UPDATE NO 216 07 October 2016

Self Evaluation Framework 2016

The South East ADCS meeting approved a Self Evaluation Framework including a strong element of Peer Challenge.

The SEF process is open to all local authorities/children’s services trusts in the south east who choose to sign the Memorandum of Understanding. 

Brighton and Hove and Southampton have joined Portsmouth as volunteers to undertake the self-evaluation. West Berkshire, Hampshire/IoW and Oxfordshire or East Sussex have offered themselves as visitors, and Milton Keynes, West Sussex and Windsor and Maidenhead have offered themselves as observers this year. We are in discussion with Surrey about the detail of their offer. 

The template for the Self Evaluation Framework 2016 is available here. Thanks to Southampton, Surrey and West Berkshire for returning signed versions.

To be assigned: Surrey

The training/orientation sessions will be in early 2017, and Anna Wright is canvassing dates in the week begining Monday 23 Jan, please contact her to discuss who should attend, and convenient dates.

For a further discussion about the programme please contact Richard Tyndall (details below) in the first instance.

DfE Knowledge and Skills Statements for Practice Leaders

David Goosey, one of the SESLIP consultants, has adapted a world renowned 360° feedback tool called the Transformation Leadership Questionnaire (TLQ) to include the DfE Knowledge and Skills Statements for Practice Leaders. It is based on the Engaging Leadership model which was developed by the Real World Group (created by the University of Leeds in 2001). This model was applied to help liberate the potential of organisations worldwide, particularly in the public sector.

Click here for more information about Practice Leaders 360

As was shown in longitudinal research (click here for a summary), it is very much a distributed leadership model, and includes a range of leadership behaviours that enhance partnership working, readiness for change and ability to innovate and implement innovations. More specifically, it describes the behaviours, values and attitudes that increase performance through greater employee engagement to create:

• The ability to achieve more with fewer resources
• Reduced job-related stress among employees
• Increased positive attitudes to work among employees (e.g. motivation, commitment, satisfaction, etc)
• Enhanced wellbeing among employees (e.g. self-confidence, self-esteem, etc).

These are increasingly critical skills in the role of Practice Leaders. The adaptation to the TLQ is called the Practice Leaders 360 and is designed to give real feedback on leadership performance against the DfE Knowledge and Skills statements. It is hoped that in future the Practice Leaders 360 will be a vital tool for the accreditation of Practice Leaders.

David is now recruiting 2 or 3 willing Assistant Directors to help pilot this new tool. This would involve using the on-line tool to nominate colleagues, direct reports and others to provide feedback and 1 or 2 free coaching sessions afterwards to review the evidence and recommend adjustments where necessary.

If you are willing to take part in this pilot please contact David (details below).

East Midlands Regional Sector Led Improvement Programme

Pete Chilvers, Programme Manager from East Midlands SLI has written

Please find at this link newsletter 15 of the regional joint-work in the East Midlands to establish sector-led improvement in children’s services. It contains an update of regional peer challenge plus a summary of some current activities and forthcoming events.

In particular you will note two forthcoming seminars with information and circulation on these links

Friday 11^th Nov – A workforce seminar looking at apprenticeships and frameworks

Tuesday 22^nd Nov – CSE Regional Standards and Victim Support

The East Midlands group of CSE Leads meets to review standards and to share practice.  In particular they have helped to create a set of Regional CSE Standards that have been agreed across the East Midlands to underpin and benchmark effective practice.

Topical Peer Challenge Round 9

Dates have now been set for the visit to Kent (Adolescent Support Teams and Edge-of-Care Work) on 9&10 November, and invitations to nominate a team to accompany Kim Drake have gone out this week.

Other visits are as follows: Bracknell Forest (LSCB) 26&27 January 2017; Medway (CiN) November tbc; Portsmouth (CSE) 28&29 November 2016; Southampton (tbc); West Sussex (MASH) dates tba; Windsor and Maidenhead (Corporate Parenting) 14&15 November 2016.

The planning grid is begining to fill up with confirmed names and dates. I look forward to receiving further confirmations from colleagues involved.

I am also recruiting volunteers (thanks to Julie Davies, Hampshire) who would like to go on my “reserve list” of potential Peer Challenge visitors that I can call on to fill vacancies on the planned grid. If you would like to be considered for this list, please contact Richard Tyndall (details below).

Leadership Development

We recently saw the conclusion of two days of Step up to Leadership training delivered in Southampton. Feedback quotes included: 

“Training was excellent extremely practical with ideas to take forward with teams.”; “Very many helpful tools.”; “Useful to assist in my own time management and for my staff.”

We continue to offer our successful portfolio ofLeadership Development Courses all of which have been positively evaluated by delegates.

This year we have added a new course recently piloted in Hampshire and IoW. The senior team attended a one-day Coaching to Improve Performance workshop to ensure the Directorate were fully conversant with the training undertaken by their three cohorts of managers on two-day programme and to develop their own coaching skills to use in their own performance management roles.

We are also offering LAs the opportunity to train their own trainers for all our courses. Our aim is to increase the capacity and capability across the region  to ensure future sustainability within LAs.

A new departure for us has been running these training courses for adult services and for schools so please contact Di Smith, details below, if this is of interest to you. 

All courses are run in-house in the LA who provides the venue. Each course is accompanied by a range of training resources for the delegates including a comprehensive handbook. The current courses on offer are as follows and details of each course and the costs for each can be found by downloading the April 2016 Leadership Development Prospectus. 

Coaching to Improve Performance

Embedding a Coaching Culture

Leading Change in Times of Austerity

Step Up to Leadership   

We can also arrange one-to-one coaching, especially to support newly appointed 2nd and 3rd tier managers

If you require further details or wish to book a course please get in touch with Di Smith (contact details below)