About Us

SESLIP is a membership group of all single/upper-tier local authorities in the South East.

We believe good children’s services are a product of reflective practice, professional supervision/peer challenge, effective leadership and independent audit.

We aim to:

• improve outcomes for children and young people across the South East
• establish a culture of honest and constructive dialogue and challenge within and between authorities
• demonstrate the capacity and capability of the sector to achieve a coherent and consistent self-improving system.

Additionally, participating authorities have each signed a tailored Memorandum of Understanding to support the SE children’s sector-led improvement programme.

East Sussex County Council acts as the lead authority and also Chairs the Programme Steering Group.

Regional Improvement Plan

It contains 17 workstreams reflecting the regional priorities identified in the annual round of DCS self-assessments and peer challenges. There are now 12 practice networks:

• Adoption
• Assistant Directors Education
• Assistant Directors Safeguarding
• Commissioners (in development)
• Data Benchmarking
• Early Help
• Fostering
• Kinship Care
• Lead Members
• Principal Social Workers
• Quality Assurance
• SEND

The are five projects:

• DCS and Finance Director seminars
• DCS self-assessment and peer challenge
• Small packages of sector-led improvement support
• Take Your Place – our future leaders’programme
• Workforce matters

The plan recognises that all children’s services have strengths which can help inspire improvement in others; it also recognises that they are all capable of further improvement. It aims to discourage the conclusion that only poor or weak services need improvement help; instead it celebrates honest self-evaluation and constant improvement as antidotes to complacency.

The main features of the plan are:

• a non-stigmatising approach to improvement
• support for innovation and new approaches to service delivery challenges
• development of the skills of staff, managers, corporate and political leaders
• increased sharing of ideas, insight, understanding and solutions

Governance and Reports

The SESLIP Steering Group includes:

SE ADCS (Lead DCS Alison Jeffery (East Sussex), Deputy Sarah Hammond (DCS Kent) and SLIP DCS Stuart Ashley (Hampshire and Isle of Wight))

Chief Executives – Contacts (Lead Chief Executives Becky Shaw (East and West Sussex) and Michael Bracey (Milton Keynes))

LGA Lead Lead Member Cllr Jacquie Russell (West Sussex); Principal Adviser William Brooks; and Children’s Improvement Adviser Alison Michalska

Also invited to attend from the DfE is Dave Myers (Regional Improvement Support Lead)