With the TSA’s new national standards out for consultation and the Audit Commission’s inspections moving to a more risk based and short notice approach, now is the time to start getting your organisation ready for the new regime!

Whilst being inspected by the Audit Commission can be a challenging experience, many organisations feel that external scrutiny has had a positive impact in helping them to improve their performance. However, the future is less about regulation and more about working with your customers to challenge yourselves and to be self aware. The TSA specifically mentions peer review as one of the ways to help to achieve this.

Facilitated peer reviews run by the Northern Housing Consortium, in conjunction with BaildonDeanTambe, are a proven, cost effective solution to help you build organisational capacity, identify key areas for improvement and share positive practice.

Having already carried out a host of successful facilitated peer reviews, we are now recruiting for our next round of peer review training.

This two day course will be delivered by Karen Baildon and Janis Dean, both of whom have significant and recent experience of carrying out Audit Commission inspections and working with numerous organisations preparing for inspection.

The course will provide an ideal opportunity to get your team trained to a level that will allow them to undertake a facilitated peer review. The training will provide delegates with the knowledge, tools and techniques required to carry out self assessment and self challenge, including:

• an overview of what the Audit Commission is looking for when assessing against the KLOEs
  
  
• key issues or service hotspots
  
  
• an understanding of what excellence looks like
  
  
• practical skills to be used when reviewing services – and guidance on how to use tools and techniques to get at the right information quickly
  
  
• evidence gathering
  
  
• presenting your findings

As we are looking to carry out facilitated peer reviews on a mutual basis between organisations, booking preference will be given to those organisations willing to commit resources to such a programme. However, consideration will also be given to individual organisations just wishing to have their staff trained to a high level of competency to review services in house.

The training is targeted at those operational senior and middle managers delivering services, and staff involved in performance/business improvement teams.

The cost for the two day course is £550 + VAT for NHC members and £595 + VAT for non-members (accommodation is not included in this fee). Due to the nature of this course delegate numbers are restricted to 16 to ensure maximum learning for delegates. Places always go quickly, so for further information and booking facilities please click here.

If you have any questions in relation to this training or development of the sub regional programme, please contact the Performance Improvement team on 0191 5661000, or email performance@northern-consortium.org.uk