Purpose

Wave 1 of the English Innovation Programme (EIP), funded by the Department for Education (DfE), supported ten Signs of Safety pilots across England. The Signs of Safety (SoS) pilots were run by the consortium MTM. The evaluation conducted by Mary Baginsky and colleagues for the SoS pilot programme was designed to answer the following questions:

1. Are outcomes for children and young people improving?
2. Is there better value for money across children’s social care?

The pilots were subsequently supported by Wave 2 EIP funding and Dr Baginsky and colleagues conducted an evaluation between 2018 and 2020.

Timescale

2015 – 2017

Funding

MTM / Department for Education

Methods

The components of the methodology were tied to the outcomes required by the DfE: Interviews were conducted with up to 300 families (adults and children) at two points in time, six months apart, in the 10 local authority sites. We collected data from children, young people and parents in face to face interviews, using a number of standardised measures. Analysis of large data sets was also part of this work. Social workers helped by completing time diaries to help us examine the way work time was used by front-line staff in the SoS pilots. Social workers also participated in focus groups and interviews, as well as surveys.