[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Strong, supportive and communicative leadership, along with an empowered and valued workforce, can transform an entire organisation. And this is what has happened at Northamptonshire’s Children Trust (NCT).
It has been almost four years since NCT was formed, in November 2020, following the well-documented challenges with children services under the former Northamptonshire County Council.
When Colin Foster became the chief executive of NCT in 2020, he received many messages asking him if he was mad.
“I’d read the reports, I’d seen and heard the press, the rumours, the stories,” he says. “When I arrived, I was struck by how many people have been here for a long time and continue to work here because they care about the communities of Northamptonshire.
“I spent the first three months listening to people and their experiences because the best way to improve things is to learn from mistakes of the past. I was very focused on that.”
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Strong leadership
Speaking to practitioners at NCT, it does not take long for any of them to bring up the subject of visible and approachable leadership. Whether that is from the top, in the pragmatic chief executive, or down at team manager level, there is much praise.Lovena, a team manager in a safeguarding team, has worked in Northamptonshire children's services for eight years.
“We took the criticism on the chin, literally, and went off and did a considerable amount of work to improve ourselves,” she says. “It’s an absolute testament to the organisation, and since we’ve become a trust, I cannot speak highly enough of the leadership.
“I can only imagine how much pressure is on [senior leadership] to make improvements and make sure that it’s coming down from top to bottom. They’ve made it look seamless.”
Lovena believes communication has been key in NCT’s improvement journey.
“They’ve been very good at communicating the improvement plan to middle management like myself and heads of service, and what is good about the improvement plan is that everyone took ownership of it,” she says.
Holly and Kirsty are both senior practitioners and line managers in the strengthening families teams. Holly says Colin has removed the hierarchy within NCT and sees himself as part of the team.
“I don’t know any other local authorities, or have worked anywhere before, where you see somebody who’s right at the top having that level of vulnerability if you like, and sharing his own experiences, sharing his own life quite openly as he does with everybody, and being so approachable in the way that he is,” says Holly. “And that naturally filters down throughout the rest of the ‘hierarchy’.”
Colin says: “Language is important. We are ‘colleagues’ and we talk about ‘workforce’ rather than words like ‘staff.’ I really don’t care too much about hierarchy. As long as we all do the best we can, including me, then we have a chance to improve outcomes for children young people and families. Which is why we are here.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="207411" img_size="full" add_caption="yes"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="207199" img_size="full" add_caption="yes"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Empowering practitioners
Learning and development sessions have really helped Kirsty and Holly manage their teams and learn about their own management styles.Holly has completed the national Pathways leadership, management and development programme and is currently in the first cohort of practitioners to undertake the Centre for Systemic Practice’s supervision and management course.
Embedding systemic practice is part of a long-term plan at NCT, which includes implementing a new practice model by August 2024. Kirsty says, even though NCT supports systemic ways of practice the course helps to put the theory into practice.
Holly believes that, since the trust took responsibility for children’s services, there has been greater stability and less uncertainty about her role. Having previously been managed by many different services within the council, there is now a sense of calm.
The proportion of agency workers has been reduced, with 86% of team managers and service managers in permanent roles and all of the senior management team having been at NCT for more than three years.
There has also been a significant improvement in social worker retention, from turnover being nearly 19% in 2019 to just under 14% currently, which is below the national average.
Another example of the trust empowering and listening to practitioners is by procuring Liquid Logic as its new case management system. NCT recognised that the existing system, a bugbear for much of the workforce, was not fit for purpose and that replacing it will play a significant part in its improvement journey.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Motivating and supporting the workforce
Colin often motivates the workforce using a quote from the late Steve Jobs, ‘Do the best job of your life every single day', which he always follows with, ‘And I promise I will too’.But he accepts that it is not always possible to do the best job and that is when you need support from peers.
“Sometimes, we work in really complex situations, and you can feel like you can’t do your best," he says. "That’s the time when we need to reach out, and be caring and compassionate, a culture where you can get help and support."
Kirsty agrees that support from peers and leaders is there when colleagues need it.
“I think, the vibe I get from our practitioners, [they] have the same thoughts and feelings about Colin [as I do]," she says. "If you’ve got a problem or something you are unsure about, even if it’s to do with working a case with a family, I don’t think people would feel like they couldn’t contact Colin."
Lovena did the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) in Northamptonshire, and has since been supported to progress to senior social worker, followed by advanced practitioner and on to her current position as team manager.
“I’ve been here through the journey, which has been a very challenging journey," she says. "There’s one thing that has never changed, and that’s the culture. It’s such a friendly organisation, so positive, there are no cliques whatsoever.
“Each manager is quite good in nurturing their staff. It’s part of the DNA – people coming into the organisation find it really interesting. [They ask,] 'How are people so calm? How are people so chilled? How are people so positive?'.
“For me, the last three years has been absolutely telling. [NCT] values are very solid in what they want to achieve and the good practice you’re finding in NCT is evidence of that. More interestingly, people are coming to NCT. They want to work here.”
A newer member of NCT is Mercy, who joined as a newly qualified social worker three years ago and is in the children in care team. The support she gets from her team really helps her cope with a being a frontline social worker.
“Our manager is fantastic," she says. "And even though we will go through phases where things are really difficult and challenging, she will support in any way that she can. She really does advocate and look after us, which helps because, even if the job gets difficult, you have that backup support and you can cope.
“Together we pull through, support each other, and where we can, we help each other out for the sake of the young people that we support and I think that is amazing.”
Friday is allocated as an ‘admin’ day, meaning no home visits or calls, and social workers in Mercy’s team can focus on building relationships with children and young people the rest of the week.
“All these changes have been implemented because senior management is listening,” says Mercy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="207231" img_size="full" alignment="center"][vc_column_text]
Celebrating the workforce
Since 2021, NCT has held an annual celebration for the whole workforce where nominations can be made for colleagues. However, there is not just one winner, everybody who is nominated gets a certificate to recognise their hard work. This way everybody ‘wins’. There were over 1,000 nominations in 2023.Colin says: “The nominations have been awesome, kind and deeply meaningful, such as, ‘thank you for baking the best lemon drizzle cake’, ‘thank you for being there when I needed some help’ and ‘you have changed my life’.
“We all really enjoy saying something kind about a colleague…and then we play music bingo! This really means a lot and costs nothing.”
The feedback has been really positive as the event recognises the workforce’s commitment, not only to their jobs, but to the children and families they work with.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="207198" img_size="full" add_caption="yes"][vc_column_text]
Nomination for Holly
Holly - my work sister, THANK YOU for everything. Thank you for always checking in on me, listening to me rant, and being the biggest support to me. We have grown so close this year and I am so pleased to have you in my life!You make work so much more bearable haha! We work hard but I am so grateful that we can all have a laugh, I think that it so important, especially in this job! You are such an amazing senior, I know how much your practitioners respect and admire you! NEVER CHANGE![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="207204" img_size="full" add_caption="yes"][vc_column_text]
Nomination for Mercy
Mercy is a person who presents as very quiet however she does have a 'naughty side.' I have really appreciated the support that she has provided to me and the team especially when things have been really tough. Mercy has been dealing with a lot this year however her dedication and support to the team has never dwindled.Mercy is the person who will always ask me how I am doing, and will really be interested in my answer. She brings stability and security to our team and although not long qualified, she has really stepped into her role as social worker, always giving her all and more to her children and young people. There are many times Mercy could've walked away, but she hasn't and I absolutely take my hat off to her for that and would love to bottle what keeps her going.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you are interested in a career at NCT, take a look at the current vacancies.
Check out NCT's Employer Profile for information on benefits, location and culture.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
