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Newsletters Edition 10 - June 2006Welcome to Edition 10 of Every Child Matter in County Durham newsletter. The theme of this edition is 'Leading the new Service'. You can also obtain a PDF version of the newsletter at the bottom of this page. A message from David Williams, Corporate Director, Children and Young People's Service for Durham County CouncilThis edition of Every Child Matters in County Durham was held up to allow me to reflect on my first month in my new role…First impressions are of a Children’s Services Authority made up of very talented and committed staff and elected members, determined to improve outcomes for children and young people, but rather cautious about moving too fast and being too radical in approach. This is understandable. Plans for significant change can come unstuck if the people and partners, who have to deliver, in a large, diverse area such as County Durham, are not taken along. I believe that much careful groundwork has now been done. There is a real desire, especially amongst front line staff to “get on with it” and start implementing changes that will move us forward, in terms of service delivery, general approach and culture. My first priority is to ensure that plans for the Children’s Trust are agreed and implemented. It is through the Trust that we can stop considering which organisation is responsible for each service and concentrate more on being clear about which services are needed, and then to agree jointly how these will be delivered. My other key priority is to plan and implement structural change within the County Council to improve front line delivery. Structural change should not, in theory, be seen as an initial goal, but staff who are vital to successful delivery, need a degree of certainty and stability if they are not to be distracted from their main tasks. These structural changes will ultimately involve more development of multi-agency services, based on locally agreed service needs and influenced by the direct views of children, young people and their families. These personal priorities are geared to helping the service to deliver improved outcomes for children and young people. Our first Children and Young People’s Plan sets out targets against the Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes. Language such as “improved outcomes” sounds like a management-speak buzz phrase. What really I want to see is all children having the best possible start to life, having a happy, safe and healthy childhood, and being helped to achieve at school so that they have the skills, qualifications and self-esteem necessary for a successful transition to adult life. That is really all that the ECM Agenda is about. Meet the DirectorDavid Williams invites non-school based staff, (i.e. former Education and Children's Social Care staff, those in Finance and Support Services who work across Children and Young People functions and Youth Engagement Service staff) to attend one of the following meetings.Each meeting will last about one hour. David will talk about the development of the new service in Durham and invite questions. Attendance is voluntary.
So that we can ensure that no meeting is overcrowded please RSVP to Joan Teasdale, tel 0191 383 3319. New Forms of Service and the Children's Service Authority (CSA)The Children Act 2004 and the ECM agenda bring together partners legally bound to co-operate with the CSA to meet the needs of children, young people and their families. Schools, colleges, communities, GPs and the voluntary sector also have a significant contribution to make in developing future services for children and improving the Durham 5 outcomes.
The Shadow Children’s Executive Board (CEB) recently held its inaugural meeting to discuss ways for partners to review progress. The model for Children’s Services is based on wide consultation with children and young people, partners and others during 2005. The CEB must ensure that collectively, organisations deliver effective, efficient and appropriately integrated services. Accountable to Durham County Council as the Children’s Services Authority, all members will also remain accountable to their own organisations. Local Children’s Boards (LCB) are also proposed, accountable to the CSA for the delivery and performance of services within their areas. Durham County Council will need to change and adapt its services and internal infrastructure in order to deliver an efficient and effective integrated, single service for children and young people. All partners are committed to an approach based on:
The design of the CSA requires much more than a re-alignment of management structures and budgets formerly within Education and Social Care and Health. A matrix management approach may promote a structure that aligns the delivery of universal, targeted and specialised services within management responsibilities rather than the traditional focus of attainment and safeguarding. Management of information and data will remain a key task within the CSA to assure quality and performance of all services. Critical to the success of the (CEB) will be its ability to respond strategically to changing needs of children, young people and their families as well as to engage in communities. Emergence of the Board does not reduce the accountability of the Lead Councillor or the Director for Children’s Services and ultimately that of the Children’s Services Authority. The Director for Children’s Services remains personally accountable for performance within children’s services. The next 12 month period presents an exciting opportunity to reach a number of key milestones in the ECM programme. Key Milestone Activities Dates
Youth Matters: Next Steps19,000 young people responded to the consultation document ‘Youth Matters’. In Next Steps the Government proposes:1. Supporting Choices of Young People
2. Things to do and Places to go
3. Making a Contribution
4. Supporting Choices: Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG)
5. Reforming Targeted Support
Implementation
The Children's Fund in DurhamThe Children’s Fund vision is to develop a range of universally accessible services for children and young people aged 5 – 13. It was agreed: “Not a penny of the Children’s Fund in Durham will be spent without the active endorsement of children and young people”In April 2004 each Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) was allocated funds according to the numbers of Children and Young People aged 5-13 living in the district. The focus of the Children’s Fund has been:
The Children’s Fund aims to change the way those services are designed, delivered and reviewed. Community based projects range from Saturday morning gardening clubs to fully inclusive summer play schemes. Over twenty thousand children and young people have accessed a service, project or event supported by the Fund. From 2006 to 2008 the Children’s Fund will focus on Local Children’s Planning Group priorities, (ECM Outcomes based) and support mainstream good practice, within Children’s Services to:
The Education and Inspection Bill 2006: Main MessageFoundation and Trust schoolsAll schools can become ‘Foundation’ schools if Governors decide to do so – probably via a simple majority vote. Foundation schools will own their own assets and become the employer of their staff. Schools can become ‘Trust’ schools. Trusts must be ‘not for profit’ organisations, such as a business charity or a university – and will be able to appoint the majority of governors.School AdmissionsAll foundation and trust schools will become their own admissions authority – but must act within a national ‘Code of Practice’. Local Authorities must promote ‘choice, diversity and fair access’. The Admissions Code has not yet been published and there are concerns nationally about the operation of varying selection criteria, possibly to the detriment of some groups of pupils.Improved Choice and Access/Travel to SchoolProviding a place can be secured, free transport for disadvantaged pupils to any of the nearest 3 secondary schools – over 2 miles but within 6 miles. Parents can propose the establishment of new schools but Local Authorities will retain the strategic duty to plan the overall provision and pattern of school places.School Causing Concern/Good Schools‘Underperforming’ schools can be required to work in partnership with other schools. ‘Good’ schools can expand – regardless of the level of surplus places in the area - but there is no definition in the Bill of what constitutes a good school.School Discipline/Parental ResponsibilitiesTeachers will be able to use ‘reasonable’ force to restrain pupils but no definition of ‘reasonable’. Schools will have the power to search pupils for weapons. Parents could be fined if excluded pupils are not supervised during the first 5 days. New parental right of complaint to OFSTED.Curriculum ProposalsA new duty on Local Authorities to ensure that all children fulfil their educational potential – through an extension of personalised learning, stretching lessons for most able and catch-up lessons for those performing below the average. Extension of vocational education and specialised diplomas for 14-19 year olds.School FoodMinimum nutritional standards for school food and drinking water made available free of charge.PDF Version of the NewsletterYou can download Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.
Publication: June 2006 Size: 273KB Pages: 4 Top of Page |
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