UPDATE NO 193 29 April 2016

Ofsted Fostering 2015-16 Data Collection

Rob Pike, Chief Statistician at Ofsted has written,

“I am writing to you to ask you to complete the data form based on data as at 31 March 2016 and to return it by 18 July 2016. The data form includes a glossary providing additional guidance for some questions.” 

Further detailed guidance is available in the following documents:

• Fostering dataset 2015-16 Guidance (Word document)
• Fostering annual data collection – Frequently Asked Questions

The analysis of last year’s returns is available here.

Leadership Development

We continue to offer our successful portfolio of Leadership Development Courses all of which have been positively evaluated by delegates.

The Coaching to Improve Performance course, our most popular with 25 courses in 14 LAs and approximately 400 delegates, has been externally evaluated. The independent evaluator concluded that   

‘The Coaching to Improve Performance course was professionally delivered leading to a high standard of satisfaction amongst the delegates. After several months those who responded to a survey were still able to remember the salient content of the course, had retained enthusiasm and had put the skills learned to use in practice. A remarkable achievement for a two-day course!’

This year we have added a new course recently piloted in Hampshire and IoW. The senior team attended a one-day Coaching to Improve Performance workshop to ensure the Directorate were fully conversant with the training undertaken by their three cohorts of managers on two-day programme and to develop their own coaching skills to use in their own performance management roles.

We are also offering LAs the opportunity to train their own trainers for all our courses. Our aim is to increase the capacity and capability across the region  to ensure future sustainability within LAs.

A new departure for us has been running these training courses for adult services and for schools so please contact Di Smith, details below, if this is of interest to you. 

All courses are run in-house in the LA who provides the venue. Each course is accompanied by a range of training resources for the delegates including a comprehensive handbook. The current courses on offer are as follows and details of each course and the costs for each can be found by downloading the April 2016 Leadership Development Prospectus. 

Coaching to Improve Performance

Embedding a Coaching Culture

Leading Change in Times of Austerity

Step Up to Leadership   

We can also arrange one-to-one coaching, especially to support newly appointed 2nd and 3rd tier managers

If you require further details or wish to book a course please get in touch with Di Smith (contact details below)

Topical Peer Challenge Round 9

Topical Peer Challenge Round 9 is now open. The detailed guidance is available here, and is largely unchanged from previous versions.

Windsor and Maidenhead (topic: Corporate Parenting) will be first in the field on 16 and 17 June. I am seeking two volunteers (one at AD level, one at practitioner level) to join the visiting team. All enquiries to Richard Tyndall (contact details below).

Portsmouth (topic: CSE) will be planned for the autumn

Kent (topic: tba) and Bracknell Forest (topic: LSCB) have also indicated they wish to participate.

Southampton and Medway have commitments held over from Round 8 (Ofsted, staff changes and other impediments confounded our best laid plans). I look forward to hearing from these colleagues and others about whether or not they wish to join Round 9.

Please contact Richard Tyndall (details below) to register your interest.