UPDATE NO 436 15 January 2021

Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak

The DfE has updated its guidance (14 January 2021) in the publication Restricting attendance during the national lockdown: schools Guidance for all schools in England January 2021.

Also available What to do if a pupil is displaying symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19)

This guidance includes new information on:

• Attendance – including confirmation of who should attend (including in alternative provision and special schools) and how attendance should be recorded
• Testing – including confirmation that the testing programme can continue in secondary schools
• Workforce – including advice for those who are extremely clinically vulnerable
• Free School Meals
• Educational visits – confirmation that no visits should take place during this period
• Remote education – including further information on remote education expectationsAccountability expectations – including inspections, exams and assessments

Take Your Place – the future leaders programme for the South East

Common myths about leadership: why it is good for you and how your leadership can reduce stress for others 

Date: 1^st March 2020 14.00-16.30 online workshop (MS Teams)

Target Audience: Service Managers, Heads of Service and other 3^rd tier managers working in Children’s Services (including children’s social care, education, and other services) in the South East 

Cost: There are no additional fees for this training, it is being provided as part of your authority’s subscription to the SESLI Programme

Booking: The course will be limited to 20 participants and places can be booked by contacting Mark Evans (details below)

Overview – This workshop has been created following research completed for SESLIP to identify the learning needs of future leader of children’s services across the South East. The workshop will explore: 

• Fears people have about leadership and how to allay them: why being a leader can reduce your stress 
• Experiences of leadership in the context of the pandemic and what it has shown us: 
• How leaders can try to reduce stress for others 
• Reflections from children’s services leaders in the region 

The workshop will be delivered by Alison Jeffery (DCS Portsmouth) and Lucy Butler (DCS West Sussex) supported by SESLIP.  It will also include opportunities for group work.

WWCSC – Unlocking the facts: young people referred to secure children’s homes

In December 2020, What Works for Children’s Social Care published Unlocking the facts: young people referred to secure children’s homes. The report provides a picture of young people in England referred to secure accommodation for welfare reasons – their pathways; their placement in either a secure children’s home or alternative accommodation; and their outcomes following referral. 

The report makes five recommendations, the summary report is here. The full report is here.

Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs) in the UK are licensed to deprive young people referred to them by court of their liberty.  Young people placed in SCHs are either sentenced or on remand through the justice system or placed due to local authority concerns that a young person is a serious risk to themselves or others.  At present SCHs lack sufficient capacity to provide a place for all young people referred to them for welfare reasons. When this happens, local authorities must provide an alternative accommodation that meets the young person’s needs and keeps them safe. With little knowledge of the experiences of young people from England who receive a secure order for welfare reasons, this study set out to explore and compare similarities and differences between the journeys and outcomes of young people placed in SCHs and those housed in an alternative accommodation.   

Ombudsman urges councils to scrutinise services for children in care

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is highlighting the experiences of children in the care system – and the difficulties they face when councils get things wrong.

In a new report published in December, the Ombudsman is sharing the cases of children who have been let down by the very authorities who should be looking after their interests.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“Each case highlighted in this report is a case too many, and reflects the real life experiences of some of the most vulnerable in our society.
“While these cases reflect a time before the Covid-19 pandemic, we know the system is under even more pressure today. Although the councils’ actions in these cases were disappointing, we want to drive home the importance of learning from mistakes. In doing so this can help avoid repetitions and improve the lives and opportunities for all children in care.
“I am issuing this report so councils providing children’s services can use the learning and reflect on their procedures and processes. At every turn, I invite them to ask themselves, ‘would this be good enough for my child?’”

Ofqual consultation on alternative arrangements for summer 2021 exams.

Ofqual says, 

“The impact of the pandemic means that, in line with the approach set out for GCSEs, AS and A levels, it is the Department’s policy position that external exams for many vocational, technical and other general qualifications should not take place as planned” 

Alternative arrangements for the award of VTQs and other general qualifications in 2021 Approach to awarding qualifications where exams do not take place

This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 29 January 2021

Through this joint consultation, Ofqual and the Department for Education want to hear the views of students who were due to take their exams, their parents and carers, their teachers, school and college leaders and others who have an interest, including further and higher education providers, and employers. The consultation covers general and vocational qualifications, with this document focusing on the latter.

More information is here. The responses are being collected online here

Future dates for Network meetings

AD Safeguarding: Friday 12 March 2021 –  for more information from Mark Evans (contact details below)

QA Network: Wednesday 10 March 2021. Confidential documents have been posted on the QA restricted pages – access to these pages and more information from Diane Williamson (contact details below)

Fostering Network: 10.30am Thursday 28 January. More information from Rebecca Eligon (contact details below)

SEND SE19: More information from Tracey Maytas (contact details below)

Data Benchmarking: Thursday 11 March 2021 More information from Alastair Lee (contact details below)

AD Education: Friday 29 January 2021 – 1.30pm – 3.30pm – more information from Chris Owen (contact details below)

Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board: Tuesday 19 January 2021. More information from Rebecca Eligon (contact details below)

Ed Tech Demonstrator Programme

“Over the last term we have aggregated activities through a number of LAs in England (inc Portsmouth in the SE) and provided a more bespoke collection of webinars depending on local need. 

“We are planing on doing the same this term for areas that have not taken part yet. The funding for the programme runs until the end of March so time is running out to ensure schools and colleges have taken advantage of this opportunity. Full details can be found here. 

“If you would like to talk about a local authority wide strategy or have any questions, please contact me as I am the regional lead for the SE.

“Best to contact me using the details below or at heather.hadfield@lgfl.net.

“Schools can individually take part by completing a simple form here

“Kind regards, Heather”

NPIMG and NCER Strategic Use of Data event 4 Feb 2021

Alastair Lee (contact details below) writes

“Please save the date (4 February 2021) for the 2021 Strategic Use of Data in Children’s Services Conference – Social Care Data –

“NPIMG  and NCER in Partnership with the LGA 

“The NPIMG (the Children’s Services National Performance and Information Management Group), it’s project Data to Insight, and the NCER (the LA owned education data analysis provider) will be hosting an online conference between 14:00 and 16:50 on 4^th February 2021 where we will be discussing ways councils can make better use of education and social care data and analysis tools already available to them to support policy development and decision making. 

“Please click here to book a place at the conference.

“The event is free to all ADCS members, local authority senior officers, performance and information managers with responsibility for, or interest in, education services and school improvement, virtual schools, children’s social care, looked after children or children in need.

“We have worked closely with the NCER to present a showcase of the work of Data to Insight alongside the NCER’s development of their tools and analysis. It will be a fast paced event covering a lot of ground and in particular for the NPIMGData to Insight covers how we work at a national level, how our community can be used to support developments and how our tools (e.g. the ChAT) can help add value to the data we already use.”

2021 Strategic Use of Data in Children’s Services Tickets, Thu 4 Feb 2021 at 14:00 | Eventbrite