UPDATE NO 435 08 January 2021

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.

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

Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak

The DfE has updated its guidance (7 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

SoS Education statement to Parliament 6 January 2021

Naomi Alderson, External Affairs Manager DfE, writes,

“The Education Secretary has, on 6 January, given a statement to Parliament on closure of education settings during national lockdown. A written version of the speech and the accompanying press notice are both available on GOV.UK.

“Sector guidance will be updated shortly in line with the Education Secretary’s statement. We will share this with you once available.

“We have also published a blog containing a Q&A on school closures, remote learning, critical workers and nurseries.

“Please do also follow DfE’s Twitter and Facebook for more information as it becomes available.

“Critical workers

“Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4 January of a national lockdown, only children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker and vulnerable children and young people should attend school or college. All other pupils and students will receive remote education.

“The department has published a list of critical workers and vulnerable children and young people who can access full-time education provision.

“We’re incredibly grateful for your support. Please do continue to share relevant messaging, guidance and assets with your audiences and through your channels.

“As ever, we welcome your thoughts, comments and feedback. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.

“Best wishes, Naomi“

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”

Future dates for Network meetings

AD Safeguarding: Friday 5 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: 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)

COVID-19: mental health and wellbeing surveillance report – Chapter 7 CYP

Andrea King (contact details below) writes,

“The COVID-19 impact on CYP MH analysis was updated and released on 17 December

“COVID-19 and related impact on school attendance has affected CYP Mental Health; return to school has also increased academic anxiety and stress for many CYP; the longevity of the impact is not yet fully understood. Nonetheless some CYP have coped well, children’s happiness has remained relatively stable. CYP experience of loneliness has increased and family functioning has been a mixed picture.

“Almost half of 16-24 year olds showed new symptoms of psychological distress and were more likely to present for help in May 2020. Child suicides rose in the first 56 days of March to May lockdown, but numbers were too small to reach definitive conclusions and overall the risk remained low. In the 17 to 22 year age range, 27.2% of young women and 13.3% of young men were identified as having a probable mental disorder. There are indications that 11-16 year olds have become less likely to share their problems, more likely to deal with distresses on their own and be less open to change.

“There is evidence of disproportionate impact on:

• Children living in poverty and with household incomes below £16,000
• Children with Special Educational Needs or a disability
• Some evidence suggests that children and young people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds have experienced a higher rate of mental health and wellbeing concerns. Other studies have not found differences in overall psychological wellbeing, subjective wellbeing and difficulties.

Wishing you all a really good break over the Christmas period, Andrea (on behalf of NHSE/I CYP MH Team)”

Children looked after in England including adoptions

Information on children looked after in England, including numbers of looked after children adopted, care leavers and looked after children who are missing. Data is taken from the annual SSDA903 data collection.

Figures relate to the year ending 31 March 2020 unless otherwise stated.

Although the majority of this data relates to before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there could be a small effect on these figures due to the impact the pandemic had on social work practice in the second half of March 2020. 

The vulnerable children and young people survey has been collecting information from local authorities in England to help understand the how the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak affected children’s social care.

IntegratED Annual Report 2020 published

The IntegratED annual report brings together all the latest data, research and policy relating to school exclusion and alternative provision for 2019/20. 

IntegratED is a coalition of partner organisations working to reduce preventable exclusions and improve the quality of education for children excluded from school. We do this through a whole-child development lens.

The annual report complements the online knowledge hub, available at www.integrated.org.uk, which offers an up-to-date repository of research into exclusions, AP and whole-child development. It also features the latest news articles and blogs, plus an interactive map of AP in England and a networking platform to connect with others working to reduce preventable exclusions and improve AP.

School Buildings Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme

From 2021 to 2026 the DfE’s Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme will visit every government-funded school and FE college in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings.

This data will provide a comprehensive picture of the condition of the school and FE college estate in England, and when combined with the previous Condition Data Collection 1, will provide a credible picture of changing investment needs over time.

DfE are working with 5 organisations to deliver CDC2:

• Arcadis – technical quality manager
• Aecom – surveying organisation
• Faithful + Gould – surveying organisation
• Rider Levett Bucknall – surveying organisation
• Accruent – IT supplier

Lists of schools in the pilot phase, tranche 1 and tranche 2 have been published

Pilot phase Dec 2020 – Jan 2021: 7 SE schools in Hampshire, Medway, West Berkshire and Windsor and Maidenhead

Tranche 1 Feb 2021 – Jul 2021: 117 SE schools in all LAs except Brighton and Hove and Portsmouth

Tranche 2 Aug 2021 – Jan 2022: 445 SE schools in all LAs

Ofsted COVID-19 series – November reports now available

The Ofsted COVID-19 series of briefings includes notes, commentaries from Amanda Spielman and data about providers that we have visited or spoken to during the interim phase of our return to routine inspection.

Five topics are covered in the notes, published on 15 December

COVID-19 series: briefing on schools, November 2020
COVID-19 series: briefing on early years, November 2020
COVID-19 series: briefing on further education and skills, November 2020
COVID-19 series: briefing on children’s social care, November 2020
COVID-19 series: briefing on local areas’ SEND provision, November 2020