruitment and development programmes to increase the number of foster carers with these skills. April 2025 Increased numbers of foster carers in Devon able to work with children and young people with complex or challenging presentations ensuring that the children and young people are able to experience a positive family environment. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Board. - Action 10: Review and recommission the Peninsula Residential Flexible Purchase System to better meet the needs of providers and to ensure continuity and affordability across the residential market.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Work with the Procurement and the Peninsula Partnership to develop an options appraisal and future commissioning intentions. January / February 2025 Manage the cost of residential care, increase quality and provider engagement. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. Start the procurement process to create a new commissioning arrangement for independent residential care (children’s homes) arrangements. Action continues into 2025/26 Manage the cost of residential care, increase quality and provider engagement. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. - Action 11: Reduce the breakdown of adoption placements, particularly during the period of adolescence.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Review the Adopt Southwest Recruitment Strategy to ensure there are safeguards to prevent adoption breakdowns and that these are effectively monitored. December 2024 Less adoption breakdowns and more support to maintain. Adopt Southwest delivery Board Monitor the implementation of strategy outcomes and KPIs to ensure breakdowns are reduced. Monthly Less adoption breakdowns and more support to maintain. Adopt Southwest delivery Board - Action 12: Explore how to underwrite insurance for providers who take young people with specific risks in relation to damage and fire setting and work with providers to upskill staff in order to avoid these occurrences.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Take a ‘test and learn’ approach on individual cases and then develop a working policy to guide practice. Review progress December 2024. Policy created an implemented by April 2025 Providers are able to take more complex young people in registered arrangements. Progress monitored through A Place Called Home Programme Board. - Action 13: Review the availability and move through of accommodation options for young asylum seekers.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Using evidence within the sufficiency needs analysis review the gap in provision over the next three to five years and create the options appraisal and commissioning intentions to create the provision required to meet identified need. April 2025 Ensure the needs of this vulnerable group a met. Monitored through the ‘A Place Called Home’ provider sufficiency workstream. - Action 14: In partnership with District Councils, review pathways and commissioned services for young people in care aged 16+, homeless young people aged 16 and 17 and care experienced young people to ensure services enable resilience, capabilities for independence and ultimately effective move on. Use evidence available to ensure the right spread of services across the County.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Review the sufficiency of available provision for this cohort and identify the activities required to commission additional provision or free up existing provision. December 2025 More young people are able to access and sustain suitable accommodation.
Through the ‘Care for Me’ subgroup of the Corporate Parenting Board. Work with providers to identify the activity required to fill identified gaps in provision, or to make sure the provision available is flexible to the needs of young people. April 2025 More young people are able to access and sustain suitable accommodation.
Through the ‘Care for Me’ subgroup of the Corporate Parenting Board. Progress the implementation of the staying close programme to ensure 24 beds are available to care experienced young people by the end of the year. April 2025 More young people are able to access and sustain suitable accommodation.
Through the ‘Care for Me’ subgroup of the Corporate Parenting Board. - Action 15: Improve the transitions pathway for young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Actions and activity identified within the SEND Strategy and Safety Value Plan. Review Progress April 2025 Young people experience smooth transitions from childrens to adult’s care arrangements. Through the SEND Improvement Board transitions workstream. - Action 16: Take advantage of the newly funded opportunities with the District Council’s to increase the housing opportunities for care experienced young people.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Work closely with District councils to understand the likely local need and ensure support is available where required. Review progress April 2025 Creation of more sustainable move on options. Through the ‘Care for Me’ subgroup of the Corporate Parenting Board. - Action 17: Work across children’s social care to support improvements to culture and practice, supporting the journey to making Devon the authority of choice for local providers.
Milestones By when Desired outcome Monitoring and progress Work with the Children’s Social Clare Senior Management Team through the Service Development Meetings to highlight the problems faced by providers and to address any practice issues presenting. Review progress April 2025 Create more sufficiency and keep Devon’s children in Devon. Through the ‘A Place Called Home’ achieving permanence workstream.
Children’s social care