Shaping the landscape: The future of public service delivery and family policy

Children England's West Midlands Network event is for voluntary and community sector organisations working with children, young people and families in the West Midlands to discuss the Open Public Services White Paper; with input from Helga Edström, Policy Manager, Local Intelligence, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office.

In addition, it welcomes attendance from those practitioners working in the sector and supporting families who would be interested in forming part of a quarterly network (either virtual or actual) with the objective of strengthening the voice of the sector in the context of its work with families.

By the end of the session attendees will have:

• An opportunity to understand and discuss the implications of ‘opening up public services’with Cabinet Office and feed your voice into Children England’s response to this consultation;
• An overview of the current direction of family policy;
• An understanding of how to get your voice heard nationally through Children England’s strategic partnership work;
• Knowledge of how to access and make the most of the online library of resources at www.ccinform.co.uk to support you in your work; and
• An opportunity to network, share and learn from colleagues from across the sector.

This event is part of the Department for Education funded Overarching Strategic Partnership (OAP).

OAP is a two year programme to support the economy and infrastructure of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector that works with children, young people and families. The role of Strategic Partner is also to share the best practice, expertise, learning and concerns of the sector with the DfE in developing policy. The programme is led by Children England, in partnership with Community Matters, NCVYS, NAVCA, The Race Equality Foundation and the Social Enterprise Coalition.

The Programme is grouped across three key strands:
1. Developing organisational capacity and workforce skills
2. Extending representation, voice and influence
3. Strengthening networks and cost effective communication

Download the OAP update [56kB, DOC].