UPDATE NO 190 08 April 2016

Leadership Development

In 2015-16, David Goosey of The Change Agency was commissioned to study the impact of the coaching programmes delivered for SESLIP under the Leadership Development part of the programme. 

His report is now published

The conclusions and recommendations are:

7.1 The Coaching to Improve Performance course was professionally delivered leading to a high standard of satisfaction amongst the delegates. After several months those who responded to a survey were still able to remember the salient content of the course, had retained enthusiasm and had put the skills learned to use in practice. A remarkable achievement for a two‐day course!

7.2 Greater organisational support for the use of coaching in practice would certainly help local authorities to more fully reap the benefits that can emerge from coaching. In addition, the course is likely to be more effective as part of an organisation’s strategic intent to improve the quality of leadership more generally.

7.3 Local authorities are recommended to explore how the use of coaching can assist leadership development in their organisations. Institutional support for leadership practice including coaching is likely to benefit local authorities’ strategic intent to
improve performance.

Early Help

SESLIP Early Help Evaluation Framework now published.

Please note that work will commence this spring with the Data Benchmarking Group to analyse and understand the development work required to collect and publish the suggested Quantitative Measures

Please can you go to the Early Help Contacts Page and check that these details are accurate. 

Also, in the Appendixes to the Framework there are hyperlinks to Early Help policies, processes and threshold statements. Please can you check that the information for your own authority is up to date and accurate. 

Please contact Richard Tyndall (details below) with any amendments or additions.

Memorandum of Cooperation

Phase 2 of The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) became operational on the 1^st April 2016.  Sixteen of the nineteen Authorities in the region have committed to the Moc. One further authority has advised they will make a decision early next week (Windsor and Maidenhead).  Two authorities have not yet communicated their intentions (Reading and Slough).

Signatories to the MoC will be:

• Using a shared reference template for agency social workers,
• Desisting from headhunting
• Observing a cooling off period for permanent staff who join social work agencies
• Working within agreed pay caps for agency social workers and frontline managers.

A MoC Governance Group has been set up and will be meeting for the first time in the next couple of weeks.

Information for Social Workers, Managers and HR colleagues explaining the MoC have been distributed to all authorities (and are available on MoC area of the Seslip website).  A press release has been prepared and will be shared prior to publication.

Some authorities still need to send through their final sign off document for the MoC (we will communicate directly with individual LAs). For those authorities that have not joined, it is not too late and you would be very welcome. If you have any question please contact Mark Evans (details below).

Please can all the authorities who have joined the MoC communicate the key messages contained in the MoC to their staff. The MoC area of the Seslip website now includes the latest versions of key documents, including the:

Memorandum of Cooperation

PowerPoint for Social Workers

PowerPoint for Managers and HR

Governance Group Draft ToR

Agency Worker Reference

Over the coming months we will be setting up an event for social work agencies and opening discussions with other regions to explore the potential to link with their MoC arrangements.  

Topical Peer Challenge Round 9

Topical Peer Challenge Round 9 is now open. The detailed guidance is available here, and is largely unchanged from previous versions.

Windsor and Maidenhead (topic: Corporate Parenting) will be first in the field on 16 and 17 June

Kent (topic: tba) and Bracknell Forest (topic: LSCB) have also indicated they wish to participate

Southampton, Portsmouth and Medway all have commitments held over from Round 8 (Ofsted, staff changes and other impediments confounded our best laid plans). I look forward to hearing from these colleagues and others about whether or not they wish to join Round 9.

Please contact Richard Tyndall (details below) to register your interest.