leavingcare.org

Benchmarking forum

2008-2009 Benchmarking annual report The National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum (NLCBF) began in 2000. It is a national network of local authorities. Its aim is to promote the development of quality leaving care services in member authorities through a process of benchmarking and shared learning.


The Forum is facilitated by the National Care Advisory Service (formerly NLCAS). Membership of NLCBF is open to any UK leaving care service provider. There are currently 46 local authorities from England and five Health and Social Services Trusts from Northern Ireland. The Forum meets for two days, four times a year and works to benchmark services against national standards and assessment criteria within the framework of the five ECM outcomes, as well as discussing current issues, policy issues, identifying good practice examples and useful tools.

The Forum also informs policy development at national level. The Forum is a key partner in some of the national and transnational project work undertaken by NCAS – as a way to bring additional added value to members’ involvement.

Read the Benchmarking newsletter - edition 1

Read the Benchmarking newsletter - edition 2

 

New resource

In 2008-09 the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum focused on the Every Child Matters Outcome Making a Positive Contribution. Over the course of the Benchmarking year the members shared their practice and explored models for the involvement of young people in their services and wider local authorities, reflecting a Care Matters Corporate Parenting agenda. This document sets out the work completed over the year and includes examples of practice from Forum members. It will be useful to any Children's Services manager who is thinking about how better to involve young people in service delivery.

Read the document here: download

Benefits of Membership

There are currently around 50 members, many of which have been members since 2000.

Feedback from them has shown: 

  • The forum has provided valuable help in helping local authorities make significant progress since the implementation of the Children (Leaving Care) Act, Every Child Matters, Children and Young Person's Act 2008 and the Care Matters agenda.
  • The sharing of information and experiences has increased the efficiency of policy and service development.
  • The process of standards development has made significant contributions to local authorities' own development of standards and performance measures.
  • The process of benchmarking has highlighted the service areas and issues to be prioritised in future service development. Action planning from this gives managers a clear way forward.
  • The regular meeting with fellow managers has provided personal peer support and opportunities to debate and resolve difficult policy and practice issues.
NCAS and the members of the forum are now seeking to expand the membership. This will increase the opportunities for mutual sharing, learning and support.

What do members get?

 

  • Access to a complete set of leaving care quality standards that can be adopted for local use.
  • Invitation to four two-day meetings of the forum each year
  • An induction visit to introduce the forum methodology
  • Assistance with taking part in Benchmarking processes and action planning.
  • An e-mail enquiries service and collated replies to enquiries from members.
  • Access to networking opportunities with other similar local authorities.
  • Access to e mail networks.
  • Regular mailings and policy and practice updates.
  • Exclusive access to private web site pages.
  • Individual visits to discuss links between practice, service delivery and action planning
  • Four additional themed days each year

The forum provides an opportunity to influence the national public policy framework for leaving care. In the past members were involved in meetings with representatives of the DCSF Strategy team responsible for the writing of the White Paper, Time for Change. Members have also been involved in the development of revised national standards in leaving care and will be responsible for their ongoing maintenance along with NCAS.

Read the Information leaflet to find out more about what the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum can offer your local authority.

Becoming a Member
In order to make the Forum accessible to as many local authorities as possible membership is offered on two levels.
  

Core Members

Core Group Members meet four times a year for two-day residential events to:
  •  Work on the development and revision of Standards.
  •  Take part in issue based workshops and networking with managers from other local authorities.
  •  Be responsible for the development and monitoring of the work programme of the Forum.

Network Members

Network Members will receive all the benefits of the work of the Forum other than the residential events. They will however, be invited to attend one meeting each year to share the results of the year’s work and discuss some of the policy and practice issues raised.
  
How to get involved?

To discuss membership further please contact Mike Sutcliffe on 07793 365161 e mail mike.sutcliffe@catch-22.org.uk

To access the Benchmarking Forum members private pages click here.

After you have logged in you will have to go into the benchmarking members' page shown in the drop down list under national leaving care forums (on the left hand column on the website).