Welcome and thank you for visiting the blog for the Coproduction Project for Care Leavers in Central Bedfordshire. My name is Laura Park and I am a Consultant Social Worker in the Central Bedfordshire Corporate Parenting Service. I am fortunate enough to be leading this very exciting project and I will be updating this blog regularly to provide updates, information and photographs of all of our activity and progress.

What is the aim of the Coproduction Project?

The aim of the project is to improve services for Care Leavers in Central Bedfordshire using a coproductive approach to service design. This involves bringing together a range of professionals from different agencies with care leavers, to share their knowledge, skills and experience. We will work as a group to identify insights, problems and opportunities that may arise throughout the journey of a young person leaving care; together we will work to plan, design and improve services and resources for Care Leavers in Central Bedfordshire.

The project has been designed through building upon the learning from a similar project conducted by the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) in 2012. The IRISS project report can be found here https://www.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/2016-08/redesigning-support-care-leavers.pdf

What does Coproduction actually mean?

Coproduction is all about involving the people who use the services, to improve the services. It is about breaking down any hierarchies and ensuring that the voices of those who use the service are heard on a level playing field with those of the practitioners and managers across all agencies.

What is the structure of the Coproduction Project?

The project will run over four workshops in October and November 2016 and will be held in our Care Leavers Hub in Houghton Regis.

Workshop 1 -An Introduction to Service Design

This workshop will act as an ice breaker and ‘getting to know you’ session, aiming to build the foundations for strong group dynamics and working relationships. By the end of this session we will have explored the basic principles behind service design, to ensure that all participants have an understanding of this concept.

Workshop 2 – The Experiences of Leaving Care

This workshop will look at the timelines of both our care leavers and other group members from the ages of 15 – 25, to identify the services and support that was received during this time. We will create the persona of a care leaver, before mapping their journey as a group, identifying the insights, problems and opportunities that may arise.

Workshop 3 – Designing Services for Care Leavers

This workshop will look specifically at planning improved services for care leavers, building upon the opportunities that were identified in the previous workshop. At the end of this session, we will have strong service designs to take away and test in practice.

Workshop 4 – A Review of Ideas

This will be our final workshop, where we will review the progress from our service prototypes that have been tested in practice. At this stage we should be able to identify any tangible services that can be offered to future Central Bedfordshire Care Leavers.

Who will be involved in the Coproduction Project? 

Participants of the project will include professionals from the Leaving Care Team, Housing Department, Education Services, LAC Health Team, the Head of Corporate Parenting Service and of course our Care Leavers.

I will be facilitating the four workshops and I have also enlisted the support of an experienced independent Social Worker to act as a co-facilitator. This is to ensure that we have the input and views of a professional who is independent from Central Bedfordshire and therefore has no agenda.

What will be the outcomes of the Coproduction Project?

At the end of our four workshops, we will have collaboratively planned and designed services to improve the experiences of Care Leavers, using a coproductive approach. Our aspirations are to utilise these service designs to improve our service delivery.

Other anticipated outcomes include improved working relationships and partnerships between all of the agencies and Care Leavers involved. We also hope that this experience will greatly enhance the Care Leaver’s confidence and self-esteem, as their views and contributions will be greatly appreciated, recognised and respected.