C4EO - Our services

C4EO offers a wide menu of different services, enabling local authorities and their partners to access good practice, build capacity and achieve culture change.

This section provides a summary of our services:

• Research reviews and interactive web-based ‘progress maps’ for the three priorities in each of the eight themes, which provide accessible up-to-date quality assured evidence of current and emerging good practice.
• Regional knowledge workshops to support participants in understanding what works and achieving change.
• Online 'Communities of Practice' for sharing experience and expertise on specific themes and issues.
• Groups of sector specialists to provide advice on specific skills and specialist areas.
• Tailored support - a ‘quid pro quo’ brokering service, enabling local authorities to swap specialists in priority areas where they excel for those who can improve a weaker aspect of their work.
• Tailored multimedia publications and outputs for different audiences.
• Regular information about C4EO’s activities, including e-newsletters and annual reports. Details will be available in our News and events section.

Research reviews

A research review will be conducted for each of the three priorities of each theme (18 in total) and will be led by NFER on the Centre’s behalf. Each review will bring together a unique, quality-assured blend of qualitative and quantitative data, and the best, validated local experience that has proved to be effective. This element will include strategies, levers and interventions which have already proved to be powerful in helping services improve outcomes and will examine the reasons for their success. Once the research review has been published, it will be regularly updated. The knowledge gathered from the reviews will underpin all of C4EO’s activities. It will make available to those who commission, provide and work in children’s services free, accessible and trusted sources of ‘what works’ evidence.

Rapid evidence reviews

The reviews conducted for the Centre are designed to provide the best available evidence from research, data and practice about improving outcomes for children and young people. Each review has a clear focus and seeks to answer specific questions within a limited timescale. The searches are conducted within a set of defined parameters which set out the depth and breadth of the review. The review teams adopt a systematic approach to searching for literature, data and practice evidence from databases, websites and experts. Search terms are defined and searches are clearly documented. The reviews adopt an iterative process, including scoping the evidence base, peer review and feedback from local policy makers.

Progress maps

These are interactive, online tools which aim to make information gathered from the research reviews available in a simple and easy-to-access way. Users will be able, for instance, to select the level of detail they want to draw information from, such as looking at data and good practice at a local, regional or national level. The maps will also generate summaries which will provide a synthesis of ‘what works’ and have validated practice examples, as well as self-auditing tools, and areas for action.

For more details on C4EO progress maps and their uses, please see the introducing C4EO progress maps flyer (800Kb PDF file).

Regional knowledge workshops

A series of these events will be held on each C4EO theme in each of the nine government office regions. Using the progress maps, they will share with local authorities and their partners the information from the research reviews and examples of promising local practice that appears to be delivering results. The workshops will provide opportunities to develop local networks and hopefully act as a springboard for local improvement activity.

Online ‘Communities of Practice’

These are web-based ‘virtual networks’ used to used to support the exchange of knowledge, and resources to help catalyse and sustain outcome improvement work around the seven themes.

Sector specialists

These are ‘experts’ who will be accredited and trained by the Centre before being deployed within their own region to provide support to local authorities and other agencies. The aim is to create a cadre of ‘expert’ peers to support improvement on each C4EO priority theme using the evidence, research and effective practice of ‘what works’ that C4EO has collated. The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) regional groupings of Director of Children’s Services and Government Offices will have ownership of this model of sector-led improvement and will be critical partners in identifying and recruiting the sector specialists.

Tailored support

The programme of tailored support to local authorities and their partners on each theme will be provided in response to requests, with no obligation to participate. Support will operate on a ‘quid pro quo’ basis whereby local authorities are encouraged to release their own experts on priorities where a local authority is a strong performer, in return for input from other specialists on areas where they are doing less well. There will be a menu of typical offers of help which may include, for example, assistance with developing a local improvement plan; facilitation of a local ‘turning the curve’ exercise; help to use evidence-based audit tools; or may support development of a local progress map to assess their own policy, performance and practice.

Materials and publications

A range of materials and publications will be produced to support the Centre’s work and the programme of regional workshops that will be held. These will be freely available and include all supporting information from the knowledge reviews (e.g. scoping reviews) as well as case studies, tools and plans that people have developed.