turning the curve: children’s services and

outcomes based accountability

Jacky Tiotto

Deputy Director, Government Office planning and performance support, DfES

16th April 2007

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?

for this workshop

‘‘are we up for this’?are we up for this’?

“ we must become the change we want to see.” Mahatma Gandhi

some of the challenges we havesome 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 aheadsome 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

most data collected describes process change and improvement

what is inspection telling us?

the job description!the job description!

agreed!

why these?

disjointed!

but there are 25!

encourage perverse behaviour

and may not be local

priorities

we chase these and

not the outcomes

these confuse service

outcomes with population outcomes

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

changes ahead?

so what is it looking like out there?so what is it looking like out there?

lots of structural reformlots of structural reform

is anyone better off?is anyone better off?

definitionsdefinitions

RESULT or OUTCOME

A condition of well-being for children, adults, families or communitiesChildren born healthy, Children succeeding in school, Safe

communities, Clean Environment, Prosperous Economy

INDICATOR or BENCHMARKA measure which helps quantify the achievement of a

resultRate 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 IS IT AN OUTCOME, INDICATOR OR PERFORMANCE MEASURE?PERFORMANCE MEASURE?

1. Safe Community

2. Crime Rate

3. Average Police Dept response time

4. Children are safe at home

5. % of children in need

6. % of children in the child protection register

outcome

indicator

perf.measure

outcome

indicator

perf.measure

means means notnot ends ends(to improving results)(to improving results) (in themselves)(in themselves)

1. PARTNERSHIP

2. SYSTEM REFORM

3. SERVICE INTEGRATION

4. DEVOLUTION

5. JOINT BUDGETS

how much did we

do?

how welldid we do it?

is anyone better off? #

or %

Quantity Quality

e

ffect

eff

ort %skills and knowledge, %attitude

and opinion, % circumstance and % behaviour

the matter of usethe matter of use

1. first purpose is to Improve Performanceas 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 leaking roof/pakistani boys absent from school

(outcomes thinking in everyday life and school!)(outcomes thinking in everyday life and school!)

experience:

measure:

story behind the baseline (causes):

partners:

what works:

action plan:

Inches of Water/Rate

of GSCE passes

? Fixed

Not OK

Turning the Curve

turn the curve exercise: performance turn the curve exercise: performance assessment:assessment:

young people engaged in positive activitiesyoung people engaged in positive activities5 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 (Lay definition)Performanc

eMeasureBaseline

Story behind the baseline --------------------------- --------------------------- (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

SharpEdges

‘‘turning the curve for children’?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