SLCN / Bercow Pathfinders Programme

Good practice case studies on the commissioning of SLCN services, by the Communication Council

Satdeep — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:21:01 GMT

The Communication Council have published a number of useful case studies including many based on good practice in commissioning of speech, language and communication services. Download them from the above link or from here: http://www.thecommunicationcouncil.org/case-studies/

Analysing the cost of SLCN services (draft version 1)

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:22:55 GMT

A draft guidance tool to help commissioners analyse the nature, pattern and distribution of current expenditure on services in a whole-systems approach, to identify funding needs and priorities and appraise service development options. The draft tool will complement and support particular needs-assessment and service-mapping activities.

By Ayesha Janjua

Evaluating the impact of universal, targeted and specialist services (draft version 1)

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:19:51 GMT

A draft guidance tool to help commissioners to evaluate the impact of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)

SLCN services currently are not meeting needs sufficiently well to adequately and consistently respond to the full range of needs across communities. The Bercow Report found that there was little evidence of services that were outcomes-focused. Ensuring services are designed to meet child and family needs consistently is a key challenge in delivering SLCN services.

The evidence also indicates that families can often feel uninvolved in the access, provision and evaluation of services. It also suggests that getting service design right will usually be contingent on involving families in the review and development of services in part because they are important co-producers of better outcomes for children and young people with SLCN. There are very few nationally agreed performance indicators for this cohort and none that specifically address the quality of services.

By Ayesha Janjua

Market facilitation and development (draft version 1)

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:12:56 GMT

This draft tool has been designed to help commissioners of SLCN services and others who will be engaged in market facilitation and development activities. It forms part of a suite of tools developed in conjunction with the sixteen pathfinders established as part of the government’s Better Communication Action Plan in response to the Bercow Report 2008.

This tool is in initial draft form, and should be used alongside those developed for whole systems mapping and care pathways, the participation of children and young people, commissioning for better outcomes and the evidence of ‘what works’ in SLCN.

This draft tool highlights some of the common difficulties encountered during this part of the commissioning process and draws on the experience of the pathfinders, as well as other resources. We hope it will help those undertaking this complex activity.

By Ayesha Janjua

Needs assessment for strategic planning (draft version 1)

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:09:33 GMT

A needs assessment is a way of estimating the nature and extent of the needs of a population so that services can be planned accordingly. The purpose is to help focus effort and resources where they are needed most.
Needs assessment data is not just used by strategic commissioners; it may also be used by locality commissioners, providers or professionals (including private and voluntary sector), communities and users (including parents, children and young people), as well as national bodies.

Fundamentally, a sound needs assessment requires a process of triangulation achieved through reconciling three types of data:

1. Demographic data and epidemiological data (prevalence and incidence rates) by age group, gender, ethnicity and location and the projected change in the relative size of different groups through falling or rising birth rates to identify potential future population need, and risk factor data to identify the likelihood of vulnerable children and families requiring services. These risk factors are identified through research

2. Service activity data, derived from the actual use of relevant provision by children, young people and their families

3. Service user and family needs information. It is essential to complement statistical data (whether national or local) by more detailed qualitative information about need from service users or the public via surveys, interviews, focus groups, complaints, petitions, or reviews of existing research

Each one of these three components is essential to a comprehensive assessment and analysis of need. Restricting your assessment to one or two of these components will not provide an adequate picture of need within your local area.

By Aesha Janjua

Use of appropriate data and evidence – draft version 1

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:59:55 GMT

A draft guidance tool to help commissioners to help commissioners understand the importance and use of appropriate data and evidence in commissioning. It will help commissioners identify and disseminate the evidence of what works in service provision and interventions to improve outcomes for children and young people. The guidance is intended to complement the evaluation of a whole-systems mapping exercise to shape future commissioning priorities by building knowledge of good practice.

By Ayesha Janjua

User involvement: guidance to support commissioners (draft version 1)

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:38:22 GMT

This guidance aims to provide commissioners of SLC services with support to:
• help identify your desired outcomes from the involvement of children, young people and parents
• answer some key questions during the process such as who, why, how and when you are involving users.
The guidance does not intend to be very prescriptive, but it will provide you with information on some of the approaches and tools available. It draws on experience from commissioners who have successfully carried out such activity.

It is widely recognised that service user involvement is essential at every stage of the commissioning cycle, but it is important to decide and agree:

• why you want to involve users
• what you want to achieve
• when you are going to involve them
• who you are going to involve – including both service users and other organisations in your local area – like schools and third sector/community organisations
• and how you are going to approach your involvement activity

By being clear on the above you are more likely to have a positive impact on outcomes by ensuring available services are responsive and fulfilling local needs.

By Ayesha Janjua

A tool to support whole system mapping and design (draft version 1)

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:28:00 GMT

This draft guidance tool is designed to help commissioners of SLCN services and others who are asked to contribute to whole-system mapping and design activities. It forms part of a suite of tools developed in conjunction with the 16 pathfinders, who were established as part of the government’s Better Communication Action Plan in response to the Bercow Report 2008.

This draft tool should be used in conjunction with those developed for needs assessment to support strategic planning, commissioning for better outcomes, workforce development and the evidence for ‘what works’ in SLCN provision.

By Ayesha Janjua

Workforce planning (draft version 1)

Jennifer Gondola — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:24:07 GMT

The 2004 Wanless review identified a number of weaknesses in the workforce planning process including:

• inconsistencies in the data collected from workforce plans, and concerns about their accuracy and validity
• workforce planning being undertaken in isolation from strategic and operational planning and target setting
• workforce planning and service planning operating under different timescales.

The review also criticised the workforce planning process for being too time consuming and bureaucratic. In addition, because workforce planning was carried out as a one-off annual event it did not support employers in managing longer-term workforce change and development.
There is currently lack of agreement and evidence about the appropriate skill mix and workforce balance needed to support SLCN. There is much local variation, for instance in staffing ratios for language provision. Existing tools tend to focus on what specialist skills or roles are required but rarely focus on what is needed within the universal workforce, for example in relation to health visitors, teachers and non SLCN ‘specialist’ roles such as accident and emergency staff.

It is useful to start workforce planning by taking a ‘competency’ approach (rather than basing it on a particular professional group). Commissioners should consider what competencies are required of both universal and specialist staff to support children and young people in every part of their life (including non-formal education such as youth work provision, social care requirements, access to wider health services, and so on).

The children’s trust is responsible for ensuring that workforce strategies are developed to support the implementation of the Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP), covering all children in the area. This needs to be aligned with the work of its partners including NHS commissioners/providers, criminal justice, education and social care. A specific SLCN workforce plan must be aligned with the overarching children’s trust workforce strategy.

By Ayesha Janjua

Re: Identification of SLCN; Early Identification Tools

Jan B — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:43:49 GMT

Hi Pam

I'm doing the Pathfinder in Southampton. I have just been looking through the other pathfinder remits for soemone to share ideas with and yours is very similar to ours. I would very much like to have a telephone conversation with you to talk through some ideas re early identification and screening. For under fives you might want to consider the ERB (Early Repetition Battery - Pearson) for identificaiton of SLI which I have been looking at in some detail.

I'm sure there is a way of emailing me direct through this forum but I don't know it so I'm on jan.baerselman@scpct.nhs.uk. I look forward to hearing from you.

Jan

Identification of SLCN; Early Identification Tools

pward — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:49:31 GMT

Hi folks,

I'm shiny and new to this group as I have just joined the Worcestershire Pathfinder.

I am looking into Early Identification Tools for SLCN across the whole 0-19 age range, and would appreciate suggestions of observation or assessment tools (or other) to further investigate. Perhaps you know of a named process or technique being used by practitioners in your area to 'spot' children with SLCN in a mainstream setting.

Ultimately I am trying to look at methods of early identification of Specific Language Impairment (SLI) at whatever age it first becomes apparent. I'm not as yet aware of any tools designed soley for the early identification of SLI, and I am also not aware of many Early Identification Tools for secondary school children. Anyone? In particular I am interested in materials (free or otherwise) which might be available to practitioners to aid 'spotting' a child in a universal service (from health visitors at 6 months to secondary schools) and/or guide them through to SLT referral.

Of course I am hoping that this discussion topic will raise other questions (and hopefully answers). Is there a generally recognised standard practice for identifying children with SLCN in mainstream environments? When research is conducted into SLCN (or SLI), how are the children selected? Has there been any research into comparing Early Identification Tools for children with SLCN? At which ages from 0-19 are different assessment tools most appropriate?

I wait patiently. :-)

Pam Ward

Tool/guidance 5: Skills and Capacity Audit tool

RebeccaW — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:36:59 GMT

This tool is aimed at SLCN commissioners, health commissioners, CT partners and aims to help commissioners assess current capacity and gaps in the workforce and plan for the future workforce.

Tool/guidance 4: Needs Assessment and Strategic Planning

RebeccaW — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:35:50 GMT

The evidence indicates considerable variation in the numbers of children and young people identified with SLCN within and between local Trust areas. This variation is in part explained by differing definitions and methodologies employed in determining needs. More standardised activity in needs assessment for this cohort of children and young people is a prerequisite to greater consistency in commissioning purpose and equity of provision across the system.

Tool/guidance 3: Whole Systems Mapping

RebeccaW — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:34:41 GMT

Commissioners who have a good understanding of the whole children’s services system can identify opportunities for integration, support service improvement, reduce gaps and overlaps, move resources, intervene early and increase efﬁciencies. Commissioners are advised to map and understand commissioning activity across all Children’s Trust partners, i.e. what is currently commissioned across all children’s services that directly affects children’s outcomes (including public, private and third-sector providers). This includes budgets and contractual

arrangements and may extend to other departments within the local authority, such as adult services, leisure services, housing and partners such as Jobcentre Plus, the

beneﬁts service and schools and colleges.

Tool/guidance 2: User Involvment

RebeccaW — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:32:32 GMT

This tool is designed to support commissioners in developing a strategy for involving children, young people and their parents at the various stages of commissioning services for children and young people with SLCN in their area.

The tool aims to provide you, as commissioners, with some guidance to help identify the desired outcomes from the involvement of children, young people and parents, and then ask yourselves some key questions in order to identify issues you need to consider during the involvement process. It then provides you with information on some of the different approaches used when involving children, young people, and parents.

This guidance has been structured to support you to develop your approach to user involvement that is fit for purpose for your local area. For ease of use it corresponds with the three-phase commissioning cycle deployed by the DH and DCSF within the Commissioning Support Programme

Tool/guidance 1: Use of appropriate data and Evidence

RebeccaW — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:31:09 GMT

This tool is for commissioners of SLCN services, service managers and practitioners. This tool will help commissioners understand the importance and use of appropriate data and evidence to inform all stages of commissioning. It will support commissioners to identify and disseminate the available evidence for what works in service provision and interventions to improve outcomes for children and young people. The tool is intended to complement the evaluation of a whole systems mapping exercise to shape future commissioning priorities by building the knowledge base around what works and good practice.

Overview of tools and guidance available for your comments

RebeccaW — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:29:47 GMT

Further opportunities to be involved in tool/guidance development

At the pathfinder event on 12th November there was a session which looked at the development of the tools and guidance CSP are currently working on to support pathfinders and feed into the final Joint Commissioning Framework being produced at the end of the programme in March 2011.

Some participants felt that they didn’t have enough time to have a detailed look at what was available and so felt they were not able to provide sufficient feedback or nominate themselves to help further.

In order to provide individuals with this opportunity the following provides an outline of what tools we are developing. Alongside this we have uploaded the tools/guidance onto the CSP web group for SLCN pathfinders for you to have a look through at your convenience.

Re: SLCN Pathfinder application - Query on leadership and stakeholder support

RebeccaW — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:12:03 GMT

Apologies for the delay in the response - this was due to an issue with the settings for the group which have now been changed.

Re: SLCN Pathfinder application - Query on leadership and stakeholder support

nlom — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:12:50 GMT

An answer is no longer required because the question, submitted in May09 but only appearing Dec09, related to completion of the pathfinder application . However, it does pose the question about this delay in response.

Re: Let's get some pathfinder discussion going...

Annabelle — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:17:02 GMT

I wasn't able to make it to the event in Birmingham but some of my colleagues attended and said that it was a great opportunity to network and share ideas with other pathfinder projects. Although each of our projects will have a slightly different focus it would be great to continue to share thoughts and ideas - to keep each other enthused and to make sure that we don't reinvent the wheel. An internet forum like this is a good way of sharing but it would be good to have opportunities to meet up locally and nationally as well.

....to start the ball rolling..I just read one of the documents that is signposted in the resources section of this website "Achieving Better Outcomes: Commissioning in Children's Services". I found it a simple and clear summary of what commissioning is all about and the Commissioning Principles on page 8 are useful to keep in mind.

...can anyone help me by explaining what 'contestability' means - I think I know but I'm not sure?