Achieving for Children
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Company type | Social enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Social services |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | England |
Areas served | Richmond upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames, Windsor & Maidenhead |
| Website | www |
Achieving for Children (AfC) is a social enterprise company created in 2014 by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide social services for children.[1][2] It is thought to have been the first company of its kind.[3]
Ofsted rates Achieving for Children as "outstanding" for children's services in the Kingston borough, following an inspection in October 2019.[4]
When the company was launched in 2014, it was described as the "future model of Children's Services".[5] It enabled the two councils to save money by sharing services whilst avoiding some of the "organisational difficulties", and allowing them to work in ways that would not be possible as a local authority.[5] Some critics were concerned that AfC represented a privatisation of children' social services[6] as well as a reduction in accountability and scrutiny,[7] and there was scepticism over whether service levels could be maintained and improved in the wake of significant spending cuts.[7] The organisation was subsequently credited with improving Kingston's children's services from an "Inadequate" to "good" Ofsted rating.[8] A 2016 independent Government review of the establishment of AfC concluded that the transformation had demonstrated positive results for service quality and financial return, with a number of benefits realised as well as lessons learned.[9]
On 1 August 2017, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead became a co-owner of AfC, which now delivers children's services across all three boroughs.[10][11]
In December 2019, Kingston and Richmond Councils both agreed to recommission Achieving for Children to deliver their children's services until 31 March 2026.