UPDATE NO 313 03 August 2018

Newsletters A brief summary of the main headlines and highlights for this week are shown below. Any tools, templates or documents needed for the actions required are provided here also. If you would like to know more about these workstreams or the others in the Programme, click on the main section icons shown above. At […]

Three children playing happily together

Newsletters

A brief summary of the main headlines and highlights for this week are shown below. Any tools, templates or documents needed for the actions required are provided here also. If you would like to know more about these workstreams or the others in the Programme, click on the main section icons shown above. At SESLIP we are always on the look-out for good ideas that might be better implemented regionally rather than locally. If you have any suggestions, please contact Richard Tyndall, SESLI Programme Manager.

UPDATE NO 313 03 August 2018

Programme:

2018-19 DCS Peer Challenge Arrangements

Update:

The recent DCS meeting agreed to carry on with the development of the “Trial Run” Regional Improvement Plan (The restricted v1.7 now available to DCSs only).  

The SESLIP team is preparing missing sections on continuing and new SESLIP improvement activities as well as ensuring co-ordination with the PiP and LGA support programmes.

Thanks to HampshireKentMilton Keynes and West Berkshire for returning signed copies of the memorandum of undertanding which sets out the rationale for particpation in the SESLI Programme and the Peer Challenges in particular. For details please contact Isabelle Gregory (details below)

For more information please contact Anna Wright or Richard Tyndall (details below).

Action Required:

We are also starting to make the detailed arrangements for the peer challenge of self-assessment arrangements that will culminate in the Regional Improvement Summit on 22 March 2019 – please save this date for DCSs and Lead Members.

Also please save the date 30 November 2018 for DCSs and management team members for the regional training and preparation day. Please contact Anna Wright for more details, and Isabelle Gregory to book your places. 

Thanks to Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham for sharing Annual Conversation letters and to East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Milton Keynes, Slough CST, West Berkshire, West Sussex and Wokingham for sharing their self-assessments. These documents are all available from the restricted DCS-only section of the website.

For access to this page, and to supply further reports, please contact Isabelle Gregory (details below).  

Reminders from previous weeks

Programme:

Complex LAC and Edge of Care Project

Update:

A productive workshop took place on Thursday 26 July, hosted by Lucy Butler, DCS Oxfordshire and project sponsor. 

During the workshop, the toolkit and guidance notes for the collection of complex LAC data was shared with the participants and it was agreed that everyone would complete the fieldwork by Friday 19 October 2018.  The group made some final amendments to the toolkit and the guidance notes ready for circulation on Monday 30 July. 

The collection of detailed data around risk and factors leading to LAC episodes for older children will support a comprehensive analysis of need for the region, using also regional and national benchmarking data. 

Action Required:

It is hoped that this detailed analysis will be completed by the beginning of 2019 to inform the development of a regional commissioning strategy for Complex LAC cases.  In addition, the toolkit will enable participating authorities to collect and analyse their own data and begin to have local discussions with their own senior leaders and providers. 

The group also heard how this project will fit with other initiatives, including the DfE Fostering Better Outcomes (where this project was mentioned as a good example of regional work); the development of the Secure Estate and our own Regional Improvement Plan.  Active participants in the work are: OxfordshireEast Sussex;  West Sussex;  Brighton and HoveKentWest BerkshirePortsmouthSouthamptonMilton KeynesHampshireWokingham (and special thanks to West Sussex, West Berkshire and Kent who helped us pilot the toolkit).  The slides from the event are available here.

Programme:

Secure Estate

Update:

A meeting took place on 18 July involving a number of south east authorities (including the 3 who already have secure units – Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex) to determine whether SESLIP should proceed with a bid for a feasibility study to develop increased capacity in the secure estate.  The outcome of the meeting was 

That we do not recommend that the region bids for an expansion of existing provision or the development of new provision

Action Required:

The reasons for this conculsion are:

  • this is because the DfE are already funding work at 2 out of the 3 units in the south east; the third is currently not open and, reading the bid documentation, the South East is (according to the DfE) relatively well provided for and therefore would not be a priority.
  • that a different type of provision is required either as an alternative to secure provision and/or to enable step down and resettlement. We know that there is a need for this but this has not yet been quantified in detail in the region.  The work we are undertaking in the Complex LAC project, the Oxfordshire work on Complex LAC plus the national data collection on secure accommodation co-ordinated by Hampshire will all contribute to a better understanding of needs and the development of a regional commissioning strategy to inform future purchasing intentions.  This work is well advanced and while it could be part of a feasibility study, has its own timescales and outcomes, is not just about secure accommodation and is using the same resources that would be used for this piece of work.
  • the DfE already knows about our Complex LAC Project (see other news item) and has shown an interest in how it progresses and the outcomes it achieves; the work we are doing was mentioned in the recent DfE Fostering Better Outcomes report.
  • therefore we would not make a formal bid within the timescales for the feasibility study; we would however start a dialogue with the DfE about the work we are doing and how this feeds into a commissioning strategy for all complex LAC cases, including secure accommodation.  Lucy Butler, DCS Oxfordshire and sponsor of the Complex LAC project will have the initial discussions and seek a meeting with the DfE to discuss the possibility of some funding to support the work.

Programme:

Data Benchmarking Group

Update:

The Data Benchmarking Group held a regular meeting on 23 July. Deleagtes were present from Brighton and Hove; East Sussex; Kent; Medway; Reading; Surrey; and West Berkshire

Tools & Templates

There have been three reports published recently on the state of financing in Children’s Services; they are:

SESLIP Leadership Development Prospectus

SEND Inspection Preparation: Self Evaluation Framework Peer Review Guidance

The MoC area of the Seslip website now includes the latest versions of key documents, including the:

The revised guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018 was released on the 20 May 2018 and can be found here. The statutory guidance will come into force on 3 September 2018 and will replace KCSiE 2016. One key addition is a new part (part 5) on advice for schools on responding to and supporting young victims of sexual violence and harassment.

NSPCC has produced a briefing document highlighting the main changes in the new version compared to the current one. It can be found here.

Contact Details

SESLIP Consultant: Isabelle Gregory (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

isabelle@firstcareconsultancy.co.uk

07931 586784

South East Grid for Learning – Consortium Manager: Krista Pickering (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

krista.pickering@segfl.org.uk

07872 014083

SESLI Programme Manager: Richard Tyndall (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

richard.tyndall@richardtyndall.co.uk

07880 787007

CSC Workforce, PSW and AD Safeguarding Network Lead: Mark Evans (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

Mark@markevansconsulting.co.uk

07803 147072

S.E. Region SEND Network Programme Co-ordinator: Sheelagh Sullivan (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

sheelagh.sullivan@outlook.com

Data Benchmarking: Luke Ede (South East Sector-Led Improvement Programme)

Luke.ede@eastsussex.gov.uk

07925 148597