Background
ContactPoint is a key element of the Every Child Matters (ECM) programme established to improve the health, well-being and safety of all children. ContactPoint’s purpose is to help transform children’s services by supporting effective prevention and early intervention.
Through secure access available to authorised staff only, ContactPoint makes it possible for practitioners to discover who else is working with a particular child or young person. By helping multiple agencies share information and ensuring they are involved whenever needed, ContactPoint helps them deliver coordinated support to protect the safety of children and avoid individuals being lost to the system.
Challenge
Initial planning began in October 2007. Learning professionals from the Capita Learning & Development team met with representatives from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF, now known as the Department of Education since May 2010) to define the strategy and scope of the ContactPoint training programme.
Capita Learning & Development describes the outcome, “The DCSF agreed on a cascade training strategy that would begin with specialist Level 1 training for selected individuals from each of the 150 local authorities in England; the initial purpose being to develop a ContactPoint team within each authority. This team will be responsible for the management and administration of the local ContactPoint system, the ongoing training of specialist users and further trainers, and core Level 2 training for local practitioners.”
Solution
The DCSF commissioned Capita Learning & Development to develop a training programme to prepare local authorities in England for the rollout of ContactPoint. The programme trained ContactPoint teams in 150 local authorities. Each team is responsible for training local users and managing the multi-agency child support system in their own authority. The complete training solution included development, delivery, online testing, first line support documentation, back office infrastructure, and delegate authorisation and administration. The Capita L&D team integrated themselves into the operational processes of the DCSF and local authorities to deliver it. Following the training, local authorities and other support agencies are able to use ContactPoint to deliver co-ordinated support to children and young people.
Value Delivered
Evaluation information collected from delegates helped Capita and DCSF to develop and enhance the training materials and experience. As a result, those who have participated in the training are thoroughly prepared for the ContactPoint roles they have to fulfil. A detailed analysis of results and findings has indicated that:
- Enhanced Level 1 and Level 2 training materials have been well received and have proven effective
- Practitioners who have completed Level 2 training have shown significantly increased confidence in their knowledge and ability to use ContactPoint
- The confidence of Local Authority ContactPoint Management Teams has increased with experience and practice, in particular in relation to more frequently performed tasks
- Practitioner willingness to engage with ContactPoint following training is currently high and likely to remain so