Children's services collaboration in the South West

In the South West region we can often be challenged by our geography, which can leave us feeling as though we are just not doing enough. However, in May 2016 there was unanimous agreement among directors of children's services in the region that we shared common priorities and that what we wanted was to unite around an outcome and to make a difference in the lives of children and young people across the region. For the first time, we also secured funding across all of the 16 local authorities in the region to fund a Sector-Led Improvement (SLI) co-ordinator to give us the capacity to progress many of our great ideas. So, after some discussion and regional collaboration, we agreed to focus on preventing and tackling neglect in the region.

Now, a year on from the initial discussion, it is good to reflect on how we have moved from ‘talk to action' across the region. Critical to moving forward we agreed on a regional business plan with clear actions, which was shared at our annual regional summit. It was good to see how all of our groups that form a substantial professional network in the region became really energised with a common goal pulling them all together.

Here is just some of the progress that has been made to date: