Benchmarking aid for children's centres

In a letter to council chief executives and children’s services directors Sheila Scales, director of the DCSF’s early years, extended schools and special needs group, has offered assurances that support in performance management will be made available.

She says it is considering a “benchmarking system” that will help centres ensure they are offering value for money and “understand fully the costs involved” in offering services. Further guidance to be made available later this year will cover issues including governance, staff training and management.

She said the guidance is necessary, because often, “the value of performance management and quality improvement is not always clearly understood at a centre level.”

She added: “It can be seen as an external imposition.  This may need to be a more explicit focus of work over the coming year.”