Driving regional improvement

Every child deserves outstanding support, no matter where they live. In a major endorsement of our community-first approach and unique multi-borough model, Achieving for Children (AfC) has been officially selected to join the Department for Education’s (DfE) Children’s Social Care Improvement Teams (CIT) programme. This positions AfC as one of six high-performing delivery partners trusted to provide peer support and regional improvement to children’s services across England.

Established by the Department for Education, the CIT programme draws on the principle that local authorities are best placed to support one another through shared expertise, proven practice and peer-led improvement.

The decision follows a rigorous evaluation process that highlighted our strong track record, strategic leadership, and ability to create real, lasting change for families. As part of the CIT programme, Achieving for Children will collaborate shoulder-to-shoulder with partner councils to help transform children’s services from the inside out. In practice, this means AfC will be working directly to support another local authority’s children's services over the next year.

A model built on partnership, resilience, and trust

What sets AfC apart is a deep belief that meaningful improvement isn't about quick fixes; it is about strong relationships, collaborative leadership, and practical, everyday solutions.

Key factors behind AfC’s selection for the CIT programme include:

• Uncompromising standards across our boroughs: the assessment recognised that AfC maintains high-performing, resilient services across all three of our partner councils, and expanding AfC’s advisory footprint will only strengthen our commitment to local children and families.
• Support that challenges and empowers: we bring a tested approach to system leadership, combining constructive challenge with genuine support to help councils navigate complex turnarounds.
• National framework alignment: we demonstrated an established, practical methodology for embedding the Children’s Social Care National Framework directly into frontline practice across multiple council boundaries.
• Cross-boundary political and multi-agency engagement: our core structure is built on collaboration. We have a strong track record of securing buy-in from political leaders, health, police, and education partners across different authorities to unite around shared priorities.
• Fostering long-term independence: the ultimate goal is sustainable improvement, not dependency. We will focus on building up internal skills and confidence within partner teams so progress continues long after support concludes.

Ian Dodds, Executive Director of Children's Services for Kingston and Richmond said, ‘We are delighted to be a CIT and work with the DfE on advising other local authorities. Our work begins this month and we are really excited to help others with their practice frameworks and thresholds’.