Newsletters
Updates
Foster care allowances survey 2024
On 18 September The Fostering Network published Out of Pocket: Fairer Fees for Foster Carers
New data reveals £38,000 difference in payments to fostering families across the UK
Some foster carers are receiving £732 more per week than others, a difference of £38,000 per year.
Almost half of fostering services are providing between £100-200 per week, which for most fostering families is an annual income of £5,200 – £10,400 per year.
The Fostering Network is now calling for each government in the UK to carry out comprehensive reviews of foster carer fees to investigate and address the discrepancies across the UK.
Unaccompanied children seeking asylum and age disputes
On 4 September The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium published a briefing on age disputes
Headlines
In 2023, over 3,400 unaccompanied children sought asylum in the UK. These are children who have endured perilous journeys.
Many of them, instead of receiving the support and protection they needed on arrival, had to fight for months or years to be recognised as children because they were disbelieved about their age.
Hundreds more were excluded entirely because the Home Office decided they looked like adults.
As the Home Office has taken increased control over the age determination process in recent years, flawed decision making has increased and hundreds of children have been put at risk.
Children missing education: the unrolled story
On 10 September The Children’s Commissioner published Children Missing Education: The Unrolled Story
Findings
Children who left the state education system and became a ‘child missing education’ were more likely than other children in state-funded schools to
- be known to social care,
- have a special educational need,
- a social, emotional or mental health need, or
- live in deprived neighbourhoods.
The Commissioner is calling for the Government, local authorities and schools to take a more robust and consistent approach to preventing, investigating and supporting children missing education.
Ofsted school inspection handbooks updated
On 16 September Ofsted published revised school inspection handbooks
Headlines
The handbooks are primarily a guide for inspectors on how to carry out inspections of maintained schools and academies under section 5 and section 8 of the Education Act 2005.
We also publish this for schools and other interested parties so that they are aware of Ofsted’s inspection processes and procedures under the education inspection framework (EIF).
We have also published guidance for monitoring inspections, along with ‘Inspecting schools: guide for maintained and academy schools’.
Reminders From Previous Weeks
KS2 attainment 2023-2024
On 10 September DfE published Key stage 2 attainment for academic year 2023/24
Headlines
- In individual subjects, attainment increased in reading, writing and science compared to 2023. Attainment remained the same in maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling.
- Attainment in all of reading, writing and maths (combined) increased compared to 2023.
- Girls continue to outperform boys at the expected standard in all subjects except maths, where boys outperformed girls by 1 percentage point.
- The disadvantage gap index is down from 3.21 in 2023 to 3.12 in 2024. More detail is provided in the pupil characteristics section.
Possible amendments to the Health Education and Social Care Chamber Rules 2008
On 12 September MoJ published a consultation on possible changes to the Health Education and Social Care Chamber Rules regarding whether Special Educational Needs appeals can be dealt with on the papers without the consent of both parties.
Consultation closes 5 December 2024
The tribunals want to deal with their backlog by changing the process for responding to requests for assessment on paper without a hearing. Furthermore, they are seeking to remove the LAs ability to challenge this or specifically request an in-person hearing.
The consultation document is here
The response questionnaire is here
Ways to respond ; Email to: tpcsecretariat@justice.gov.uk Write to: Tribunal Procedure Committee, Access to Justice Directorate
Policy, Communications and Analysis Group, Ministry of Justice, Post Point: Area 5.20, 102 Petty France. London, SW1H 9AJ
Delivering digital transformation
On Thursday 7 November 2024 MLL Telecom (MLL) and our colleagues at the South East Grid consortium (SEG) will be hosting the IT Strategy Summit South at the Amex Stadium, Brighton.
10-4, FREE to public sector delegates
This will be a one-day IT & Telecoms strategy event for senior public sector IT leaders and decision makers from across the South of England
Agenda
SEG’s aim is to provide a collaborative approach to delivering IT network services and are keen to build on the experience of existing contracts across East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and Surrey.
More information from Krista Pickering (contact details below).
Tools & Templates
We have produced a Regional Improvement Plan (June 2024)
On 18 September The Fostering Network published Out of Pocket: Fairer Fees for Foster Carers
On 16 September Ofsted published revised school inspection handbooks
On 12 September MoJ published a consultation on possible changes to the Health Education and Social Care Chamber Rules
On 10 September The Children’s Commissioner published Children Missing Education: The Unrolled Story
On 10 September DfE published Key stage 2 attainment for academic year 2023/24
On 4 September The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium published a briefing on age disputes
On 3 September Ofsted published a detailed response to its ‘Big Listen’ consultation,
On 3 September Children at the Table published Struggling against the tide: children’s services spending 2022-2023
On 23 August Become published Still Too Far – Children in Care being moved miles from the people and places that matter to them
On 23 August Kinship published Forgotten, a report on support for kinship children’s education and mental health.
On 21 August Action for Children published Four things you need to know about the UK care system
On 15 August NCB published A call for change – tackling inequalities in access to mental health support for children with social work involvement and those living in poverty
In August Skills for Care published Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) child and family Annual report to the Department for Education April 2023 – March 2024
On 31 July the Centre for Homelessness Impact published Staying put: leaving care and the risk of homelessness.
On Thursday 25 July LGA and County Councils Network published Towards an effective and financially sustainable approach to SEND in England
On 16 July MSHR published Internal trafficking and exploitation of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within England and Wales
On 11 July NFJO published This is what we think – Perspectives on being cared for from older children and young people – including those on deprivation of liberty orders
On 10 July CSA Centre and Barnardo’s SEEN published the first overview of research in relation to the sexual abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children.
On 26 June the BBC radio programme Money Box Live broadcast a 30-minute programme on Care leavers and how they manage their money
On 20 June DfE published SEND pupil census information, based on school census data.
On 17 June Joseph Rowntree Foundation published The impact of hardship on primary schools and primary and community healthcare
On 13 June The Fostering Network launched the 2024 State of the Nations’ Foster Care survey and it remains open until 30 June.
On 13 June DfE published Education and Health Care Plans 2024
On 6 June DfE published Schools, pupils and their characteristics 2023-2024
On 5 June Mr Justice Chamberlain published his final decision in the long running JR case involving ECPAT UK, Kent, Brighton and Hove and the Home Secretary and the Education Secretary. Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 1353 (Admin).On 24 May the Childrens’ Commissioner published Children’s experiences as victims of crime