UPDATE NO 342 08 March 2019

LGA Publication – A councillor’s workbook on engaging with young people

This workbook has been designed as a learning aid for councillors to assist them with the effective engagement of young people and the organisations representing them within their ward. The workbook provides some signposting and ideas around the engagement of young people rather than it being a step by step guide as such. 

More information at the LGA web page for this project

Like so many areas of modern life, the methods of communication, the fora with which young people engage and the organisations representing them are often much more fluid and dynamic than for other aspects of the population. Developments in social media and the technology used by young people are ever changing, and risk being out of date as soon as they are captured in print. So this workbook is intended to highlight some key approaches and options around effective engagement for councillors

Falling through the gaps – new research into care leavers’ experiences

Falling through the gaps, a new report published by the Innovation Unit, reveals key insights about the experiences of care leavers leaving prison, and the opportunities and challenges they face following release. 

The report identifies SIX KEY INSIGHTS

1. A combination of factors result in care leavers having a higher risk of reoffending on release than non-care leavers.
2. Fragmented and uncoordinated support and intervention from social care and rehabilitation services results in increased vulnerability.
3. There are different practice frameworks and cultures which means that there is no shared philosophy about how care leavers should be supported.
4. The experience of prison, and the label of being an offender, is a barrier to effective rehabilitation.
5. There are not enough resources to meet care leavers needs.
6. Despite system conditions, there are pockets of good practice.

South East Grid for Learning

Heather Hadfield, Consortium Manager at SEGfL, writes:

SEGfL has been involved in a recent Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) pilot to connect up hard to reach rural schools through a fund from DCMS. A few schools in East Sussex and Kent were eligible under the pilot criteria and are now upgrading their broadband to gigabit connections enabling them to embrace the newest technologies as well as opening up their communities to full fibre connections. 

More information can be found here including a list of the schools taking part.

Heather’s contact details are in the panel below. 

SE19 and AD Education Network Joint Meeting 5 April 2019: 10.30-3.30

Alison Rendle and Tracey Maytas (contact detauls below) have been planning for a joint education/SEND workshop on Friday 5 April.  The programme will cover

• SEND strategic high needs review and budget
• Building capacity for inclusion in mainstream schools and colleges
• Place planning and regional commissioning
• 16-19/16-25 provision

We have planned a full day agenda with an opportunity to learn from colleagues and to explore opportunities for joint working.  We hope that each local authority will send two representatives to the meeting – your strategic leads for education and for SEND.  The event will be held in central London.

Please contact Alison or Tracey to indicate who will be representing your local authority at this workshop.

Educational Isolation – the challenges for coastal and rural schools

If you work in an area with coastal or rural schools you may find recently-published research report of interest.  It considers a range of factors including the quality of the workforce and availability of school improvement support and makes recommendations for policy makers.

This report should be cited as: Ovenden-Hope, T. and Passy, R. (2019) Educational Isolation: a challenge for schools in England, Plymouth: Plymouth Marjon University and University of Plymouth

It can be accessed at www.marjon.ac.uk/educational-isolation or www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/education/coastal-schools-and-educational-isolation 

2019-20 Regional Improvement Plan

Following four successful Triad peer challenge sessions, work has begun to finalise the SESLIP Regional Improvement Plan.

It will be signed off by the SESLIP Steering Group meeting on 15 March and launched at the SEADCS Branch meeting on Friday 22 March.

East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Slough, Southampton, Surrey, West Berkshire and Windsor and Maidenhead 2019 self-assessments have been uploaded onto DCS-only area of website. We look forward to receiving Ofsted Annual Conversation letters as when they are available for circulation here.

For access to this page please consult your DCS or Isabelle Gregory (details below).

Triad 1 – East Sussex, Surrey and Wokingham on Thursday 28 February 2019

Triad 2 – Kent, West Sussex and Portsmouth on 8 May 2019 tba

Triad 3 – Hampshire, 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 – Southampton, Bracknell Forest and Reading on 10 April 2019

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

Early Help – Developing an effective local offer – LGA event on 19 March 2019

This LGA event will see the launch of research from the Isos Partnership into effective early help offers. You can learn more about how practice is developing  while also exploring how early help could evolve in future.

Attention has recently focussed on “what works” in children’s social care, with a focus on the effectiveness of early help. However, less attention has been focussed on the wider contextual factors that support the effective delivery of these services locally.

The LGA commissioned the Isos Partnership to review the implementation of early help, working with a sample of local areas to understand the factors that help the development of local partnership offers and how to overcome barriers.

For local areas considering how to develop their own early help offers (including universal, targeted and specialist provision) both now and in the future, this event is an opportunity to explore how these services are delivered in practical terms –for example ways to effectively integrate early help across different services and agencies, how to build the confidence and resilience of partners, and how to harness the capacity of communities.

With considerable funding pressures throughout the public sector, the event will also consider what the current experience of early help delivery can tell us about potential “next practice” as services continue to develop and evolve over the coming years.

More details are here

South East Strategic Partnership for Migration (SESPM) UASC group – 29 March 2019

South East Strategic Partnership for Migration (SESPM) UASC group invites LA reps responsible for UASC to attend a strategic leads meeting.  The purpose of this meeting is

• For SESPM to communicate effectively relevant updates and information from the Home Office regards UASC.  
• Share good practice, to strengthen and build consistency across the region.
• Identify strategies to overcome barriers and pressures; providing practice examples to inform future policy and decision making.
• Data sharing to assist in identifying patterns of movement across the region. 
• Consider the needs to EU national children in LA care applying for settled status post Brexit.

The first meeting will be held 1.30-3.30pm on 29 March 2019 at Mary Sumner House, 24 Tufton Street, Westminster, London  SW1P 3RB.  This meeting follows our executive board meeting, where there will be a networking lunch provided between 12.45-1.30pm, please feel free to join us. 

Please respond to sarahspain@secouncils.gov.uk to confirm attendance.