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Evaluation of Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs): Phase 1 Report

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Title: Evaluation of Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs): Phase 1 Report
Language: English
Authors: Department for Education (DfE) (United Kingdom), Ecorys
Source: UK Department for Education. 2025.
Availability: UK Department for Education. Castle View House East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2GJ, UK. Tel: +44-37-0000-2288; Fax: +44-19-2873-8248; Web site: http://www.education.gov.uk
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 71
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Program Evaluation, Child Care, Cooperatives, Placement, Program Implementation, Feasibility Studies, Social Services, Foster Care, Educational Legislation, Cost Effectiveness, Governance, Resource Allocation
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
ISBN: 978-1-83870-722-4
Abstract: The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Ecorys with evaluation partners Professor Jane Barlow, Professor Harriet Ward, Professor Leon Feinstein (University of Oxford), Susannah Bowyer, and Dez Holmes (Research in Practice, NCB) and Dr Claire Baker, to conduct an evaluation of Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs). The evaluation runs alongside the introduction of RCCs from early 2024, initially in 2 pathfinder areas. The 2 pathfinders were awarded programme funding having been selected by a cross-government panel in late 2023. RCCs are a refiguration of the Children's Social Care (CSC) market, bringing together member local authorities, partners and services (e.g. health, youth justice and education) to plan, commission, and deliver placements for children in care across a defined area. The goal is to improve the quality and effectiveness of care for children and young people by pooling resources, sharing expertise, and working with care providers to improve the operation of the CSC market. RCCs aim to ensure more children are in appropriate placements, which meet their needs, and are closer to home. This report presents findings from the first phase of the evaluation (April 2024-April 2025), bringing together findings from interviews with key RCC stakeholders, early scoping work on outcomes and a first wave of case studies with the 2 pathfinder areas. The findings are intended to help inform the roll-out of the RCC programme, offering lessons on implementation for local authorities/areas and for DfE, as well providing learning for the next phase of the evaluation. Chapter 1 introduces the evaluation, sets out the scope of the report, and provides an overview of RCCs and their aims, including the context and the issues that prompted their creation. Chapter 2 sets out the aims and objectives of the evaluation, providing an overview of evaluation methods, presents selected outputs from the scoping stage and briefly explores limitations. Chapter 3 explores implementation in the 2 RCC pathfinder areas, reflecting on progress towards the minimum requirements and implementation outcomes. Chapter 4 collates and reflects on learning from the first phase of the evaluation and briefly outlines next steps.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED680040
Database: ERIC
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  Data: UK Department for Education. Castle View House East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2GJ, UK. Tel: +44-37-0000-2288; Fax: +44-19-2873-8248; Web site: http://www.education.gov.uk
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Evaluation%22">Program Evaluation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Care%22">Child Care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cooperatives%22">Cooperatives</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Placement%22">Placement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Implementation%22">Program Implementation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Feasibility+Studies%22">Feasibility Studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Services%22">Social Services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foster+Care%22">Foster Care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Legislation%22">Educational Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cost+Effectiveness%22">Cost Effectiveness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Governance%22">Governance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Resource+Allocation%22">Resource Allocation</searchLink>
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  Data: The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Ecorys with evaluation partners Professor Jane Barlow, Professor Harriet Ward, Professor Leon Feinstein (University of Oxford), Susannah Bowyer, and Dez Holmes (Research in Practice, NCB) and Dr Claire Baker, to conduct an evaluation of Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs). The evaluation runs alongside the introduction of RCCs from early 2024, initially in 2 pathfinder areas. The 2 pathfinders were awarded programme funding having been selected by a cross-government panel in late 2023. RCCs are a refiguration of the Children's Social Care (CSC) market, bringing together member local authorities, partners and services (e.g. health, youth justice and education) to plan, commission, and deliver placements for children in care across a defined area. The goal is to improve the quality and effectiveness of care for children and young people by pooling resources, sharing expertise, and working with care providers to improve the operation of the CSC market. RCCs aim to ensure more children are in appropriate placements, which meet their needs, and are closer to home. This report presents findings from the first phase of the evaluation (April 2024-April 2025), bringing together findings from interviews with key RCC stakeholders, early scoping work on outcomes and a first wave of case studies with the 2 pathfinder areas. The findings are intended to help inform the roll-out of the RCC programme, offering lessons on implementation for local authorities/areas and for DfE, as well providing learning for the next phase of the evaluation. Chapter 1 introduces the evaluation, sets out the scope of the report, and provides an overview of RCCs and their aims, including the context and the issues that prompted their creation. Chapter 2 sets out the aims and objectives of the evaluation, providing an overview of evaluation methods, presents selected outputs from the scoping stage and briefly explores limitations. Chapter 3 explores implementation in the 2 RCC pathfinder areas, reflecting on progress towards the minimum requirements and implementation outcomes. Chapter 4 collates and reflects on learning from the first phase of the evaluation and briefly outlines next steps.
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 71
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Program Evaluation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child Care
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cooperatives
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      – SubjectFull: Placement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Program Implementation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Feasibility Studies
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      – SubjectFull: Social Services
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      – SubjectFull: Foster Care
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Legislation
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      – SubjectFull: Cost Effectiveness
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      – SubjectFull: Governance
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      – SubjectFull: Resource Allocation
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom
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      – TitleFull: Evaluation of Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs): Phase 1 Report
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