One Children's Workforce Framework:
Information for Government Offices

This page explains how the One Children’s Workforce Framework (OCWF) can be used to support Children's Trusts in developing a single, coherent and integrated children’s workforce.

This has been developed in response to requests from Children’s Services Advisors (CSAs) and Government Office (GO) workforce leads. We hope these details will equip CSAs and GO staff to support the use of the OCWF to enable workforce reform in each children’s trust area.

Where did the framework come from?

The framework has been developed by the Children's Workforce Development Council in response to requests from children’s trust partners who asked for support in developing and implementing their children’s workforce strategies. Local, regional and national partners, including children’s trusts, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), CSAs, GOs, the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), the NHS and the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) have worked together to develop an overarching framework for workforce reform.

The 2020 Children and Young People’s Workforce Strategy highlights the role of the framework in supporting Children’s Trusts’ Boards to develop, deliver and review their local workforce strategies in the context of regional and national workforce planning.

Our role

"A world-class workforce is the single most important factor in achieving our ambitions for children and young people."
The Children's Plan 2007

CWDC's vision is to build a world-class workforce for children, young people and families.

CWDC exists to improve the lives of children, young people, their families and carers by ensuring that all people working with them have the best possible training, qualifications, support and advice. It also helps children and young people's organisations and services to work together better so that the child is at the centre of all services.

What do you need to know about the framework?

The OCWF sets out eight key areas where progress needs to be made in order to achieve a world-class workforce for children, young people and their families.

The framework provides descriptors for a fragmented and reformed workforce from four different perspectives: children and young people, children’s workers, service providers and children’s trusts. The framework was developed over a period of twelve months and was widely consulted on with front line workers and partners.

What do you need to know about the One Children’s Workforce Tool?

As a result of the consultation, an online tool which supports work on the framework was developed. The tool is being trialled with strategic leads in Children’s Trusts between October 2008 and June 2009. This provides an opportunity for them to self-assess against the framework. Through a series of tests, including questionnaires, focus groups and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, it helps trusts work out where they are on the journey of developing one children’s workforce.

How will the tool support Children’s Trusts?

The tool will help Children’s Trusts identify areas for potential improvement and support, and focus development activity on areas likely to have the greatest positive impact on Every Child Matters outcomes.

Children’s Trusts have been asked to undertake a self-assessment that will result in an action plan by June 2009, to identify where they think their local area is against the framework and what steps need to be taken to help them move to a workforce that is reformed and integrated.

Having completed their analysis they will have access to a support menu on the tool that helps them prioritise and locate the most appropriate support. The first stage of the support menu will be available from June 2009 and will provide a map of current support against the framework. The menu also provides workshop materials to use with partners and introduces a challenge element in to the process.

Will this help with performance monitoring?

This framework will not be a tool for performance monitoring and will not result in RAG ratings. However with the permission of children’s trusts we will share the results of the support analysis with partners to ensure joined up packages of local support and regional sharing, and learning opportunities.

How are we supporting Children’s Trusts to engage with the framework and tool?

CWDC has asked every Director of Children’s Services to nominate a strategic lead for workforce reform and integrated working and will provide a three year grant to local areas to support capacity for this work.

We are also providing a help and advice service to Children’s Trusts to support the trialling of the tool and to ensure the change-management potential of the tool is realised. The help and advice service has been offered to all areas and includes national, regional, sub-regional, local and themed areas of support. We are also able to provide materials and sessions for partner agencies to make the most of the tool.

The support is provided by consultants in consultation with our Integrated Workforce Managers. They will be happy to give you details of the support available in each region as well as materials that may be useful for GOs.

What can we offer in the current JISP process?

In the immediate period we are able to offer all Children’s Trusts the following core offer for workforce development as listed in the national prospectus:

• advice on using the workforce reform framework and self assessment tool
• funding to each local area to support engagement of the private and third sectors in workforce strategy development and delivery
• working with partners delivering regional learning programmes for local integrated workforce strategy leads, providing opportunities to identify and implement solutions to common challenges

If and where particular workforce issues are identified as priorities and GOs are asking for a more bespoke offer, we will consider these requests with our partner workforce support agencies and we will provide:

• diagnostic intervention to tackle specific issues identified by local authorities who are looking for external improvement support

We are committed to the JISP process and hope this support is useful in the current round of JISP discussions. We are likely to be in a better position to list bespoke offers after June 2009.

How are we working currently with GOs?

We know that a great deal of joint work is already happening regionally with GOs and we expect this to continue.

Examples of current joint working:

• establishing a regional children’s workforce strategy group or equivalent mechanism, which can support activity on regional priorities as identified through Local Area Action Plans
• establishing and co-chairing a regional workforce reform/integrated working strategic forum
• establishing regional sector skills council and workforce bodies (with Children’s Workforce Network partners)
• regional workforce activities linking into the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships and accessing funding
• facilitating a dialogue with appropriate and relevant health partners on children’s workforce reform

What does this mean for future JISP cycles?

The message from ADCS and children’s trust strategic leads is clear: any support offered to local areas should be provided collaboratively, and offers from different regional organisations must be joined up. It should link with the GO JISP process but not be part of inspection or monitoring regimes. These messages were reinforced in the 2020 Strategy, which confirmed the government’s expectation that all areas will have a local children and young people’s workforce strategy in place by 2010.

We have listened to partners and are working closely with TDA and NCSL to ensure that the support and advice to local partners is responsive and joined up. The national prospectus outlines both the generic and bespoke offers of support for each agency.

Children’s Trusts will use the tool to identify support requirements. These requirements will in turn form the basis of the co-ordinated support that CWDC, TDA and NCSL offer each local area. We would expect that these bespoke offers are inserted into JISPs at the appropriate stage of the annual cycle.

How will we work with TDA and NCSL to develop coherent workforce support for Children's Trusts?

In 2009 we will work with TDA and NCSL to develop a joint project in consultation with GO workforce leads, DCSF and ADCS. This project will explore how we can support children's trusts in developing local workforce strategies. It will identify both the support required to develop strategies, and the joint packages of support necessary to implement these strategies.

You will receive more information over the coming months on this project from your GO workforce lead and the regional representatives from each of the three organisations.

How can we work collaboratively with GOs in future planning cycles?

We would welcome the opportunity to work with GOs more closely to ensure the strategic fit with other elements of the planning cycle for children’s trusts. In particular how the tool and support packages will assist children’s trusts with developing and reviewing local workforce strategies. In addition to looking at how this helps them deliver their Children and Young People’s Plan, their Local Area Agreements and ultimately contributes to their Comprehensive Area Assessments (CAA). A key feature of the CAA will be the areas own self assessment and we are currently developing advice on how the tool analysis could contribute to this.

Contact us

Please contact your Integrated Workforce Manager to discuss how we can work with Government Offices to support the use of the framework to enable workforce reform to be embedded in every local area.

Contact details for your CWDC Integrated Workforce Manager.