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Newsletters Edition 13 - March 2007Welcome to Edition 13 of the Every Chld Matters in County Durham Newsletter. The theme of this edition is 'It's our right to be heard'. You can also obtain a PDF version of the newsletter at the bottom of this page. In this Edition
Consultation on the Family Support StrategyThe consultation, which ended on 31 January 2007, revealed overwhelming support for the principles of the strategy and the model of entitlement it describes. There was ringing endorsement for the plan to integrate local services into multi-disciplinary teams to improve access to provision and outcomes.
Clear messages from the process, which included 4 consultation events across the County, and responses from over 30 agencies are:
Integrated teams?The proposed membership of an integrated ‘team’ was supported, but additional members were proposed to suit specific circumstances. Although opinion was spilt on whether teams should be actual or virtual, the pros and cons of each were articulated by many respondents. Overall there was support for an actual core team, supported by an extended virtual team. Further work will evaluate the best way forward. Whilst co-location was felt to be preferable, absence of a suitable base should not prevent the early implementation of integrated working. Suggestions for bases included schools, children’s centres, community centres and village halls, depending on local circumstances.
All respondents were agreed that a programme of effective change management would be required across all agencies, including appropriate leadership at all levels, and that the local champions would be needed. Next StepsThe strategy has been revised to reflect the consultation. The final version was approved by the Shadow Children’s Executive Board in March. This approval signals the start of the implantation process and the most exciting phase of our service development. You can find the final version at Family Support Strategy.Key Milestones to ensure progress on the Every Child Matters ProjectKey Milestones on the way the Integrated Governance:
Integrated strategies for:
Integrated processes and frontline delivery:
Update from Shadow Children's Executive Board (SCEB)The Disability TrustThe Board was presented with proposals for the development of a formal partnership arrangement for the future commissioning and delivery of services to disabled children.
The Board supported in principle the recommendation for a formal partnership in principle and agreed that further work towards the development of the arrangement should process, with a report to the board meeting in March setting out proposed models and options for implementation with some clear recommendations around preferred options. This work is now underway. CAMHS CommissioningA report was presented to the same meeting of the Board, which suggested that commissioning arrangements should be broadened to encompass all CAMHS services. To date the CAMHS multi-agency commissioning group has been responsible only for commissioning services which are funded from the CAMHS grant. This is a small element of the overall budget.
The Board has asked that specific proposal are presented to outline how a pooled budget arrangement can be put in place to ensure that commissioning of all CAMHS provision (with the exception of tier 4 tertiary services at this stage) is a multi-agency function. First Local Children’s Board (LCB) Gets Go-aheadThe SCEB gave agreement to the establishment of the first local children’s board for Durham and Chester-le-Street. Julie Scurfield, chair of the existing Local Planning Group, presented plans for transition. The inaugural meeting of the LCB will be held on 27 April 2007.Involving Children, Young People and ParentsBoth these strategies have been endorsed by the Shadow Children’s Executive Board.Participation Strategy for Children and Young PeopleA participation strategy which recognises children and young people are citizens with rights has been endorsed by the Shadow Children’s Executive Board. The strategy was developed by local planning groups across County Durham and reflects research by Investigating in Children involving feedback from over 2000 children and young people.
The strategy commits statutory and non-statutory services for children and young people to listen and involve them in decision making alongside parents, services providers, elected members etc. all partners are expected to endorse the mission statement and statement of principles. Services should look at how and why they do things, making any changes needed to enable true participation and improvement, in response to the strategy. Investing in Children (IiC) membership allows services to demonstrate that young people’s views have made a difference. IiC will encourage, advise, support and monitor efforts by agencies to engage with the children and young people of County Durham. Agencies may need an action plan to implement the strategy. A ‘Toolkit’ has been designed to support adults and there organisations in developing good practice. It will include an interactive DVD to be created by 20 children and young people from across the county working with their Local Strategic Partnership Participation Officers. The DVD shows a large group taking over their local TV studios and demanding the right to participate. David Williams, Corporate Director of Durham County Council’s Children and Young Peoples Services commented “ I am very keen to see children and young people involved in all decisions which impact on their quality of life in County Durham.” Progress towards putting this strategy into practice will be closely monitored. Participation Strategy for Parents and CarersThis strategy links to The Participation Strategy for Children and Young People so that in County Durham we are taking the measures required to ensure the involvement of families. The Parent Participation Strategy is a product of the County Durham Parenting Network and has included a small consultation process with parents.
The participation of parents and carers in County Durham is unfortunately not as well embedded in some areas as we would like. All parents are now asked to commit to this approach. For example The Children and Young People’s Service’s Senior Leadership Team intends to:
The strategy is a step towards a collective commitment from statutory and non-statutory services to listen and involve parents/carers in service design, delivery and evaluation. It includes a self- assessment matrix for organisations to identify a baseline of strengths and weakness and then to create an action plan showing the changes required to offer true participation. Participation is about parents and carers being involved in the very early stages of planning to influence decisions, so that the service is designed to meet their needs effectively. Membership of a working group or forum can be a effective way to achieve this, providing there are clear terms of reference and groups are run openly. Practitioners need to create the right environment for this to happen. The groups need to inclusive, safe and welcoming to parents and carers. They should be genuine consultation, provide feedback to parent/carers who are involved and achieve quick wins. Joint Area Review (JAR) of Children and Young People's ServicesIn May 2007 there will be a major independent review by Government Inspectors of all publicly funded services in County Durham that contribute to the well-being of children, young people and their families. The JAR will look not only at Council Services but also those aged 0 to 19 but also those provides by district councils, health, police and other probation and any other publicly funded services provided by voluntary or statutory bodies. It will also include services to some older young people.
Young People will be directly involved through both survey and through fieldwork. The emphasis will be on ‘what’s it like to be a young person in County Durham?’ The Inspection Team focus on achievement outcomes for vulnerable groups. Investigations will always include:
Thanks to the positive judgement of our most recent Annual Performance Assessment (APA), inspectors will focus on only 3 additional areas:
Colleagues involved directly will be kept informed to specific requirements and timescales. The best way to contribute effectively to the JAR process is for staff in every organisation to continue to deliver effective services to children and families! More information is available at www.durham.gov.uk/jar. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF)Progress continues on the development and implementation of the CAF. This will enable children, young people and their families to receive services to which they are entitled through the use of a single approach to assessment.
Training of the CAF Trainers will be completed by the end of March. So far, over 60 trainers have been trained to deliver multi-agency training across the county. Two areas, West Cornforth and Tow Law, have been identified to pioneer the new framework. Integrated working is already in place in these areas and the CAF will support the identification and delivery of appropriate service through existing multi-agency services. Training of practitioners will being in April, and the CAF will be implemented shortly afterwards. The CAF will then be implemented in Newton Aycliffe through the Children and Young People’s Services Forum. This is another exciting development, bringing together all agencies, including schools, to meet the needs of children, young people and their parents. The CAF is a key element in the roll out of integrated services in all localities. The CAF will fully rolled out across County Durham before March 2008. For further information contact Tony Clamp 0191 3834297. PDF Version of the NewsletterYou can download Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.
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