Newsletters
Our Regional Improvement Plan can be found here
Our Impact Report published in March 2023 can be found here
If you would like to apply to be a SESLIP consultant, please follow this link to Kent Business Portal – KentBusinessPortal and after registering on the portal, search for Ref – SC240046 – SESLIP – DPS
Updates
Agency social worker numbers fall for first time in seven years
On 27 February DfE published Children’s social work workforce data for 2024
Headlines
- the number of child and family social workers in post at 30 September increased to the series peak
- the number of agency workers and vacancies fell from a year earlier
- the sickness absence rate increased slightly from 2023.
Ombudsman publishes foster care guidance for councils
On 20 February the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman published Fostering better services: Helping to improve council services for foster carers and their children
The full report is here (pdf 26 pages)
Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal, said:
“When councils become responsible for children – such as those who are fostered – it is often because there is no one else to look out for them, so it is all the more important they get it right. Who else would fight their corner?
“Foster carers play a key role in helping to provide stability for these children but need to be given the right tools to do it well. Councils need to ensure they provide the right information and support for the foster carers who look after the children they have ultimate responsibility for.
“I hope councils will read my report and take it in the spirit it is intended – we all want the best for children, and to give them the best start in life, regardless of their family set up.”
Reminders From Previous Weeks
Understanding youth homelessness
On 1 February Centrepoint published Hidden In Plain Sight: Understanding Youth Homelessness in the UK
The full report is here (pdf 28 pages)
The summary report is here (pdf 4 pages)
Details
- 1 in 62 young people in the UK faced homelessness in 2023-24. The Youth Homelessness Databank once again underscores the critical importance of having robust and comprehensive data to fully understand the scale and nature of youth homelessness.
- As of 2024, there is still no comprehensive, official measurement of the scale of youth homelessness across the United Kingdom bar the annual Centrepoint Youth Homelessness Databank.
- Without accurate and comparable national, regional, and local data on both the scale and nature of youth homelessness, it remains challenging to develop effective strategies to address the issue or allocate sufficient funding to provide young people with the support they need.
- The Centrepoint Youth Homelessness Databank continues to play a critical role in addressing this data gap by collecting council-level information for England and building a detailed national picture of youth homelessness. This is because it remains the only publicly accessible resource that tracks young people’s journeys through the entire HRA pathway.
A level and other 16 to 18 results 2023-2024
On 13 February DfE published A level and other 16 to 18 results for academic year 2023-2024
Headlines
- A level average point score per entry (APS) is slightly higher than 2022/23
- Gaps between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students remained broadly unchanged
- Within the A level and applied general cohort, female students achieve higher average point scores than male students,
Alternative provsion – statutory guidance
On 5 February DfE published Alternative provision – Statutory guidance for local authorities, as well as headteachers and governing bodies of settings providing alternative provision.
Details
- This statutory guidance is for: headteachers, local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts
- It applies to all educational settings providing alternative provision (AP): schools maintained by the local authority, academies and free schools, PRUs, FE colleges, independent providers that deliver alternative provision
- This guidance covers the use of AP where: local authorities arrange education for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; schools arrange education for pupils on a fixed-period exclusion; schools arrange education for pupils to improve their behaviour off-site
- Statutory guidance on responsibilities relating to schools and PRUs which require support or intervention is available at Support and intervention in schools.
- Statutory guidance sets out what schools and local authorities must do to comply with the law.
LGA Early Years Conference – Thursday 20 March 9:00-4:30
On Thursday 20 March 2025 at Derby Mickleover Hotel DE3 0XX LGA is organising Speech, Language and Communication in the first 1001 days
If you have any questions please do email eitherelizabeth.hodgman@local.gov.uk or nicola.dossantos@local.gov.uk
Details
This event is free, it is suitable for
- Lead Members of Children’s Services,
- Directors and Assistant Directors, Heads of Service
- Those leading on Family Hubs and early years support.
- Birth to 19 Commissioners and
- Public Health Local Officers.
- Senior Children’s Librarians.
- Health Professionals
- Representatives from the Voluntary , Community and Faith Sector.
Tools & Templates
We have produced a Regional Improvement Plan (June 2024)
On 27 February DfE published Children’s social work workforce data for 2024
On 20 February the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman published Fostering better services: Helping to improve council services for foster carers and their children
On 13 February DfE published A level and other 16 to 18 results for academic year 2023-2024
On 7 February Foundations (previously the What Works Centre for Families and Children) published Parenting through adversity, the second in a series of practice guides commissioned by the DfE to support the roll-out of the children’s social care national framework
On 4 February Pause and Listen published In a Mother’s Mind: Birth mothers’ experiences of domestic abuse
On 3 February IJPDS published Estimated cumulative incidence of intervention by children’s social care services to age 18: a whole-of-England administrative data cohort study using the child in need census
On 1 February Centrepoint published Hidden In Plain Sight: Understanding Youth Homelessness in the UK
On 1 February The Fostering Network published State of the Nations’ Foster Care – Full Report 2024
On 28 January the Children’s Commissioner published Children’s involvement in the 2024 riots
On 28 January the APPG for Households in Temporary Accommodation published Child Mortality in Temporary Accommodation 2025
On 15 January ADCS published Safeguarding Pressures Phase 9. The full report (pdf 91 pages) is here. The summary briefing (pdf 2 pages) is here
On 14 January CAFCASS published “Sharing recommendations with you” which explains to children and young people what recommendations are and why it is important that they are understood clearly.
On 7 January LGA published a briefing on CWSBill
On 7 January Barnardo’s published a briefing
On 3 January the House of Commons Library published a Research Briefing on the bill
On 29 December Coram published The Door is Still Closed
On 19 December MoJ published Family Court Statistics Quarterly; July to September 2024
On 18 December DfE published Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Policy Summary Notes
On 17 December the government published the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
On 16 December the Children’s Commissioner published Illegal Children’s Homes
On 12 December the Centre for Young Lives published Too Skint for School
On 18 November DfE published Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive – breaking down barriers to opportunity
On 14 November DfE published Children looked after in England including adoptions 2023-2024
On 7 November Ofsted published Fostering in England 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
On 31 October DfE published Resources to support new agency social worker guidance and employer standards
On 31 October DfE published Children in need: 2023 to 2024
On 24 October NAO published Support for children and young people with special educational needs
On 23 October IFS published The effect of Sure Start on youth misbehaviour, crime and contacts with children’s social care