The Audit Commission no longer carries out research on issues related to children and young people. This briefing summarises the key findings of our research that related to this sector.
Effective collaboration is the key to success…
A wide range of services support children and young people as they grow up. The most successful councils recognise that children's services are central to delivering successful outcomes. To do so they collaborate with other council services such as housing and leisure and other local public services provided by schools, health and the police.
High performing councils jointly commission children and young people's services with other providers including the public, private and voluntary sectors, mutuals and social enterprises.
High performing local public services have good information and use it well. The views of children and young people, carers and parents can help councils as they develop and deliver improvements to local services.
Many councils have reduced injuries and deaths among young children through early intervention, using effective local partnership working.
… but barriers exist at national and local levels that limit improvement
Poorly performing partnerships can improve by developing strong governance arrangements to ensure there is clear accountability to deliver cost-effective local services and focus on delivering better outcomes.
Issues that limit effective partnership working include: limited experience of, and skills in, joint commissioning of services; underdeveloped pooling of budgets; limited redirection of mainstream funding; and duplication of effort across public services.
Councils and their partners must also tackle obstacles to the effectiveness and efficiency of support to children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) and additional educational needs (AEN). Impact evaluation is often poor and effective joint commissioning limited. Variability in the availability and consistency of support across the country is also an issue.
Lack of suitable local provision means some children's needs are not fully addressed, or are met through education in specialist settings at a significant distance from the family home.
While strategic planning for the educational needs of children with complex needs has improved, opportunities to provide more integrated and cost-effective services through joint working between education, social care and health services are still not developed.
Schools have a key role to play in delivering outcomes
All schools have a key role in shaping the outcomes and life chances of children and young people.
The best schools raise their ambitions, as well as that of parents and carers. They help children and young people through periods of transition – from primary to secondary, and from secondary to further education or employment.
Good schools have made significant efficiency savings while still providing quality outcomes for children and young people, for example by reviewing classroom use, staff management and absence cover, making better use of the wider workforce and choices around the curriculum.
Greater collaboration between local schools allows them to buy goods and services more efficiently, and share both teaching and non-teaching staff.
However, many schools still have little comparative information on costs or how workforce use affects outcomes for children.
There is greater scope to make better use of existing funding and increase efficiency and VFM
Good councils look for savings that don't damage outcomes across all areas of children's services.
Councils making effective low-cost interventions to prevent young people becoming NEET (not in employment, education or training) have been able to reduce NEET levels at little or no extra cost.
By targeting support to those young people with the highest costs of being NEET, for example those with mental health issues, at risk of crime, or dependant on drugs or alcohol, good councils can make significant savings.
Some councils can make savings through more effective school place planning where school rolls are falling. In 2008 some areas had more than 20% surplus secondary school places compared with a national average of 9%. Others had more than 35% of their secondary schools with more than 25% surplus places compared with a national average of 11% of secondary schools. There are similar variations at primary level.
Children's services can save through improved partnership working, but children's trusts need to develop substantially if they are to bring the intended benefits for children and young people.
Schools can make significant savings without adversely affecting outcomes for children and young people, for example through better procurement of equipment and services.
School reserves increased from £680 million in 1999/2000 to more than £1.63 billion in 2008/09, with two out of five schools holding more than the recommended limit. Nearly 40% of schools have excessive balances despite repeated encouragement to reduce them. Holding on to money intended for education and well-being in schools is poor value for money.
A young person in the criminal justice system costs the taxpayer over £200,000 by the age of 16, but one given support to stay out costs less than £50,000. Savings of over £113 million a year follow from diverting just one in ten young offenders into effective support. Effective partnership working and intervention to prevent young people entering the criminal justice system can result in significant savings.
Annual spending on SEND and AEN currently stands at £5.2 billion, up 85.7% from 2000 to 2010. There is scope for improved value for money in services for those with SEND or AEN. For example, by minimising the number of children placed in out-of-borough special schools or in residential care and by focusing on the requirements of children and building local capacity.
Audit Commission resources
Councils, schools, and other local agencies can use previous Audit Commission reports and other resources to help them assess and improve their arrangements for supporting children and young people.