Lawson-Brown & Nugent Partners
Investigation Mediation Education
Lawson-Brown & Nugent Partners in a consortium with Equality Builders Ltd were commissioned in 2010 by the North East Improvement and Efficiency Partnership to manage regional activities to support social work reform throughout the region.
The North East region consists of 12 local authorities and this project included both Adult and Children’s social services.
The aim was to support authorities to be in a strong position to develop the recommendations of the Social Work Reform Board, with whom we work closely. The project was managed by the North East Social Work Consortium (NESWOC).
A key task was the development and facilitation of the recommended Organisational Health Check. Lead officers were nominated for each authority and full consultation about the regional template took place; two workshops held in early September 2010 highlighted that the opportunity to work on Reform Board recommendations was positively received and welcomed by the workforce at all levels.
There was a genuine commitment to partnership working and the project was perceived as an opportunity to cascade and standardise good practices as part of an iterative process. Questionnaires were distributed in the autumn. Local authorities were contacted regularly during the reporting period and additional supports offered where appropriate. Further workshops were held with officers, regional university staff and students.
Data was analysed at the beginning of 2011 and the final report provides an in-depth analysis. The findings were presented at the regional NESWOC conference in March 2011. The Directors of both Adult and Children’s services have agreed to publish the attached report and it will appear on the websites of the Social Work Reform Board and the College of Social Work.
Further work is taking place in 2011 to streamline the Organisational Health Check and produce a better ‘fit’ with the final Reform Board standards. It is hoped that our model will be rolled out nationally.
View/download full report (PDF - 1.59MB)