UPDATE NO 514 15 July 2022

New SESLIP MoU issued

On 1 July, SESLIP Steering Group issued a new Memorandum of Understanding. This reflects extended agreements on data benchmarking on a national basis. Thanks to Portsmouth for returning the first signed copy, available here.

We ask the Director of Children’s Services, the Chief Executive and the Lead Member for Children’s Services for each authority to sign this document to symbolise the professional, corporate and political commitment to joint working in the interests of promoting better outcomes for children and young people.

KS2 national headlines for 2022

On 5 July DfE published Key Stage 2 attainment 2022 national headlines

59% of pupils met the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths, down from 65% in 2019, the last year of publication.

The full tables are here

LG Ombudsman publishes Out of school, out of sight?

On 7 July the Local Government Ombudsman published Out of school, out of sight? about children unable to attend school, due to medical needs, exclusion or ‘otherwise’ and cases found against LAs provision of ‘suitable education’.

The report calls for LAs to work with schools and parents about these provisions and to keep the education offered under regular review. It says “The key learning point we want to highlight in this report is that the local council has the duty to arrange alternative education, not the school a child attends.”

The full report is here

HoC Ed Select Committee report – Educational Poverty: how children in residential care have been let down and what to do about it

On 8 July, the HoC Education Select Committee published “Educational Poverty: how children in residential care have been let down and what to do about it”. 

The report is very critical of current arrangements that result in about 7% of care leavers achieving level 5 or above in English GCSE and ending of pupil premium at 16 contributes to a post-16 cliff edge for these young people. 

There are 3 recommendations:

1. End the culture of impunity: hold schools accountable for refusing to admit looked-after children and introduce sanctions for schools who block admissions from looked-after children.
2. Extend Pupil Premium Plus funding beyond age 16 to ensure looked-after pupils are receiving the support they deserve to do well throughout their education.
3. Roll out Staying Close nationally, as the Minister agrees that it has produced very good evidence (including from a pilot in Portsmouth)

The press release is here. A summary is here. The full report is here.

Future dates for network meetings

Lead Members Group: Friday 22 July 10.00am.  More from Alison Michalska (contact details below)

Data Benchmarking: Tuesday 15 September 10:00am More from Alastair Lee (contact details below)

Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board: Wednesday 20 July 10.30am-12noon More from Rebecca Eligon (contact details below)

AD Education: Friday 14 October 10:00am. More from Chris Owen (contact details below)

AD Safeguarding: Friday 9 September 10:00am. More from Mark Evans (contact details below)

QA Network: Wednesday 14 September at 2pm. More from Amanda Meadows (contact details below)

Fostering Network: Wednesday 19 October 10-11.30am More from Rebecca Eligon (contact details below)

SEND SE19: Wednesday 20 July 2022 12-13:30 Joint Conversation: LAs, Health, DfE, NHSE/I & NNPCF. More from Sheelagh Sullivan (contact details below)

Early Help: Monday 12 September 1.30pm. More from Rebecca Eligon (contact details below)

Family Hubs Community of Practice: Governance and commissioning workshop via Teams Tuesday 19 July 9.20 – 11.30. More from Carly Bain (contact details below) 

Where have all the workers gone? blogpost from Lucy Butler

On 1 July ADCS published “Where have all the workers gone?” a blogpost written by Lucy Butler (DCS West Sussex)

The post starts, “Is it me, is it the South-East, but have all the workers disappeared? And when I ask where have all the workers gone, I am not just meaning social workers, but I will get on to those … ” read on here

UK Trauma Council guide to brain changes following child trauma

On 1 July, UK Trauma Council published CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, THE BRAIN AND THE SOCIAL WORLD by Eamon McCrory Professor of Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology, UCL and Co-Director, UK Trauma Council

The guide illustrates the importance of social relationships for mental health and explains that children with a history of maltreatment could face social difficulties such as bullying. Recommendations include: prioritising the social experience of children and providing support for parents, carers and professionals.

The full report is here

Sharp rise in children with special needs approaching councils for support

On 29 June LGA released a press statement on the rise in demands on English council’s SEND services. It was based on the latest EHC plan figures published by the DfE and statistics from 2014

The number of children in England approaching councils for special needs support has increased by almost a quarter in a year, latest figures reveal, with 170 young people now starting support plans each day.

There are now nearly half a million children and young people (473,255) on ECH plans – an increase of over 100 per cent since eligibility for SEND support was extended in 2014 to people aged 16-25.

Staffing crisis in children’s homes – ICHA

On 27 June ICHA published its 2022 State of the Sector report. It warns of a staffing crisis- children’s homes are facing the highest level of staff turnover on record

Large providers have been worst hit by high staff turnover compared with smaller providers, it adds, noting that 17 per cent of large respondents reported levels of staff turnover below 10 per cent compared with 21 per cent of small providers.  High staff turnover contributes to “challenges faced by providers and the sector-wide barriers to improving sufficiency”, Peter Sandiford, chief executive of the ICHA said.

The full report is here

Schools causing concern – revised guidance from DfE

On 30 June DfE published revised guidance for local authorities and regional directors on Schools Causing Concern which will come into force on 1 September 2022

This statutory guidance sets out what schools and local authorities must do to comply with the law. You should follow the guidance unless you have a very good reason not to. The document marked ‘from 1 September 2022’ is updated guidance which will take effect from that date. This follows the recent consultation on supporting schools that are not making necessary improvements.

Local authority school places scorecards: academic year 2020/21

On 30 June DfE published Local authority school places scorecards for 2020/21 which display a snapshot of the progress each local authority across England is making towards ensuring there are sufficient good quality school places.

You can view the progress for England as a whole or for any individual local authority. To do this click on LA scorecards

Updated guidance for virtual school head role extension to children with a social worker

On 30 June DfE published updated guidance on virtual school head role extension to children with a social worker

DfE have updated the Promoting the education of children with a social worker: virtual school head role extension guidance, Virtual school head role extension: grant determination letter and the Virtual school head role extension: memorandum of understanding.