By Helen Fergusson, Strategic Director of Children’s Social Care and Lifelong Learning at Gateshead Council
There is nothing like a Joint Targeted Area Inspection to bring the importance of the relationships we have as partners within our local areas into very sharp focus! My reflections following the recent inspection in Gateshead, focused on Child Sexual Abuse in the Family Environment (CSAFE), are that the intensity of those inspection frameworks really tests the resilience of those partnerships and how we work together, and it was truly a privilege to lead the process with such a fabulous team of committed multi agency professionals.
But of course – it’s not just about being able to successfully navigate multi agency inspections. Children and their families need us to find meaningful and effective ways of working together. Their lives are complex and the issues that affect them – poverty, mental health, school attendance, school exclusion, special educational needs, feeling safe in their families and communities – are nearly always interconnected. Our partnerships are not simply beneficial, they are essential to improving the lives of the children and young people we work with.
At a time of such significant change across our sector for agencies navigating their own single-agency reform programmes as well as the wide ranging national programme of whole system transformation, it has never been more important to make time to nurture and protect our multi agency relationships for the good of the children and families we serve.
Successful partnerships are all about relationships – making time to get to know each other; understanding each others priorities; understanding where we have shared goals and where our priorities may differ; what each can bring and where we can add value to the other; how we can navigate areas of difference and challenge in a constructive way which appropriately attributes accountability to deliver the best for children – are all essential elements of these relationships.
The time and energy we can devote to this can pay dividends when we find ourselves, as we have recently, being required to come together at speed to develop our Local Area SEND Reform Plans for example, or as we now begin to implement our Social Care Reform programmes in collaboration with multi agency partners.
Viewing parents, carers and young people as key partners in this transformation is just as critical and whilst finding meaningful ways to do that can be more challenging, we also know that when we get that collaboration right – when we can join together professional expertise with the expertise of lived experiences – the services we develop can be so much more impactful, responsive and compassionate.
Every member of our workforce can play their part in building a collaborative culture which nurtures partnerships – the multi agency relationships which are built in care team meetings, core groups, PEP reviews and EHCP reviews are the foundation stones across the system enabling support to be joined up for families, and which support the strategic partnership relationships to withstand the inevitable challenges that come with ever-increasing pressures and demands in a climate of reducing resources.
Effective communication, shared goals, a commitment to open dialogue and holding ourselves and each other accountable for delivering for children whilst protecting some space to build the relationships are things that we can all – and must – commit to. I often have the privilege of seeing the power and the reality of effective partnerships in action – whether that is in multi agency inspection processes; our social care reform boards; in our youth justice partnerships; or our SEND strategic Boards, and am regularly reminded of the old truism, “The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.”