Case study
Transforming outcomes across children’s services with Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT)
Impact in numbers
Summary
IMPOWER partnered with NCT on a three-year transformation journey, supporting their team to move the Trust from an Ofsted judgment of Requires Improvement to Good, while improving outcomes for children and strengthening financial sustainability across children’s services.
IMPOWER’s support has helped us to improve life chances for many children and young people in Northamptonshire. I’ve really appreciated how the IMPOWER team have worked with front line teams and partners to embed new ways of working, and their constant focus on children’s needs and strengths. Where we are now, a place with motivated staff who systematically put children’s needs, strengths and ambitions at the heart of all they do, is a place to be really proud of.
Colin Foster, Chief Executive, Northamptonshire Children's Trust
The Ambition
In 2023, NCT were on a mission to improve outcomes for children and young people following a Requires Improvement judgement from Ofsted.
While the Trust had a clear ambition to provide the best possible support for children and families, leaders recognised that significant change was needed. Demand for services was rising, suitable homes and placements were becoming harder to secure, and financial pressures were continuing to grow. At the same time, there was a need to strengthen the consistency of practice and ensure decisions about children’s care were based on a deeper understanding of their individual needs and experiences.
Recognising their need for a whole-system approach that would improve practice, support better decision-making and create a sustainable model for the future, NCT brought in IMPOWER to support them on their improvement journey.
Together, we developed and embedded Circle to Success (C2S), a child-centred approach co-produced with children, young people, families and people with care experience. By creating a shared understanding of need across the organisation, the programme helped improve decision-making, strengthen care planning and support NCT’s journey from Requires Improvement to Good while building a more sustainable service for the future.
Our Support
IMPOWER worked alongside frontline teams, leaders and partners across children’s services to strengthen how children’s needs were understood and acted upon. Together, we helped NCT embed a more consistent, evidence-led approach to assessment, planning and decision-making, ensuring support was shaped around each child’s individual needs and circumstances.
The work connected improvements in frontline practice with wider system change. Multi-agency forums brought together colleagues from social care, education and health to explore solutions for children, while a dedicated support team provided targeted, trauma-informed interventions to improve stability and outcomes.
We also worked with NCT to strengthen home finding, fostering and provider relationships, helping ensure children were matched with the right support at the right time. Alongside this, we developed the insight, governance and performance infrastructure needed to sustain improvement, enabling leaders to better understand need, track outcomes and make informed decisions about services and resources.This combination of stronger practice, better partnership working and improved insight has been one factor helping create the conditions for the significant improvements in outcomes, sustainability and Ofsted performance achieved by NCT.
C2S has increased the interface between health and social care leading to fruitful conversations around service development. Nurturing these connections in the future will remain beneficial for the children and young people we all support.
Nicola Hull Principal Clinical Psychologist Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
The Impact
In 2026, Ofsted rated Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Good across all areas and recognised the impact of leaders on practice with children and families as Outstanding.
Inspectors found that children’s experiences and outcomes had “significantly improved since the previous inspection in 2022″* and highlighted the transformational impact of leadership, workforce stability and a relational culture on the lives of children and families.
Ofsted also recognised the role of Circle to Success. In North Northamptonshire, inspectors noted that the assessment “accurately captures children’s needs to support permanence planning”*, while in West Northamptonshire they found that “social workers undertake good-quality ‘Circle to Success’ assessments” which “provide a thorough insight into children’s lives and needs”. Inspectors said this informs interventions and helps optimise placement matching so that most children do not experience instability.
The programme has helped NCT build a more consistent, evidence-led understanding of need across children’s services. More than 1,800 children have received at least one assessment, supporting better planning, decision-making and targeted support.
This has resulted in 177 needs-led changes to care and support, including reunification, permanence, prevention of entry to care, placement stabilisation and support for transitions to adulthood. 30% of these changes have realised or progressed permanence.
Children are experiencing greater stability as a result. Home moves have reduced from 75 to 50 per month since early 2024, while children who do move are spending longer in their previous home before transition.
Alongside improved outcomes, the programme delivered more than £14 million of in-year savings, £20.5 million of annualised savings and £2.5 million of additional cost avoidance between 2023 and 2026, helping NCT improve outcomes for children while building a more sustainable children’s services system.
*Ofsted inspection reports: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire.
What’s Next?
NCT’s improvement journey does not stop with a Good Ofsted judgement and the Trust is continuing to embed the Circle to Success approach, using data and insight to identify needs earlier, strengthen decision-making and improve outcomes for children and young people.
Working alongside NCT, IMPOWER helped establish the tools, capability and ways of working needed to support lasting change.
Through a structured handover and transition process, ownership of these approaches now sits firmly within the organisation, providing the foundation for continued improvement in the years ahead.
To explore the improvement journey in more detail, including key lessons, outcomes and impact, read the full report co-authored by Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, North and West Northamptonshire Councils and IMPOWER.
