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Andrew Cozens explains what the new performance rating system will mean for children's and adult services. The judgment of the performance of local public services will change fundamentally from April 2009, with all existing corporate and service appraisals replaced by the new, streamlined Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA). This will replace the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), children's services JARs, annual performance assessments and the star rating for adult social services, all previously carrying a significant weighting towards the former social services functions. So, what does this mean for the profile of those services and their focus on disadvantaged communities, families and individuals? The CAA proposals will be based on two assessments. The area assessment will be a qualitative review of prospects for improvement with the local area agreement (LAA) and sustainable community strategy as its starting point. It will be reported as a narrative, and red or green flags will be used to draw attention to performance issues and innovative practice. The second will be a scored organisational assessment for all councils and fire and rescue services, together with those for others, for example, a primary care trust health check. This means changes for the way the inspectorates will work locally in making their overall assessments. They will move from rolling programmes of on-site inspections to a continuing relationship with councils. Good performance data and robust self-evaluation should mean inspection is only necessary where there is evidence of poor performance or service outcomes. The consultations on the new arrangements have made strong references to vulnerable groups, including a rolling programme of inspections for safeguarding and looked-after children. What is not yet evident is just how much this will affect councils and their relationships with Ofsted and the new Care Quality Commission – which replaces the Commission for Social Care Inspection and Healthcare Commission next year. The need for attention to vulnerable groups is not an abstract concern. There is emerging evidence, from recent Joint Area Reviews and from more than a dozen inspections of safeguarding adult's arrangements, that the infrastructure to protect or investigate is not solid, and key policy and procedures are not followed through rigorously by councils and their partners. Will children's services or adult social care miss star rating or grading? Will directors miss the weighting given to their departments in the CPA arrangements? There is a mixed response among the people I have canvassed recently. There is strong support for three components of the new CAA package – its whole population and outcomes focus, the emphasis on partnership working, and making the level of inspection activity follow the risk. Others, particularly those in areas with challenging combinations of relative poverty and weak economic activity, welcome the shift in emphasis from technical judgments heavily based on performance indicators, to a focus on the local journey of improvement and the way that public sector effort is being directed. Just being good at what's counted will not be enough. Quality of life issues and public satisfaction will feature more strongly in future. Most directors hope the stronger focus on the whole population will strengthen their hand in getting colleagues inside councils and other statutory agencies to recognise their vital role in improving outcomes for children and families or disabled people, and in planning for an ageing society. Good results will require services to be much more closely knitted together, so that those using them will not experience gaps or confusion. But there are parallel pressures to offer more personalised services to support learning, or to support greater independence of disabled or older people. The outcomes they are seeking will be individual, and much harder to evidence at this micro-level. Some directors are concerned that superficial judgments on the best use of resources or on how services are commissioned may miss the subtlety of the transformation of approach that this requires. Can we expect some nasty shocks ahead for directors or chief executives from the new assessment arrangements for children's and adult social care services? Personally, I doubt we will. These service areas have already adopted a strong focus on outcomes, and know the importance of partnership working. Councils know how central these services are to people's lives locally. The high risks remain unchanged. Get the governance and priority for safeguarding right, and know your own story so well that there are no surprises from any audit or inspection. Andrew Cozens is strategic adviser on children adults and health services at the Improvement and Development Agency for local government.

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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

The changing face of inspection

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