At the heart of the performance improvement change programme is a focus on building a culture of continuous improvement, with the aim of driving up the quality of services and improving outcomes for people who use service and their families.

The work of the Performance Improvement Group has focussed on delivering 2 key areas of activity – the development of a Performance Improvement Framework for Social Work Services and looking at approaches to performance improvement from other sectors and organisations. Following the publication of a Performance Improvement Framework for Children and Families, the wider commitment to develop a Performance Improvement Framework for Social Work Services will be taken forward through SWIA’s Self-Evaluation Guide.

January 2009

The SWIA Self-evaluation guide is now available on the SWIA website. The guide enables social work services to carry out self-evaluations. SWIA created it in partnership with colleagues from the Performance Improvement Group of Changing Lives, working closely with volunteering local authorities in drafting and testing the materials and involved the Improvement Service. The guide represents the culmination of the work of the Performance Improvement group.

The move towards increased self-evaluation is consistent with the recommendations of the Crerar Review, as well as SWIA’s intention to take a more proportionate approach to inspection following the completion of its round of performance inspections in March 2009. Increased self-evaluation will also help to address the need to embed a culture of continuous performance improvement across social work services as identified in Changing Lives.

SWIA’s Self-evaluation Guide is based on the well-established Performance Inspection Model (PIM). The Guide sets out the key questions that should be addressed under each of the quality indicators in the PIM, as well as suggesting possible sources of evidence. The Guide also provides updated illustrations of good and weak practice under each quality indicator which are designed to help users arrive at a judgment as to the current standard of their performance. The Guide will be supported by an e-tool which will assist users in completing self-evaluations and can be used to generate a range of reports that will identify areas for development.

The Self-evaluation Guide will be officially launched on 11 February, with a further suite of good practice guides on commissioning, performance improvement and leadership to follow later in 2009.

As the SWIA Self-evaluation Guide approaches completion, the Performance Improvement Group decided at its meeting on 6 October 2008 to conclude its work.

August 2008

The key product to emerge from the Performance Improvement Group will be SWIA’s Guide to Supported Self-Evaluation. The Guide is currently being tested by 5 local authorities and will be ready for distribution early in 2009.

Next Meeting of Performance Improvement Group: 6 October

March 2008

The commitment to develop a Performance Improvement Framework is being taken forward in partnership with SWIA’s work to develop supported self-evaluation of social work services within local authorities. This will involve the production of a general guide to self-evaluation that would draw on the established performance inspection model (PIM) to create a tool that could be used by local authorities to help scrutinise their performance on an ongoing basis. The work will also involve developing a series of resources currently termed ‘good practice self evaluation guides’. The first three will focus on commissioning, performance management and leadership in social work services.

December 2007

The Performance Improvement Change Group last met on 10th December, and agreed that SWIA’s work to produce guidance for local authorities on self-improvement should be used as the basis for taking forward the group’s commitment to producing a Performance Improvement Framework.

A work plan has been agreed which will focus on the delivery of 2 key products: the Performance Improvement Framework and a collection of case studies of performance improvement best practice models. The work of this group has to reflect and support the national outcomes in the Concordat published in November and local authority outcome agreements that will be developing over the next year.