Since the closure of the Children's Improvement Board in 2013, the co-ordination of improvement work across children's services has been sector-led.
In addition to the Local Government Association's peer reviews, the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) has used its nine regional groups to offer improvement support to authorities.
Inspection and improvement are intrinsically linked, and there is no doubt the introduction of Ofsted's single inspection framework in late 2013, and the tougher judgments it has meted out to children's services departments, has played a part in shaping improvement work across the sector.
However, while external inspection has a role to play, it is focused on giving a time-sensitive judgment and does not offer solutions on how to improve services. Sector-led improvement (SLI) is different. Its primary function is not as an inspection tool. Instead, it uses a holistic approach to first, embed a local process of continuous improvement and, second, offer the ability to develop a culture of a learning organisation.
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