The provider of Kingston’s children’s services was shortlisted for two Local Government Chronicle (LGC) awards last week.
Achieving for Children (AfC), a community interest company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, was announced as a finalist in the Best Children’s Services and Best Delivery Model categories.
Nick Whitfield, chief executive of AfC, said: “This is great news. Our staff work incredibly hard on behalf of the most vulnerable children in society, and I’m proud that their efforts have been recognised nationally.
“It’s also a tribute to our partner councils for their vision in setting up such a groundbreaking delivery model.”
As a social enterprise, AfC provides bespoke children’s social care and education support services to local authorities, ensuring they meet statutory requirements, and maximise the use of resources by creating economies of scale and reducing management costs.
The LGC awards are the largest awards ceremony for the local government sector and recognise the best of innovation and service delivery.
LGC editor Nick Golding said: “To be shortlisted for an LGC Award shows a council service is among the country’s most innovative, and doing the most to support the needs of local residents as councils face continuing budget cuts.
“We should salute the council officers and councillors doing the most to ensure our vital public services thrive in the era of austerity.”
The shortlisted organisations will now be required to deliver presentations and be interviewed by an expert judging panel made up of senior local government figures.
The winners will be announced in a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House on 21 March 2018.
