Having achieved an 'excellent' rating in the 2005 CPA, Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) was exempted from the Operational Assessment of Service Delivery in 2006/07. The Service instead adopted a peer-review process for its own model of operational assurance that was based on the key lines of enquiry in the national toolkit. It undertook a self-assessment to explore ten specific areas, including a common theme of audit and review. To achieve external scrutiny, the self-assessment was peer-reviewed by a team which included representatives from an external consultancy, a local authority and another fire service. Areas identified in need of improvement were incorporated into an action plan.
Learning from the success of this operational self-assessment and peer-review, and recognising the growing importance of organisations undertaking their own reviews, KFRS has agreed a three-year programme of peer-reviewed performance assessments across the service.
Using knowledge shared by the Kent Police on their operational review process, and taking a risk-based approach, the Service created a flexible performance management model to identify areas for improvement and a pilot review was carried out on its North Division. The outcomes of this process fed into the KFRS business plan; a key outcome was identifying a number of examples of good practice to share across the service.
Reflections on the process revealed that clearer guidance and training for the self-assessment team was required. Those involved in the review also felt that a narrative approach would improve the value of future reviews. A number of benefits of this approach were identified. They included: the fire service taking responsibility for performance reviews, allowing greater flexibility over their application; emphasising a process of continuous improvement; creating staff self-awareness and buy-in to fostering improvement; and building internal capacity to evaluate performance and identify good practice.