UPDATE NO 504 06 May 2022

Women in Leadership Course NOW BOOKING

Applications to join the Women in Leadership (WIL) Programme Cohort 10 in London are now open. The price for this course is £695 + VAT and it starts in October 2022.

Family Hubs – Community of Practice (South East)

The webpage for the Family Hubs – Community of Practice (South East) is now live.

Please see the Family Hubs Lead Contact page, also now live. For further information, download the newsletter (see above) or contact Carly Bain (details below)

Children in custody: secure training centres and secure schools – NAO report

On 28 April, the National Audit Office published “Children in custody: secure training centres and secure school“. The number of children in custody in England and Wales is expected to double by 2024; it also highlights that black and minority ethnic children are increasingly over-represented in the youth justice system.

The report said that after long-term decline, the number of children in custody is expected to rise rapidly as a direct result of increased police recruitment, moves to tackle the court backlog caused by Covid and tougher sentencing after the passing of the police, crime, sentencing and courts reform bill.

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

EPI seeks school leaders’ views in new DEEP survey

On 25 April EPI launched the Decisions in Education in England Panel (DEEP) survey

EPI says “If you are a leader of education, whether in a school, trust, local authority, federation or diocese board of education, you can complete the survey.

We particularly want to hear from: headteachers and principals from all types of school, CEOs of academy trusts, local authority Assistant Directors of Education or Children’s Services, Dioceses Board of Education Directors of Education”

You can start the survey here

Aspirant DCS Programme NOW BOOKING

The Staff College, Institute of Public Care, Skills for Care, and GatenbySanderson – supported by DfE – invite applications for the upon Aspirant Directors Programme. Applications close 13 June 2022

Starting in late September 2022 and running until March 2023, the upon Programme will welcome around 40 Aspirant Directors. The flyer is here or contact upon@thestaffcollege.uk or call 0161-826-9450.

Social Work England – Consultation on new education and training approval standards for approved mental capacity professionals

On 9 May, Social Work England published a consultation on new education and training approval standards for approved mental capacity professionals. This consultation relates to the role of the approved mental capacity professional (AMCP), the successor qualification to best interests assessor, which is being consulted on in the DHSC’s consultation on Liberty Protection Safeguards.

The consultation period is 12 weeks and will end at midday (12pm) on Monday 1 August 2022.

You can complete the online survey here

SWE is also consulting on the role of approved mental health professionals (AMHP).

Future dates for network meetings

Lead Members Group: Friday 8 July 10.00am.  More from Alison Michalska (contact details below)

Data Benchmarking: Tuesday 12 July 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 1 July 10:00am. More from Chris Owen (contact details below)

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

QA Network: Thursday 16 June 2:00pm – 5:00pm. More from Amanda Meadows (contact details below)

Fostering Network: Wednesday 13 July 10-11.30am More from Rebecca Eligon (contact details below)

SEND SE19: Joint LA/Health 10 May 2022 12:00 – 13:30. More from Tracey Maytas (contact details below)

Early Help: Wednesday 25 May 1.30pm. More from Rebecca Eligon (contact details below)

Family Hubs Community of Practice: SEND workshop via Teams 9 June 9.20 – 11.30. More from Carly Bain (contact details below) 

Public Law Outline toolkit – free SESLIP workshops LAST CALL

The course is aimed at team managers, service/district managers, heads of service and legal professionals and is free to SESLIP members. Join the 60+ colleagues from across the region who have already booked.

Now booking: Cohort 2:  11 May (am and pm) and 25 May (am only).

For more information contact Alison Smailes (details below)

Why do children go into children’s homes? – report from Ofsted

On 13 April, Ofsted pubished Why do children go into children’s homes? on why children go into children’s homes and how well matched they are.

Ofsted carried out a study to find out how well matched children are to their homes and the extent to which their participation, views, wishes and feelings are considered in the decision-making process. The study looks at a small group of children who have a very wide and diverse set of needs and who live in children’s homes that were visited by Ofsted inspectors in late 2019.

The full report is here

The care files: Exploring the experiences of teenagers entering the care system

On 7 April, NFJO published The care files: Exploring the experiences of teenagers entering the care system. This report summary presents the key themes and insights drawn from a number of co-designed workshops and interviews with 24 older children and young people who are either being supported by the care system, or who were supported by the care system in England and Wales between the ages of 10 and 17. 

Findings include: young people felt that they were placed on ‘opposing teams’ to their parents during the court process; support networks were broken down rather than sustained; children experienced feelings of loneliness and stigma; and supported placements were too focused on surveillance rather than development.

Recommendations include: encouraging children to be informed and involved in decisions about their care, and helping children to maintain relationships and support networks.

A summary report is here. The full report is here

IntegratED Annual Report published

On 20 April IntegratED published its Annual Report 2021. This second state of the nation report into school exclusion and alternative provision from the IntegratED partnership brings together all the available data, research, and policy from this historically overlooked cohort.

It offers an excellent overview of inclusion, exclusions, AP and off-rolling across the English education system, both data and policy. The report also provides a helpful summary of policy initiatives during 2021

Every year around 8,000 children are permanently excluded from school and an even greater number are moved into alternative provision (AP) through other routes. The rate of exclusion is much lower in other parts of the UK. In the academic year 2018-19, 3 pupils were permanently excluded in Scotland, 246 pupils were permanently excluded in Wales, and 30 were permanently excluded in Northern Ireland. 

The full report is here