Quality Assurance and Learning Framework

1. Principles and Purpose

The framework reflects the key principles that inform Children's Social Care practice. The Quality Assurance framework is:

• Child centred: to focus on the experience, progress and outcomes of children who come into contact with our services and what difference it has made to a child's life;
• Strength based & Positive: to focus upon strengths whilst identifying where practice can be improved. It will seek to offer high support and high challenge, whilst supporting the development of staff and services;
• Evidence based decision making: to provide a clear rationale for decisions made when considering practice. Quality assurance must be transparent and fair to those whose practice is being assured;
• Outcome Focused: whilst attention will be given to evidence of processes and procedures being adhered to, the proper focus will be upon outcomes achieved for the child;
• Reflective: our Quality Assurance and Learning Framework is designed to promote reflective practice and shared learning;
• Part of a learning organisation: the learning taken from our quality assurance activity will inform how we develop future practice and procedures across the wider service.

To ensure that these key principles promote organisational learning, the revised framework reflects what has been learnt from research in practice, the strength based approaches, learning from the Sector Lead Improvement Programme conducted in 2022 and 2024.

The report refers to the 70:20:10 learning model. The model states that the smallest amount of learning comes from formal training (10%). This does not diminish the reality that training remains critical, since it sets the learning content and offers a clear vision of successful practice. However, humans learn in action, so most learning, and practices are habituated, through daily work (70%) as practitioners, supervisors and other leaders put the skills and methods into everyday practice.

While the action of daily work is 70% of learning and habituates how a skill is used, the pace of doing the work means that most learning from action is intuitive and largely unconscious. Improvement and change requires feedback and analysis through structured reflection methods. This is the critical 20% of learning where the individual and group can improve by reflecting on what they are doing. To be effective the reflection must be based on quality timely feedback. The key point of the 70:20:10 theory is that feedback and reflection are central to learning and improvement and the Quality Assurance Framework support this methodology of learning and improvement.

Quality Assurance will therefore encompass:

Case file audits provide an invaluable perspective on front line practice. Effective audits can provide insight not only into the quality of recording but also into the quality of the work with the child, the quality of management and support for practitioners and, importantly, the views, experiences and outcomes for the child.

Our approach to auditing in Knowsley will continue to adopt a collaborative approach. It is essential that audits are completed alongside practitioners. This provides the opportunity to engage practitioners, enabling them to understand the importance of the process and how it can help improve practice and children's outcomes. It's an opportunity to reflect and receive feedback between the auditor and practitioner. A collaborative audit methodology that directly involves the responsible practitioners is also far more likely to drive learning and practice improvement. Therefore, all collaborative quality assurance activity through audits, observations and reviews will involve discussion with practitioners.

Children and family feedback is also critical in understanding how our services are experienced and received, so is essential within effective audit practice to aid our organisational learning.

The Early Help Children's Social Care Service already has in place a robust system of data collection and performance measures. This system informs progress and compliance which complements the learning that quality assurance activity brings.

In Knowsley, we have agreed that our core practice as a minimum includes:

• Up to date case summary, Chronology and Genogram;
• A robust assessment (initial and review) completed within required timescales;
• A detailed, SMART and timely plan which is outcome-focused, reviewed within timescales and all children must have a copy of their plan;
• Strong management oversight that drives progress and addresses barriers;
• Effective supervision on every case;
• The child’s voice at the centre of decisions.

We have also agreed that our non-negotiables are:

• Children are always seen as per practice standards;
• All records are completed within 5 working days;
• Timescales are adhered to - unless permission given by senior manager; 
• Supervision is completed within timescales with workers and managers preparing for it;
• Auditing is a priority and cannot be cancelled.

In Children’s Services we want our children to be safe and have the best start in life, we want them to achieve their full potential through inclusive education and we want our families to be able to access support that meets their needs in a more effective and efficient way to support them to go on to be independent and thrive. The Quality Assurance system will examine quality of service intervention ensuring that the above core practice and non-negotiables are being achieved.

2. Applying the Framework to Support Learning

The key elements of the Quality Assurance framework include:

• Collaborative monthly case file audits and thematic audits that assess the quality of recording, practice, outcomes and experiences of children;
• Peer support and audits;
• Direct observation of practice;
• Service dip and file sampling audits;
• Feedback from children and families;
• Feedback from staff;
• External Review and Moderation;
• Practice Week;
• Data Analysis.

2.1 Collaborative Case File and Thematic Audits

Knowsley Early Help & Children's Social Care gain Quality Assurance information from a wide variety of areas, these include:

• Complete collaborative file audits to assess progress in improving practice and identify priorities for learning and development;
• Complete a programme of thematic audits on issues where there are key or emerging themes or cohorts of children;
• Review specific aspects of practice – examples could include re-referrals, Section 47 enquiries, pre-proceedings work and/or permanence planning;
• Further deep dive collaborative audits will be completed by the Quality Assurance Service, external reviews or sector led activities to support wider service developments.

At the start of the financial year, each year key themes for collaborative audits will be agreed and planned into the QA Programme. There shall additionally be scope for emerging themes to be added to the QA Program throughout the year, informed by intelligence from service areas, workforce, Ofsted, and performance data.

In addition, service thematic audits will be completed and overseen by Service Managers to evidence oversight and improvement related to improvement plans or development of services.

2.2 Roles and Responsibilities

Monthly audits are completed by a team of auditors that include Team Managers, Independent Reviewing Officers and Child Protection Chairs. The audit tool and flowchart process can be found in Appendix A: Collaborative & Dip Sample Audit Form and Appendix B: Collaborative Audit Process Flowchart.

It is an expectation that all auditors complete a bimonthly audit as well as contribute to thematic audits as and when required.

The process of moderation will be undertaken by Service Managers, PMG 1 Managers, Heads of Service and Assistant Executive Director, where necessary. Each moderator will complete an audit moderation each month. The moderator does not re audit the case file but rather they conduct a reflective discussion with the auditor to gain an understanding of the rationale for the auditors' findings, grading, and conclusions. The moderation will always focus on the experience of the child. The intended outcome of internal moderation is to upskill the audit pool supporting outcome focused auditing, develop consistency in standards and grading of auditing, transparency of decision making and grading, whilst giving senior management oversight of front-line practice to inform ongoing service development.

A Quality Assurance Programme of collaborative audits is decided by the Senior Leadership Team with the Quality Assurance Team Manager.

Following the completion of collaborative or thematic audit activity the Quality Assurance Team Manager compiles a report summarising the learning with recommendations to support practice development. Service audits will also follow this process to ensure a consistent approach to strength-based audit learning and improvement. Service Managers will compile thematic reports summarising the learning and recommendations to support service developments.

To add further value and analysis to the collaborative audit process, Knowsley also has an external moderator who dip samples a selection of the collaborative audits undertaken to assess quality of audits, consistency of ratings, suitability of ratings and effectiveness of moderation. This assists us to understand the quality of collaborative audit activity in respect of strength bases oversight and changes to achieve positive outcomes for children and families. The external moderator report is shared with the Senior Leadership Team and Improvement Board to provide wider scrutiny and assurance.

The Safeguarding Quality Assurance Officer will collate action plans from each of the collaborative or thematic audits and support the Quality Assurance Team Manager in monitoring and overseeing service improvements. In addition, the Safeguarding Quality Assurance Officer also monitors the completion of individual collaborative audits to ensure frontline practitioners are progressing their actions and closing the loop on their case audit. Where progress is delayed the Senior Leadership Team are alerted to avoid drift and delay for children and families. Further audit reviews will be scheduled as appropriate to evidence impact and service improvement.

2.3 Service Dip & File Sampling Audit

There is a regular programme of dip/file sampling undertaken by Service Managers. This supports Inspection Improvement developments to evidence impact, as well as examining consistency in practice and outcomes for children and families. Dip samples and file audits assist Service Managers to oversee quality within their services and they may also conduct thematic or joint audits to support wider learning. Reports are produced for these audits which are presented to the Senior Leadership Team.

2.4 Direct Observation

Observation of staff in their everyday work is an important element of quality assuring front line social work. Audits on their own are useful but cannot fully assess the way practitioners work, support and build relationships with children, young people and families. Observation of practice provides a complementary alternative, offering an opportunity to gain a picture of the way that workers work with children and families, their behaviours, outlook and approach.

• All Team Managers or Social Workers will observe the practice of newly qualified workers in line with local and national Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) policy;
• All Team Managers will observe the practice of other workers at least once every year;
• All Team Managers will identify any workers within the team in need of support with improving performance. These workers will be observed more frequently where required;
• All Team Managers/ASWs to share observations with the worker and undertake a shared reflective review at the next supervision;
• Observations will be a central activity in planned Practice Weeks, and observers will share feedback on observation to practitioner to assist in their practice learning.

2.5 Feedback from Children and Families

Feedback helps us to understand the experiences of children and families, providing an additional layer to the quality assurance system. Feedback is built in as part of collaborative and service case audits. The collaborative audit template has been revised to incorporate family feedback within the format, rather than held separately. This supports overall outcome analysis as well as informing the new moderation process.

In addition, regular feedback audits on families' experiences will be undertaken. Feedback will seek an understanding of both the individual's views of the service they have received but also on their perception of the difference that interventions have made to their lives.

Compliments and Complaints from children and families are overseen by the Customer Liaison Service within Knowsley, using the Have Your Say – Complaints, Comments, Compliments and Questions, Policy and Procedures. The Customer Liaison Service allocates Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints under the Children Act and produces an action log from learning and development as a result of the any children and families’ complaints. Furthermore, an annual report is produced and presented to Corporate Management Team and shared with Early Help & Children’s Social Care Services to oversee patterns, progress and practice improvement.

2.6 Feedback from Staff

Practitioners have the greatest direct knowledge of the impact of interventions and so their feedback is crucial in understanding how support is leading to improved outcomes for children. The collaborative approach to audit will ensure that practitioner's perspectives are captured through audit discussions, as well as the use  of practitioner and auditor scaling on certain sections of the audit template. This allows for greater discussion and reflection within the audit process.

The Local Government Association (LGA) Annual Health Check provides a means through which practitioner's views are shared, providing organisational learning that can lead to change. The Principal Social Worker also holds drop in sessions, Reflection sessions, and Practitioner and Manager sessions through which practitioners can share their learning, suggestions and experiences to ensure that frontline practice is understood and supported.

2.7 External Review & Moderation

The Service welcomes external scrutiny to support quality assurance, review and learning. This includes reviews coordinated by the LGA and the Northwest ADCS forum. At various points in time, the Service will continue to commission external audits as part of testing our audit processes and the robustness of our judgements. For example, Knowsley Early Help and Children's Social Care has taken part in Sector Led Improvement Programmes to review Workforce Development and Quality Assurance (2022), and an external PLO Peer Review (2023) and permanence and management Supervision (2024). Learning from the SLIP QA activities informs service developments and improvement planning.

Having introduced internal moderation across the senior management team, we have also introduced external moderation to further add scrutiny to our quality assurance framework and improvement journey. This allows us to have different layers of oversight and provides assurance as we develop good quality, consistent audit practice with a wider pool of auditors and moderators.

2.8 Practice Week Events

The Quality Assurance Framework provides leaders with a detailed evaluation of social work practice across service areas. The process provides additional mechanisms for leadership scrutiny of frontline practice including the use of annual Practice Weeks within the Quality Assurance Framework.

Practice Week brings together frontline staff and senior managers to examine a specific thematic focus area. The event serves as a forum for senior leaders and managers to observe and audit frontline practice. It is a strength based activity that also engages staff in wider reflective discussions, service improvements and supports ownership of the required practice developments. The week will showcase frontline practice through audits, observations, reflective sessions and consultations with children &/or families. Whilst building on strength based practice the Practice Week supports learning, wider practice development and focuses on achieving better outcomes for children and families for each specific theme. This in turn will strengthen the quality assurance loop and evidence evaluation of practice improvement and impact.

2.9 Data Analysis

The right measures can support an understanding of whether interventions should be effective in delivering positive outcomes for the child. Measures that focus upon the quality of service, impact and outcomes  for children and families and their experiences of services must be meaningful. Core data sets and performance analysis is examined through regular departmental meetings held by the DCS.

This allows us to examine performance data against audit findings to support analysis, but also evidence impact of learning and improvement in practice. This is explained in more detail in Section 2.11, Quality Assurance Impact.

2.10 Governance

All collaborative and thematic audits are presented to the Heads of Service meeting, and action plans are designed and overseen by the Safeguarding Quality Assurance Service who monitor practice improvements.

Every other month Director of Children’s Services Assurance Meetings take place with Assistant Executive Directors and Heads of Service, to have an overview of current service delivery, performance and practice developments. On the alternative month the DCS hold the Improvement Board Meeting to oversee progress of the Inspection Improvement Plan. All collaborative and thematic audit reports are approved via the Heads of Service meeting, and subsequently the DCS Assurance Meeting to ensure analysis of practice are shared with the DCS and Senior Management Team and next steps agreed collectively.

The DCS & AEDs also undertake frontline visits to teams to ensure there is a clear understanding of practice in the inspection improvement journey. Participation in the Practice Week also includes DCS & AEDs, as well as all members of the senior management team, providing them with the opportunity to directly observe frontline practice.

A quarterly Audit Report is completed by the Safeguarding Quality Assurance Service that summarises all quality assurance activity in the period, this is presented to the Elected Member with Children’s Portfolio lead. This report informs Children’s Portfolio Lead of areas of good practice, areas for improvement, and associated Action Plans, providing them the opportunity to have a direct line of sight to practice and scrutinise the service delivery.

In addition, the Principal Social Worker delivers a report to the DCS bi-monthly to ensure they are sighted on the situation for frontline staff, this includes findings from workforce development, exit interview analysis and staff survey information. Any associated improvements or Health Check Action Plans are reported to HOS & DCS Assurance Meeting. The completion of action plans, service developments, and practice improvements are then reported back so that the learning loop is closed, and impact can be evidenced.

2.11 Quality Assurance Impact

The quality assurance framework assists to achieve a robust overview of practice quality and improvement using the core features:

For each Collaborative Audit there will be an individual action log within the audit template for the practitioner to action and the manager to sign off. This evidences completion of actions to improve the quality of the file and strengthen impact for the child and family involved.

In addition, collaborative audit reports are presented to Senior Leadership Team to highlight good practice and areas for improvement. Service Managers and Heads of service connected to the audit theme design action plans to meet the recommendations from the audit, and these are transferred into a central QA Action Tracker. The tracker is overseen by the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service to monitor progress and support learning and improvement. Collaborative audits repeat themes so that further analysis can be undertaken on the improvement journey for each area, such as Cared for Children, Child Protection, Child in need, Care experienced children. The rotation of the themes allows for ongoing scrutiny of the 4 main areas but also focuses on maintaining strengths and monitoring the pace of improvement.

The above mechanisms allow the service to monitor completion of improvement actions and successfully close areas for development with evidence of impact and progression. This is explained in Appendix B: Collaborative Audit Process Flowchart.

3. Wider Quality Assurance Mechanisms

Quality Assurance extends wider than the Knowsley Quality Assurance Framework and specific services also support quality assurance through mechanisms within their own services and daily practice:

The Youth Justice Service have their own Quality Assurance Policy and QA Team made up of Practitioners and Operational Managers. They take an approach to quality assure and self-assess against the Youth Justice Management Board requirements and Standards for Children in Youth Justice Framework. The YJS QA Policy mirrors similar principles and practice improvement commitments and they replicate or conduct activities similar to certain topics or themes to widen strength based learning and improvements. This can include internal audits or joint audits with other services such as Shield or Cared For Children to examine themes or issues for children in Youth Justice who are looked after or affected by exploitation etc.

Knowsley Safeguarding Children Partnership (KSCP) conduct a number of multi-agency audits and reviews. Managers and practitioners from partner agencies, including  Education, Early Help and Children's Social Care contribute to and participate in these audits and reviews. Findings are shared by the KSCP and contribute to learning across the partnership and within Children’s Service. The service also seeks to learn from both local and national Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, disseminating learning and examining local practice to identify specific improvement that can be taken from national learning reviews and recommendations.

4. Moving Forward Meetings

Knowsley hold Moving Forward Meetings which provide additional senior management oversight, support and advice on practice. The Moving Forward Meetings are divided into two parts, one focuses on Child Protection Cases to examine children and families on Repeat CP Plans or CP Plans of 9 months and the other part supports the QA Framework and examines selected case file audits.

Child Protection examination is overseen by Service Managers from Safeguarding Quality Assurance and Child Protection Service. They meet with the Social Worker, Team Manager and IRO / CP Chair to examine the issues affecting the child and family to explore the reasons for the length of the CP Plan and offer support and advise in respect of moving the family forward. This process also offers a senior management perspective and advice is provided to Social Workers on interventions and approaches to improve the impact of intervention.

Audit cases are selected that have been rated Inadequate from the collaborative audit programme, as well as Outstanding to identify good practice and learning which can be shared. This strength based approach will assist in developing a culture of learning from success. These meetings are Chaired by the Head of Service for Safeguarding and Quality Assurance, and relevant Heads of Service also attend this meeting to provide wider senior management engagement and oversight, supporting practitioners and team managers on practice issues in a protected reflective environment.

In respect of case files graded Inadequate during collaborative or thematic audits the following process should be followed:

1. If the auditor deems the case to be 'inadequate' this should be brought to the attention of the responsible Service Manager. Wherever possible these will also be internally moderated;
2. The Head of Service is responsible for assuring themselves that the child isn't at risk as a result of the inadequate practice;
3. Cases judged to be 'Inadequate' should be heard at Moving Forward Meeting (Audit) to understand the Inadequate rating and delayed impact for the child and family;
4. The Moving Forward Meeting should consider a review of the social worker's other cases to ensure there aren't any further examples of inadequate practice. This can be done by the relevant Head of Service, or Service Manager. Timescale is within 4 weeks of the original case being audited;
5. If a review of all the social workers cases is undertaken an 'Exception Report' (1 page summary) should be completed for the attention of the Assistant Executive Director;
6. The 'inadequate' case should be re-audited by a Service Manager or QA Team Manager within 3 months of the inadequate audit;
7. Feedback with family should be revisited as part of this process;
8. In addition, the case should be reviewed monthly in supervision for 3 months before a review audit is completed by the Service Manager or Quality Assurance Team Manager;
9. The QA Team Manager tracks the Inadequate Cases to provide assurance to the Assistant Executive Director that such cases have progressed out of the Inadequate rating;
10. The Moving Forward Meeting will also examine cases audited that are rated Outstanding, this supports strength based learning and dissemination of good practice to support wider practice improvement. This is explained in Appendix C: Moving Forward Process Flowchart.

Appendix A: Collaborative & Dip Sample Audit Form

The new collaborative audit template is on ICS.

Click here to view Appendix A: Collaborative & Dip Sample Audit Form.

Appendix B: Collaborative Audit Process Flowchart

Click here to view Appendix B: Collaborative Audit Process Flowchart.

Appendix C: Moving Forward Process Flowchart

Click here to view Appendix C: Moving Forward Process Flowchart.