rmation
The starting point
In 2020, following an inadequate Ofsted judgement, Middlesbrough Council needed a vision for children’s services that staff and young people could genuinely own, not one written for them and handed down.
What we did
- BrandMiddlesbrough Children MatterA name, mission, vision and values, co-created with young people and staff rather than written for them
- Corporate parentingSix guiding principlesCo-produced for the corporate parenting strategy, alongside a project manager, sponsor and operational lead
- ParticipationA rebuilt participation offerThe Participation Team rebranded and relaunched, and the MCM Young People’s Advisory Group established
- Leaving careA revised offerThe leaving care offer revised and relaunched for the young people who use it
- FilmSix films with young peopleMade to carry the vision in young people’s own words
- DigitalA website and a year of contentThe Middlesbrough Children Matter website launched, with a 12-month social media calendar to keep the vision visible after launch
How we worked
Story
The vision came from what staff and young people said the service felt like, not from a corporate template.
Theory
Corporate parenting principles that connect a council’s statutory duty to what a child in care actually experiences day to day.
Tools
A brand, a website, a content calendar and a young people’s advisory group, so the vision had a way to keep going after we left.
What changed
Part of the improvement work, not an add-on.
Middlesbrough Children Matter gave the whole service a vision its own staff and young people wrote. Young people designed the logo and staff voted it in. The Participation Team relaunched with a Young People’s Advisory Group to hold the service to its commitments, the leaving care offer was revised, and a website and a year of content kept the vision visible after we left.
“The process was crucial to get buy in and now in place there appears huge support. Importantly it is being used at heart of improvement work rather than being just an add on.”
See the work
Open any piece to look through it page by page.
Promises, in their words
The corporate parenting principles young people co-produced, and the commitments staff made. Choose a principle, or see another commitment.
Six guiding principles, written to young people
You will have contact with all of the people who are important to you in your life.
You will have excellent support to access the education, employment and training that you need.
You will grow up in a stable and secure home arrangement that meets your needs and wishes.
You will have easy access to specialist support for your emotional and physical health and wellbeing.
You are supported to leave care when you are ready, and to make a positive transition to adult life.
You will have a voice and opportunities to influence your plan for permanence and our wider corporate parenting offer.
Staff commitments to Middlesbrough children
- Always listen to you, no matter what you have to say
- Show you that I care about you
- Not judge, and see the best in everyone
- Be honest and open with children, even if that may seem difficult
- Visit children and families because I want to, not because I need to
- Do what I say I will do, and if I can’t, explain why clearly and honestly
- Be with children when things are hard and when they are good
- Be unconditionally welcoming, no matter who you are or where you are from
- Make it my responsibility to find at least one thing children are passionate about
- Celebrate great work and praise it when I see it
- Ask myself if doing something the right way by the system is doing the right thing for children and families
- Remember the importance of childhood and the perspective of young people
Three questions for every member of staff
- Values What values should underpin our work to show Middlesbrough children they matter?
- Vision How will we show Middlesbrough children that they matter in the future?
- Purpose Why is showing Middlesbrough children that they matter important to you?
163 staff answered. Their words became the values, the vision and the purpose statements.
Who shaped it
How staff already showed children they matter
In the future, children will know they matter because...
“They will feel heard, they will feel cared for, and they will feel safe.”
“We will care about them as individuals, not just a population of problems.”
“They are listened to first time.”
“It is impossible to make a child feel like they matter when they are on their 6th/7th Social Worker.”
Staff survey responses, 2020. The hard answers shaped the work as much as the hopeful ones.
A personality and a tone of voice
Ten purpose statements
Each area of Middlesbrough’s life and work got a statement of why children matter to it, and what it would do about it.
Council values, made real
Passionate
- Always wanting the very best for every child
- Openly show love and care to our children
Integrity
- Say what you mean and mean what you say
- Saying sorry if we get it wrong and working with young people to make it right
Creative
- Be creative around gaining the voice of the child
- Using the communication methods used by children
Collaborative
- Everything should be done in collaboration, never “done to”
- Actively gain feedback from children
Focussed
- Be a role model
- Be present and in the moment with children
The council’s five values stayed the same. Staff turned each one into behaviours children would notice.
A logo young people chose
Early routes
Each route was tested with young people and staff. The heart and hands came out of the revisions.
In the client’s words
We now have a brand and identity that has come from our Middlesbrough Children’s Services Workforce which has been steered by The Care Leaders.
Carlos Dos Santos, Children’s Services Programme Manager
Built to keep going
A website so the vision was the first point of contact, and a 12-month social media calendar to keep it visible after launch.
Young People’s Advisory Group
A group of care leavers set up to guide Middlesbrough Children Matter, putting young people at the centre of its development and holding us to our commitments.
Champions in every service
A Champions programme to carry the vision into 12 service areas, from referral and assessment to fostering, education and SEND.
Personality, tone, values