UPDATE NO 328 16 November 2018

Self-Assessment and Peer Challenge Training Event Friday 30 November

The training and preparation day for February’s Peer Challenge events will be held on the morning of Friday 30 November at Easthampstead Park. Thank you to the 40 delegates who have registered with Isabelle Gregory (contact details below).

We have now had positive responses from everyone, and we look forward to seeing colleagues at the end of the month. We understand that events can get in the way of attending sessions like this. We already know of one Ofsted inspection that has landed on this date. Isabelle (contact details below) is on hand to help you react to your circumstances and to make sure that one way or another we accommodate as many colleagues as possible.

The event will be led by Anna Wright and will take colleagues through the steps involved with producing a self assessment; getting independent feedback on it from the SESLIP team; sharing it with colleagues from your triad; how the challenge day will work; what the Regional Improvement Plan will contain; and its publication at the Regional Imprpvement Summit on Friday 22 March.

You will meet your triad partners, and colleagues from the SESLIP team.

Self-assessments by Friday 14 December and Independent Commentary “opt-in”

Rebecca Eligon, one of the SESLIP consultants, contact details below, has read all the 2017-18 self-assessments shared via the DCS-only restricted access page of the SESLIP website (please contact Isabelle, details below, for help with accessing this page).

This report was discussed at a recent Directors’ meeting and it was decided that we would encourage each authority to choose its own format for producing the 2018-19 self-assessments. Rebecca has some excellent insights into what makes a readable and accessible self-assessment document, and is available for one-to-one consultation with colleagues who are charged with creating these self-assessments. Please contact her direct to discuss the core content; the format; the things to avoid and other top tips.

Part of the SESLIP support for this process will be the offer of an independent commentary on your draft 2018-19 self-assessment, as long as you have contributed a draft by Friday 14 December. This commentary will include a sense-check against the latest data (SESLIP Data Profiles for each authority are avauilable from the DCS-only restricted access page of the SESLIP website) as well as other constructive feedback. This will be timetable to allow you make any further amemdments ahead of circulation to triad partners in January. This is an “opt-in” process, and Isabelle has written to all DCSs asking them to confirm their choice.

Regional Improvement Plan 2091-20

After the Triad Challenge days, SESLIP staff will compile the Regional Improvement Plan for 2019-20, including such activities as regional networks; paired support of asks and offers; coaching; mentoring; Partner-in-Practice; topical peer challenges.

The Plan will be launched at the Regional Improvement Summit on Friday 22 March. 

The “trial-run” 2018-19 version of the Regional Improvement Plan and v3 of the “asks-and-offers” document are currently available at the DCS-only restricted access page of the SESLIP website (please contact Isabelle, details below, for help with accessing this page).

We are still in the proto-type phase of developing the Regional Improvement Plan and we welcome feedback on these documents as we begin to think about the style and format of the 2019-20 public versions.

Please contact Richard Tyndall (details below)  if you have any observations.

Diary Dates for 2019-20 Regional Improvement Planning

30 November – Training day at Easthampstead Park. 

14 December 2018 – submission of draft 2018-19 self-assessments

late Dec-to-early Jan – SESLIP independent commentary of draft self-assessments (opt-in service, please confirm with Isabelle)

mid-to-late Jan – self-assessments finalised and shared with traid partners

February – triad challenge days – see opposite

late Feb-to-early Mar – SESLIP team draft 2019-20 Regional Improvement Plan

22 March – Regional Improvement Summit

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

Triad 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

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

Please contact Isabelle Gregory (details below) for detailed information for these events.

Complex LAC and Edge of Care Project – Progress Report

We’ve had a strong positive response to the project and Lucy Butler, (project sponsor and DCS Oxfordshire) met with Mark Evans and Rosemary Perry recently. Lucy was delighted with the progress and outcomes of the project so far and she will share further detail with colleagues at the SE ADCS meeting on 7 December 2018. 

We have now input completed data from 8 authorities, amounting to 529 cases; we have three more authorities currently dealing with queries, and data from a further authority expected next week.  Once all this data is collected, we will have about 800 cases from which to draw our conclusions, which is very significant in terms of understanding patterns and predicting need for our most complex children. 

Lucy and Mark are due to meet with the DfE later this month to share our methodology and understand more about how the DfE are planning to release funding next year to support the development of regional commissioning hubs.  Lucy is also keen that we use this data to start discussions with providers about the market and how they can be involved in planning for the future.  Both of these will be discussed further with DCSs at the meeting on 7 December.

We are busy planning for the next feedback session in London on 18 January 2019, involving all those colleagues who have participated in the project so far; our initial thoughts are that we will have a feedback document for each authority and also an overall document which starts to build a needs based planning document for future commissioning.

We would like to put on record our thanks for the excellent engagement we have had from everyone involved in the project; we recognise that people are really busy but, in finding to complete the documentation to a high standard, they clearly feel that this is worthwhile exercise which will deliver comprehensive information to help us plan for future service delivery.

For further information please contact Mark Evans or Rosemary Perry (details below).

National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) – Wednesday 28 November

Rachel Lad, NNECL Co-ordinator, writes,

I am contacting you on behalf of the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL).  We are a network for staff in FE, HE and local authorities supporting children in care and care leavers to succeed in education.

I am emailing to ask for your support promoting our annual conference which will be taking place on Wednesday 28 November at the University of Birmingham.

This year’s focus is Wellbeing and Belonging with a range of workshops and speakers.

Conference key note speakers and workshop contributors include:

• Care Leavers Covenant update from Spectra First
• Office for Students
• Become
• National Teaching and Advisory Service
• British Association of Social Workers
• The Care Leavers’ Association
• University of Wolverhampton
• Leeds Beckett University
• University of Salford
• Aimhigher London

Tickets are £95 per delegate including lunch.  Full conference details including the programme and workshop list can be found on the NNECL website

Membership – New for 2018

We have launched a membership scheme for FE and HE institutions and local authorities wishing to support our work. As part of membership, we are offering a 30% discount on the conference fee for all staff in member institutions.  Find out the other benefits of becoming an organisational member of NNECL here.

Sexual Assault and Abuse Services Conference – Thursday 22 November

Angjela Nikaj of the DfE Child Protection team writes, 

Following the April 2018 launch of the Strategic Direction for Sexual Assault and Abuse Services (SAAS), the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, NHS England and Public Health England are hosting this event on Thursday 22 November 2018 to discuss what the SAAS means for you and your organisation and to progress the key actions needed by 2023 to improve service provision for those who have suffered sexual assault and abuse. 

As part of this, attendees will hear examples of good practice and work in progress from across the country, explore collaborative ways of working and identify opportunities and challenges to ensure we continue to make timely and effective progress over the next five years.

Aims of the event

• To discuss and explore what the SAAS means for you and your organisation.
• To provide an update and share best practice on the work already underway to support delivery of the six core priorities.
• To discuss and explore collaborative ways of working, as well as opportunities and challenges to help ensure that we continue to make timely and effective progress on these priorities over the next five years.

Please contact Angjela Nikaj of the DfE Child Protection team for more information.