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Department for Children, Schools and Families : Capability Review
Capability Review
The Department's second Capability Review was conducted in June 2008. The review contains some excellent results and shows the Department has improved in all areas of capability compared to the first review of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) conducted back in 2006.
In particular, it highlights the Department’s strong ministerial team, effective Board leadership and the passion and high motivation of the Department’s staff. The Department is now classed as “strong” in two areas, compared to one in 2006, and “well-placed” in five areas compared to three at the last review. There are also now no areas for “urgent development”. Of course, the review did find there are some areas where we have room for improvement:
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Building common purpose – we need to improve our two-way communication so we take full advantage of the experience and expertise of those in the wider system.
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Customer focus – we need to ensure all Children’s Plan work is informed by a clear understanding of the motivations, needs and behaviour of all the people who use and deliver our services
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People management – we have to do more to improve the consistency of line-management as well as identifying and developing the skills which we need to achieve the Department’s ambitious goals.
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Clarifying roles, responsibilities and relationships in the delivery system – we need to make sure our partners understand how they fit into the wider system and are able to make the right decisions.
Making these improvements and moving our performance to the next level will mean significant cultural change – not just internally but also throughout the system.
