Joanne Henderson, Managing Director of Children and Family shared a platform with Tracey Curtis and Chris Howard of Suffolk County Council at the 2022 National Commissioners Conference in Derby to discuss Suffolk County Council’s approach to eliminating unregistered placements.
The workshop, which was well attended by Commissioners from around the UK, looked at how Suffolk had overcome this issue for under 16 year old Children in Care. In particular, the development of a dual placement Children’s Home, using a Suffolk County Council property, mobilised and run by Children and Family, was highlighted as an example of the benefits of a public/private partnership model of provision. The workshop discussed how the home operates on a day to day basis and shared the impact and outcomes of the service to young people.
Joanne Henderson commented “It was an excellent opportunity to share our experiences working with Suffolk on this ground breaking project. There are many benefits to both providers and Councils in collaborating and the discussion during the event and questions afterwards showed significant interest in this approach. We are currently working with a number of other Council’s on similar projects and expect this approach to be an important part of achieving sufficiency for children with complex needs.”