The report shows that children's services leaders are under pressure to align targets in their local area agreements with central government policy.
Directors of children's services reported feeling frustrated about how agreements are negotiated. More than 70 per cent said they experienced pressure from their local government office to choose indicators that chime with central government aims.
Almost half said local area agreements failed to strengthen links between children's trust partners. A similar proportion claimed that the indicator targets in their agreements had influenced the way their local Children and Young People's Plans were written.
The findings are part of a report by the think-tank Children's Services Network - part of the Local Government Information Unit - and pressure group the Performance and Information Research Group for Education and Children's Services (Pirge), due to be published next month.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
