Improving outcomes for children, young people and families: review of Children’s Services Plans and strategic engagement activity

Appendix B – Part 3 Statutory Guidance Review Criteria

Table 1 – Children's Services Plans: Part 3 Statutory Guidance Review Criteria

Does the Children's Services Plan…

1. Have a clear, ambitious compelling shared vision of what will be achieved by the end of the Plan?

2. Reflect relevant National Performance Framework Outcomes?

3. Incorporate a robust evidence-based joint strategic needs assessment of the current population of the children and young people in its area?

4. Include analysis of quantitative and qualitative evidence and data relating to both service performance and child wellbeing?

5. Identify a manageable number of measureable priorities clearly linked to the joint needs assessment to ensure that the rationale behind the priorities is explicit?

6. Cover local services which fall into the categories of both 'children's services' and 'related services' in its scope?

7. Recognise and describe services which can fulfil both 'primary prevention' and 'early intervention' across all aspects of wellbeing?

8. Describe how the Children's Services Planning Partnership is creating and maintaining effective Getting it right for every child practice for individual children, young people and their families?

9. Describe how the Children's Services Planning Partnership is using children's rights to inform the structural, procedural and outcome framework of the Plan?

10. Convey a shared sense of ongoing engagement and ownership with staff, children, young people, families and the wider community, evidencing that the Children's Services Planning Partnership has made full use of stakeholder's ideas and suggestions?

11. Set out a comprehensive strategy for supporting families through a broad range of preventative and early intervention approaches from universal services to targeted intensive support and describe the rationale for how and where the family support services are provided?

12. Describe what services are going to be developed in the future and specifying which areas will see disinvestment in order to facilitate the shift of resources towards preventative and early intervention options?

13. Set clear indicators for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of children's services in terms of their success in responding to and addressing children's wellbeing needs?

14. Present all the information in an easily accessible format which is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-related)?

15. Illustrate links (or incorporation) of other statutory plans and reports?