UPDATE NO 325 26 October 2018

2018-19 DCS Peer Challenge Arrangements

A full house! We now have a complete set of challenge days booked:

Triad 1 – East Sussex, Surrey and Wokingham on Thursday 28 February 2019

Triad 2 – Kent, Reading and Portsmouth on Monday 4 February 2019

Triad 3 – Hampshire and IoW, Milton Keynes and Slough on Friday 15 February 2019

Traid 4 – Medway, Oxfordshire and Windsor and Maidenhead also on Friday 15 February 2019

Triad 5 – Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire and West Berkshire on Tuesday 26 February 2019

Traid 6 – Bracknell Forest, Southampton and West Sussex on Wednesday 13 February 2019

The data packs for each authority which will inform the peer challenge are now available from the restricted DCS-only section of the website, (filter for “2018”, “Peer Challenge Data Packs” and choose an authority) as is the latest list of improvement asks and offers from each authority (filter for “2018” and “other”). I am still awaiting publishing consent from some colleagues, and extra asks and offers will be added in due course.

Thanks to the 14 colleagues who have signed and returned their MoUs.

For more information please contact Anna Wright or Richard Tyndall (details below).

Detailed arrangements are under way for the peer challenge of self-assessment arrangements that will culminate in the Regional Improvement Summit on 22 March 2019 – please save this date for DCSs and Lead Members.

Also please save the date 30 November 2018 for DCSs and management team members for the regional training and preparation day. The session will be a half-day in the morning. Please contact Anna Wright for more details, and Isabelle Gregory to book your places. Thanks to the 28 delegates from 15 authorities who have already booked places.

Thanks to 17/19  for sharing Annual Conversation letters (still missing Medway and Reading), and only three more self-assessemnts needed for a full set (Medway, Reading, and Surrey awaited); thanks to the other 16 for sharing.

These documents are all available from the restricted DCS-only section of the website (filter for “2018”, “Annual Conversation” or “Self Assessments” and choose an authority)

For access to the restricted area, and to supply further reports, please contact Isabelle Gregory (details below).

Expression of Interest in LGA Pilot Diagnostic

The Local Government Association (LGA) has been commissioned by the Department for Education to develop a series of offers that will build on existing sector led improvement activity that is taking place at a local, regional or national level. Central to this work is the delivery of two new peer review tools:

• A Children’s Financial Diagnostic
• A Children’s Leadership Capacity Diagnostic

The LGA has a track-record of providing successful sector led improvement support for councils around financial services, corporate leadership and children’s services. This experience and expertise will be built upon to develop two diagnostics that will support Councils to drive sustained improvement in their children’s services.

The LGA is also recruiting volunteer peer reviewers as part of this call.

If you are interested in your local authority piloting ether a Children’s Financial Diagnostic or a Children’s Leadership Capacity Diagnostic, or if there are colleagues within your organisation who are interested in being trained as a peer reviewer, please contact richard.cooke@local.gov.uk or beth.speak@local.gov.uk.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST IS REGISTERED BY 2 NOVEMBER 2018.

For more details please download the flyer here.

What Works Centre: Change Programme. Closes 31 October

Apply to become Change Programme partners with the What Works Centre

The What Works Centre invitation says:

We are looking for local authorities or children’s services trusts – either bidding on their own or in collaboration with third sector organisations – that are interested in working with us on this exciting Change Programme. The application process for local authorities or children’s services trusts is now open and we’d like as many as possible to apply:

If you’re interested in responding to the call, you can find more information here: Change Programme pack: information for applicants

To apply please complete the Application Form: Change Programme Partners and email to wwccsc@nesta.org.uk by midday 31st October 2018.

If you have questions please read here: FAQs : Change Programme Projects

For futher information please email wwc-cascade@cardiff.ac.uk and we can arrange for a member of the team to contact you.

We are also hosting a webinar for potential applicants on Monday 15 October and you can register for the webinar here.