WCC - Market Testing - Families First in the Community - Pathfinder Provision

Warwickshire is a Families First for Children (FFC) Pathfinder authority and is one of seven Wave 2 authorities in the country with funding from the DfE to lead on whole-system reform of Early Help and Children's Social Care.

The next 12 to 24 months will see further testing and shaping of wider system transformation across prevention, early intervention and targeted support to better meet the needs of Warwickshire children, young people and their parent carers. We are seeking providers views on how we reshape our services with the following commissioning intentions.

Our engagement and analysis to date has informed the following strategic commissioning intentions for the Families First for Children Pathfinder Programme: Multi-agency Workforce a. We will commission and embed new test and learn roles into Families First Teams, and feed learning back into the system for longer-term planning b.

We will formalise secondment and matrix arrangements with strategic partners for new and extended roles in Families First Teams, to strengthen the multi-agency workforce c. We will use existing contracts to strengthen multi-agency workforce arrangements in Family First teams, through contract variation and redesign opportunities d. We will deliver solutions for identified workforce and expertise gaps in the system, through working across the partnership in innovative ways System-wide Practice e.

We will use test and learn principles embedded in the FFC programme to maximum effect, with agreed monitoring, engagement and evaluation processes, to evidence what works for children and families in Warwickshire f. We will listen to and amplify service user and practitioner voice across commissioned and partner services to understand what works for effective and impactful multi-agency, whole-family working g.

We will promote commissioning principles and best practice through the FFC programme, and provide expertise to embed the commissioning cycle as an agreed way of working h. We will endorse the principles of a shared practice framework in how we work in support of children and families, across commissioned services and strategic partners Place-based Commissioning i.

We will take opportunities to make best use of WCC and partner buildings for more effective and collaborative co-location, and will ensure services are available to families in places where they want to be supported j. We will use local intelligence, mapping and analysis to respond to local need and make place-based commissioning decisions for Families First k.

We will grow stronger, localised relationships between WCC teams, providers, partners, businesses and voluntary and community sector organisations, to build local networks of support for professionals and families The result of this market test will inform direction of travel and action planning for the next phase of the Pathfinder Programme, with a specific focus on community powered family support.

Please see the market testing pack for further detail of the proposals.