Three awards for IMPOWER at MCA Awards

Being shortlisted for four Management Consultancy Awards (MCA) was a huge achievement in itself, but to be winners in two categories and highly commended in another is something we are incredibly proud of!

The first win of the evening was for our Valuing Care work with Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT). In the five years since IMPOWER’s work around Valuing Care was Highly Commended for thought leadership at the 2019 MCA Awards, it has further evolved and become embedded in practice – helping to transform the life chances of thousands of children and young people.

It’s become a movement – encapsulated by the Valuing Care Programme – which has grown to 15 local authorities and children’s trusts throughout England and is a platform for sharing practice and experience. This has provided the basis for invaluable research and insight for the entire children’s social care sector. For example, IMPOWER has analysed data from four local authorities who together account for around 5,000 children – 4% of England’s children in care population – and shared the findings with local government through events and briefings. Valuing Care enables councils to fundamentally change how their local care systems work: from refocusing social work practice to ensuring care providers are better equipped to meet children’s needs. NCT’s Chief Executive Colin Foster comments:

“This award is a great reflection of the impact of our partnership with IMPOWER, which has made a real difference to the lives of children and young people whilst also driving significant efficiencies. It’s been a true collaborative effort between colleagues across Northamptonshire Children’s Trust and IMPOWER, and we at Northamptonshire Children’s Trust take pride in this achievement.”

Second up, our Valuing SEND work with Derby City Council received a highly commended award in the ‘Performance Improvement in the Public Sector’ category. IMPOWER helped design and implement Derby’s High Needs Transformation Programme, to fundamentally change the way children with SEND are supported across a fragmented system.

IMPOWER worked alongside Derby to track and predict demand, evidence the impact of new ways of working and get a firmer grasp on costs; supported SEND staff in schools to utilise a tailored tool that brings a collaborative approach to meeting a child’s needs with parents and carers fully involved; and built the foundations for continued improvement and a more resilient system.

A key intervention was the introduction of the Derby Inclusion Tool (DIT), a Derby specific version of IMPOWER’s Valuing Send tool which was co-produced with parents and carers. It was used by the client to facilitate conversations between all those involved in shaping a child’s care (including parents, carers, schools and system partners) so their needs are more appropriately met. So far more than 1,900 children have been registered on the tool and it has put parents at the heart of shaping support for their children.

Finally, but by no means least, Delivery Director Libby Caulfield was named ‘Team Leader Consultant of the Year’.

Through her attention to detail and empowering style of leadership, Libby Caulfield has helped colleagues and clients to deliver changes that will boost life chances for thousands of vulnerable children. She has taken skills and experience gained during her teaching career and used them to great effect as a consultant, leading teams that work with councils to improve the ways children with special educational needs and disabilities are supported. Libby has successfully led projects looking at everything from home-to-school transport to delivering better outcomes for children in care.

She consistently brings projects in under budget and on deadline while often exceeding clients’ goals.
Libby’s background in education continues to shape her approach and among her proudest achievements are the many colleagues she has supported to promotion. On her win, Libby comments:

“To be recognised in this way in such a competitive field of brilliant people and projects is really quite overwhelming! It means so much to me to be celebrated for doing this job that I love so much. I’m so proud to be demonstrating how at IMPOWER we’re making a very real contribution to changing their lives of vulnerable groups of people – it really is pretty amazing.”

Sandra Ositelu was also a finalist in the ‘Inclusion’ category, a very competitive category which celebrates excelling individuals who champion and build inclusive workplaces. A huge thank you to our colleagues and clients for their dedication and passion to achieving better outcomes. We are extremely grateful to the Management Consultancies Association for providing this opportunity to celebrate the efforts of consultants and clients across the UK. We look forward to next year’s awards ceremony!