UPDATE NO 381 06 December 2019

Newsletters If you would like to know more about these workstreams or the others in the Programme, click on the main section icons shown above. At SESLIP we are always on the look-out for good ideas that might be better implemented regionally rather than locally. If you have any suggestions, please contact Richard Tyndall, SESLI […]

Three children playing happily together

Newsletters

If you would like to know more about these workstreams or the others in the Programme, click on the main section icons shown above.

At SESLIP we are always on the look-out for good ideas that might be better implemented regionally rather than locally. If you have any suggestions, please contact Richard Tyndall, SESLI Programme Manager (details below). 

Our Regional Improvement Plan for 2019-20 can be found here.

UPDATE NO 381 06 December 2019

Programme:

Judicial Appeal in Relation to the use of Secure Accommodation

Update:

In B (Secure Accommodation Order), Re (Rev 1)[2019] EWCA Civ 2025 Lord Justice Baker allowed an appeal by an unnamed local authority against HHJ Hayes’s refusal of its application for a secure accommodation order under s.25 of the Children Act 1989 for ‘B’.

“The context in which this appeal is being considered is what can fairly be described as the crisis in the provision of secure accommodation in England and Wales,” Baker LJ said.

More information is available here

Action Required:

The Court of Appeal judge said the case raised four important and overlapping questions on the interpretation of s.25:

  • What is the meaning of “secure accommodation” in s.25?
  • What are the relevant criteria for making a secure accommodation order under s.25?
  • What part does the evaluation of welfare play in the court’s decision?
  • When considering an application for an order under s.25, is the court obliged, under Articles 5 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to carry out an evaluation of proportionality?

Programme:

ASGLB Making Better Use of Data Workshops

Update:

The ASGLB is undertaking a review of whether we are making good use of all the data that is already collected in relation to children in care, and in particular with respect to special guardianship and adoption.

To provide a framework for the review, they have drafted a Data Model to provide a structure for their thinking. This is intended to address both adoption and special guardianship with respect to children who are taken into care. This Model is split into three themes:

  1. Permanency Planning – are appropriate permanence plans for children in place in a timely manner?
  2. Securing Permanency – is permanency achieved for a child without unnecessary delay?
  3. Maintaining Permanency – once permanency is achieved, are we maintaining it so that children are able to thrive?

Action Required:

As part of this review ASGLB are running three workshops which will be held at Coram Campus, London WC1N 1AZ on:

  • 18 December 2019 (Permanency Planning) – book here
  • 31 January 2020 (Securing Permanency) – book here
  • 14 February 2020 (Maintaining Permanency) – book here

The ASGLB want these workshops to be attended by people who can help them define the Data model as well as those who are familiar with the data currently. For more information follow the links provided above.

Reminders from previous weeks

Programme:

Frontline Blueprint for Children’s Social Care

Update:

Social work charity Frontline and the Centre for Public Impact, a not-for-profit foundation focused on government innovation, have launched a blueprint outlining a new model for children’s social care.

The model puts relationships over bureaucracy and provides a potential path for how a local authorities could do children’s social care differently. In the longer term, this model hopes to promote a more sustainable system, with social workers spending more time with families and standards improving through increased supervision and transparency. With the aim of increasing the quality of care, help families stay together safely and reduce the number of children going into care.

Action Required:

The aims of the blueprint are:

  • For social workers to spend c.60% more time with children and families and a 20% reduction in average caseloads
  • Social workers who are empowered to make decisions for children and families, while maintaining access to support, expert advice and supervision via their peers and a dedicated team of advanced practitioners

More details are here, the full report is here

Programme:

The impact of county lines on youth crime

Update:

Dr Paul Andell, senior criminology lecturer, and John Pitts, visiting professor of criminology at the University of Suffolk explore, through local research, young people’s gang involvement and subsequent engagement with the national and international drugs trade.

This article describes a Rapid Assessment Exercise commissioned by a local authority to inform an evidence-based multi-agency response to the involvement of vulnerable children and younger adolescents in illicit drug trafficking. The research was commissioned by a local authority in an English County Town. 

The article is published by Youth and Policy a critical space for the discussion of youth policy and youth work theory and practice. 

Action Required:

The researchers analysed relevant quantitative data held by social welfare, health, educational and criminal justice agencies. Interviews were conducted with professionals from these agencies and three key informants previously involved in the illicit drugs trade. Two focus groups were conducted with professionals and three with gang-involved and gang-affected children and young people. The quotations in this article were all derived from these individual interviews and focus groups.  The article considers whether the emergence of this problem is simply a result of local contingencies or whether it represents an instance, and a moment, in the evolution and transformation of, the English street gang and the ‘County Lines’ model of drug distribution. In an attempt to answer this question the article considers three models of gang and drug market evolution and assesses their relevance to developments in the Town.

The article is here

Programme:

AD Education Network – next meeting Friday 24 January 2020. Please note the change of date.

Update:

The next meeting of the AD Education Networ will be on Friday 24th January 2020 – 10.30-12.30.

For more details of this meeting and the AD Education Network activity please click here or contact Chris Owen (details below).

Action Required:

The following dates have also been fixed: 

  • 6 March 2020 – Joint meeting with SEND Network with a focus on the inclusion and achievement of vulnerable learners at SEN support
  • 5 June 2020                
  • 25 September 2020

Programme:

Complex LAC Project – Hold the date Friday 17 January 2020

Update:

The Complex LAC Project is reaching an important stage and we will be holding an event in Central London on Friday 17 January 2020. There will be two parts to the day: 

Part 1 9.30-13.30 – DCS and Chief Financial Officers session – We would like to invite a representative group of Directors and Senior Finance Officers to join with the Complex LAC steering group (which includes chief executives from provider umbrella organisations ICHA and NAFP) to a meeting to explore the business case and potential options for more collaborative commissioning across the region. The meeting will explore opportunities for how we could gain better value for the £200+million spent annually purchasing and providing the most expensive looked after children placements.

If you would like to attend this session please contact Mark Evans (details below).

Action Required:

Part 2 14.00-17.00 – Premiere of the South East Looked After Children Film – As part of the Complex LAC Project we have worked in partnership with The Care Leaders to co-produce a film in which 19 young people from 5 SE authorities have been working together to highlight the perspectives of children who have experienced care. Collectively they have planned, interviewed and directed films to provide those who provide care with motivational media that highlight their experience with a view to identifying how we can improve placements and support for young people. This part of the day is open to Lead Members for Children’s Services, Directors of Children’s ServicesSenior Leaders for Looked After Children’s ServicesFoster CarersResidential WorkersCommissioners and others who are committed to improving services for young people.  Ticketing will be via the Eventbrite platform.

If you would like more information ahead of the Eventbrite notification please contact Mark Evans (details below).

Tools & Templates

We have produced a Regional Improvement Plan which will underpin activities in 2019-20.

ADCS 2019 Elective Home Education Survey published 19 November 2019

The NSPCC had published an evaluation of Together for Childhood 8 November 2019

Learning from the Safeguarding Early Adopter Programme was published by NCB on 8 November 2019

Further Education Pathways – securing a successful and healthy life after education published by EPI on 7 November 2019

DfE Children in Need and Children Subject to Child Protection Plans Statistics published 7 November 2019

Condition Improvement Fund: Information for academies, sixth-form colleges and non-diocesan Voluntary Aided (VA) schools updated 4 November 2019

Social care questionnaires 2019: what children and young people told Ofsted published 1 November 2019

PE and sport premium for primary schools updated 1 November 2019

Use of children’s social care data at the local and regional area level published by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory 1 November 2019

DfE Children in Need and Children Subject to Child Protection Plans Statistics published 31 October 2019

Early years funding benchmarking tool updated 31 October 2019

Public Health England has published a summary report and outputs from a review of evidence for universal approaches to improving children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Published 30 October 2019

Independent evaluation of EYFS Profile pilot of the reforms published by the EEF on 24 October 2019.

Back to School? Breaking the link between school exclusions and knife crime APPG on Knife Crime report published 24 October 2019

The use of Facebook in social work practice with children and families: exploring complexity in an emerging practice Authors:  &  Published 22 October 2019

Key stage 4 performance, 2019 (provisional) and A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (provisional) and Early years foundation stage profile results: 2018 to 2019 and Destinations of KS4 and 16 to 18 (KS5) students: 2018 Published 17 October 2019

The House of Commons Education Select Committee report on SEND Published 16 October 2019

‘Exploring moving to home education in secondary schools’ Ofsted report published 15 October 2019

Digital capabilities for social workers SCIE report published 14 October 2019

SEND Inspection Preparation: Self Evaluation Framework Peer Review Guidance

The MoC area of the Seslip website now includes the latest versions of key documents, including the:

Contact Details

Data Benchmarking: Luke Ede (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

Luke.ede@eastsussex.gov.uk

07925 148597

LGA Children’s Improvement Adviser: Helen Watson (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

helen.watson5@icloud.com

07810 011892

Education Network: Chris Owen (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

chris@bright-spark.net

07825 862330

SESLIP Education Data Group Lead: Daryl Perilli (Brighton and Hove)

Daryl.Perilli@brighton-hove.gov.uk

South East Grid for Learning – Consortium Manager: Krista Pickering (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

krista.pickering@segfl.org.uk

07872 014083

SESLIP Consultant: Isabelle Gregory (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

isabelle@firstcareconsultancy.co.uk

07931 586784

CSC Workforce, PSW and AD Safeguarding Network Lead: Mark Evans (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

Mark@markevansconsulting.co.uk

07803 147072

Adoption; Fostering; Kinship and Early Help Regional Networks: Rebecca Eligon (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

rebeccaeligon@gmail.com

07944 996219

SESLI Programme Manager: Richard Tyndall (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

richard.tyndall@richardtyndall.co.uk

07880 787007

S.E. Region SEND Network Programme Co-ordinator: Sheelagh Sullivan (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

sheelagh.sullivan@outlook.com