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Improvement and support offer 2024/25 - prospectus
The following summary sets out a new programme of sector led improvement support for adult social care and public health services available to councils in 2024/25.
Introduction
We are working with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to deliver a new programme of sector led improvement support for adult social care and public health services in councils.
Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, the programme will continue to provide relevant, effective and innovative support that empowers councils, providers and staff to deliver high quality care that enables choice, control and independence for everyone.
Councils will benefit from the joint research, unique and extensive connections with partners at national and regional levels, and intensive subject matter expertise, knowledge and skills that our partnership will bring."
This prospectus sets out:
- the organisations and people who contribute to this support
- a regional view and potential content of the support offer at regional level
- a national level view, the modes of delivery and the information and communication channels available
- the support offer in detail, summarised against the four themes in the Care Quality Commission’s assessment framework and against the categories of universal, targeted and intensive.
A unique partnership
Through our partnership with SCIE, we draw on data, evidence and a national membership and networks with the knowledge, skills and relationships to support councils:
- Regional care and health improvement advisers: Connecting councils to the right support and enabling targeted interventions at local or regional level.
- Regional networks and leads: Robust regional networks that identify and respond to the needs of councils, driving improvement across a region and supporting national learning.
- National care and health improvement advisers: Designated professional leads in the areas of safeguarding, finance, commissioning (Care at Home) and digital.
- Subject matter and practice experts: Delivering research, tools, best-practice guidance and support for a sector-wide audience.
- Research and evaluation and programme management expertise: Providing leading evaluation and research to the sector.
Core principles
We recognise that:
- councils are responsible for their own performance
- our support provided should be relevant to council needs, and have clear objectives, sharing learning and effective innovation
- we must be accountable to our funders for outcomes and impact.
Our prospectus is aligned to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)themes and quality statements however it is not the driver of our work. Our work is driven by the reform ambitions as set out in ADASS’s Time to act: a roadmap to reform care and support in England, the vision of Social Care Future movement, and by the White Paper Putting People at the Heart of Care.
The regional perspective
The nine ADASS regions are where adult social care accesses peer support and challenge, organise collaborative action, give a collective voice about council views and needs, share information and learning, and provide a basis for wider national uptake where relevant. Likewise, for public health, the Association of Directors of Public Health regional networks are a key mechanism for delivering sector-led improvement in public health.
This improvement programme will work with and through regions, recognising the important role they play."
Every region has a care and health improvement adviser (CHIA), who can work with each council to understand its needs, provide advice, and help draw down relevant support. Every region has an ADASS branch supported by a regional programme lead, who can also ensure that councils are aware of and contribute to support.
Regions organise and support networks of people undertaking key functions such as social work or commissioning. The programme as a whole works with these networks.
CHIAs and regional leads work with the wider LGA regional team, and with other regional partners such as NHSE, Better Care Managers, Skills for Care, and provider organisations.
The national offer
We use the CQC assessment framework for local authority assurance themes and quality statements to set out a comprehensive, impactful and sustainable programme of support for councils.
The national level view summarises the support against the four CQC themes and against the categories of universal, targeted and intensive.
The programme has a fixed budget. It cannot be guaranteed that all targeted support offers listed in this prospectus will be available to every council.
Modes of delivery
Our work is responsive to the needs of the sector and to individual and/or groups of councils and the partners they work with. The programme provides three distinct categories of support."
- Universal support: available to all councils with a focus on sharing best practice and supporting informed self-assessment. Examples: self-assessment tools, learning events and rapid research.
- Targeted support: targeted and tailored work with individual or groups of councils. Examples: peer reviews, action planning for change and option appraisals.
- Intensive support: delivered to councils who face immediate and substantial challenges or maintaining financial balance. Examples: rapid improvement programme and capacity planning.
Information and intelligence for councils
Information and intelligence underpins and informs the wider reach of support provided through our programme. Available at a universal level, we provide toolkits, data tools and information to support local improvement and better health, wellbeing and social care outcomes.
- Using LG Inform we have developed a range of data and intelligence products that complement the support offer across a range of adult social care and population health and wellbeing topics.
- Through the Strategic Data and Intelligence Network for Adult Social Care we will facilitate engagement with the sector to help shape effective data policy and requirements.
- We support benchmarking including by region and/or by theme.
- We develop support for councils in evidencing and informing their self-assessments and improvement planning.
- We support senior leaders’ access to and interpretation of data into intelligence to inform strategic decision making – using experts to shape tools and resources, building on the Use of Resources approach.
Communication channels
The programme has dedicated communication channels as part of its wider support offers to councils. Through these channels and the channels of our partners, councils can access universal support tools and resources and explore targeted support offers:
- PCH website
- PCH e-bulletin
- PCH X
- PCH LinkedIn
- ADASS website
- ADASS bulletin: available weekly for all ADASS members
- SCIE website
- SCIELine bulletin registration
How to access targeted support
- Requests should be made in the first instance through the regional CHIA and regional team. If you are unsure who to contact, please email [email protected].
- We will work with council’s director of adult social services and senior leadership team to understand the context and areas of support.
- In some cases, we will have to prioritise support to councils who face immediate and substantial challenges.
- Once support is confirmed, the shared objectives and scope of work will be agreed and signed off.
- On completion of the support, the outcomes will be reviewed and a continual improvement plan developed and embedded. We will evaluate the support and seek feedback from councils.
Other PCH support programmes
The Better Care Fund Support Programme 2023-25 provides a range of support approaches to improve how local health and social care systems commission and deliver health and care services which is integrated, effective and sustainable.
Our support offer in detail
The programme uses the CQC Assessment framework for local authority assurance themes and quality statements to set out a comprehensive, impactful and sustainable programme of support for councils.
All support offers are informed by regional priorities and regional improvement programmes.
Our targeted and universal support offers against the four CQC themes are listed below.
Working with people: universal support
Working with people: targeted support
Providing support: universal support
Providing support: targeted support
Ensuring safety across the system: universal support
Ensuring safety across the system: targeted support
Leadership: universal support
Leadership: targeted support
Intensive support
Intensive support is for individual councils who are facing immediate significant challenges and risk, including from CQC judgements or requires Improvement or Inadequate ratings, or from very significant financial challenges.
Co-ordinated and tailored support could be across, for example (but not exclusively), safeguarding, assessment practice, commissioning and workforce. A package of tailored support will be set up and specialist support drawn in.
Intensive support will usually be sourced via the care and health improvement adviser, who will work with the council’s director of adult social services and their team to rapidly agree and arrange the support. Where appropriate, this will be done in conjunction with regions, the wider LGA regional team, as well as other partners where action needs to involve them.