£200m up for grabs in children's services 'reforms'

The Department of Education’s Innovation Programme cash is being made available as part of a children's services overhaul which includes new ‘Devolution Deals’.

The department describes the scheme as a bid to ‘revolutionise support for the most vulnerable children and families across the country’, along with ‘brand-new freedoms for town halls’.

The announcement comes months after Prime Minister David Cameron’s key note speech on life chances, in which he described the proposals as the ‘landmark reforms of the next five years’.

Education secretary Nicky Morgan said, ‘Where there is failure, we can no longer sit by and watch.

‘We know children flourish when they are supported by leaders who have been given the freedom to translate their expertise, passion and drive into providing life-changing support.

‘And that’s why today we’re inviting charities and councils to come forward with their most creative ideas to transform the lives of those most in need because no ambition can be too great when it comes to transforming children’s life chances.

‘We’ve already seen how local services are ready to innovate and come up with new ideas to tackle entrenched problems.’

The Innovation Programme’s first round of funding announced in 2014, handed cash to more than 50 schemes including £4.3m for ‘Pause’ – an innovative programme designed to cut the number of children being taken into care.

The organisation works with women to ‘break the cycle’ of repeat pregnancies, and the funds are helping Pause reach its target of working with 160 women who have had a total of 568 children removed into care.

During the intervention, none of the women have become pregnant and many are now in safe accommodation, receiving help and support from domestic violence or mental health services, and engaged in training and education, as well as volunteering and employment.

One young mother, who was not named to protect her identity, said, ‘Without Pause, I would not be here now. I’ve never had anyone on my side: someone who isn’t going to hurt me, harm me or let me down. I could have kept on having kids or I could have ended it all. Or both. But Pause has helped me realise that I do have value. I do have potential.’

Another £1m was recived by Barnardo’s and the Local Government Association to back a special outreach scheme for girls and young women at risk of female genital mutilation.

Some £4m for the London Triborough, a collaboration between London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, to help them redesign how they deliver frontline children’s social.

Since receiving funding, two of the three councils in the Triborough have been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted for its services for vulnerable children and families – the only outstanding councils in the country. Ofsted was said to have regarded the Innovation Programme as key to their excellent rating. 

The department is also calling for local authorities to ‘take the power back from Whitehall’ through Devolution Deals, described as a ‘special agreement between central and local government which give regions greater control over decisions that affect their area’.

Ministers are proposing the deals will include children’s services, as already regions such as Greater Manchester are already leading the way – looking at how services for vulnerable young people can be better delivered across the region in a way that makes sense for them, free from Whitehall bureaucracy.

Children and families minister Edward Timpson, said, ‘I know from my time at the Bar and my experience of fostering that when it comes to supporting our most vulnerable young people, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.

‘That’s why we are calling on councils and professionals to continue digging deep, thinking radically and doing whatever it takes to find new and better ways of delivering for our most vulnerable children.’

Information on applying for the funding can be found here.