Newsletters
Our Regional Improvement Plan can be found here
If you would like to apply to be a SESLIP consultant, please follow this link to Kent Business Portal – KentBusinessPortal and after registering on the portal, search for Ref – SC240046 – SESLIP – DPS
Updates
Cross region placements
On 13 October Home+Future (the south east’s RCC) published Briefing 002 – cross regional placements
Details
The South East Regional Care Co-operative, working with Data to Insight (D2I) and the Department for Education (DfE), has shared national statistics relating to “cross-regional” placements of children in care.
The data show that when viewed at regional scale, regions towards the south of England are more likely to send children outside their own region than regions further north and west. London accommodates 23% of its children in care outside London; the next highest proportion at regional level is the South East (19%), followed by the East of England (17%) and the South west (16%). The North West and North East present the highest proportions of children placed within their regional boundaries (94% and 91% respectively).
Children’s social care questionnaires 2025: what children and young people told Ofsted
On 6 October Ofsted published Children’s social care questionnaires 2025
The report is here (html)
An easy read version is here (pdf, 27 pages)
Details
Ofsted has published findings from its annual survey of children’s social care in England which gathered views from children, parents and carers, professionals and providers. 8,880 children and young people shared their experiences of living in social care settings, including children’s homes, foster care, residential special schools and supported accommodation.
Findings include:
- nearly all children reported feeling safe where they live;
- children in children’s homes were the most likely to report difficulties in getting along with other children; and
- children in supported accommodation said that they had good relationships with staff, but were the least likely to report spending time with people who matter to them.
Scandal of kinship carers sleeping on sofas and floors to keep children out of care
On 2 October Kinship published its annual survey of Kinship carers “Handle with Care”
The full report is here (pdf, 39 pages)
An executive summary is here (pdf, 2 pages)
The press release is here (html)
Details
Kinship has published the results of its annual survey of kinship carers in England and Wales, exploring the experiences of carers and their children.
The survey of 1,929 kinship carers highlights challenges around financial hardship with nearly 1 in 5 carers reporting that someone in their family had to sleep in unsuitable conditions in the last 12 months due to a lack of space.
Kinship carers also spoke of difficulties managing children’s social, emotional and mental health needs; and challenges with family relationships and contact.
Recommendations look at improving support for kinship families and building a new kinship care system.
Best practice examples from specialist, AP and mixed school trusts
On 3 October APSEND and CSTUK published Upstream – best practice examples from specialst, AP and mixed trust schools
Details
Report showcasing what good practice looks like across the AP sector and making the case for investing in intervention ‘upstream’ in order to have the best impact for children and young people.
Other themes across the 27 case studies are:
- more stability in commissioning for AP,
- embedding family engagement in the AP offer,
- support an evidence culture based on robust data and
- view AP as a system partner.
Reminders From Previous Weeks
Family Routes: children who returned to care
On 25 September DfE published a research report, Family Routes: children who returned to care after leaving for adoption or to live with a special guardian
Details
Family Routes is a longitudinal study intended to track the needs, experiences and outcomes of children leaving care on an adoption order (AO) or special guardianship order (SGO) in England.
The data analysis strand examines Department for Education administrative data from 2002 to 2023 to examine long-term outcomes for children in permanence placements.
This report focuses on the stability of permanence placements and children who return to care after an adoption or special guardianship order was made.
IFS on SEND
On 3 October 2025 IFS published Support for children with disabilities and special educational needs as part of its Green Budget for 2025
Details
IFS analysis of the total cost to government of the escalating numbers of children and young people identified with high needs and having an EHC plan plus many of their families are in receipt of children’s disability living allowance (CDLA).
Without making changes the IFS estimates that the total cost could grow to £15 billion a year by 2029, and councils’ SEND deficits will swell to £8 billion by 2028 (when the statutory override is due to end).
New research highlights importance of how pupil absence is communicated
On 2 October 2025 EEF published an independent evaluation of the BITUP programme – a low cost programme to improve secondary school attendance.
Details
The nudge programme to promote attendance among secondary students whose attendance had dropped below 90%, found the use of specific messages to parents stating the number of days missed last term was low cost and led to small but significant improvements (also parents did not feel a need to be reminded about the importance of school attendance):
SESLIP QA Conference – NOW BOOKING
On Monday 8 December SESLIP is hosting a collaborative QA co-design event.
Headlines
On behalf of the SESLIP QA network, Kent Analytics has been research CSC QA processes and practices across the region.
This event will be an opportunity for QA leads and staff to participate in the co-design of new improved procedures based on the research findings.
SESLIP Targeted Support
The SESLIP Targeted Support scheme is now open to enquiries from children’s services authorities in the south east.
This project is funded by the DfE’s RIIA grant and is open to both CSC and SEND.
Details
The prospectus introduces our dedicated Targeted Support Core Team, which includes experienced, ex-local authority leaders, who have worked at director, assistant director and principal programme manager levels,
The core team’s practice is enhanced by collaboration with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from across the full range of children’s services.
A bespoke package will be agreed at scoping stage.
For more information, or to become involved as a subject matter expert, contact Claire@clairewoodcockconsulting.com
Regional Improvement Plan 2025-26
On 18 July 2025 SESLIP published our regional improvement plan for 2025-26
Headlines
The new regional improvement plan has 47 projects and a budget of just under £2m.
The plan incorporates our delivery plan for DfE’s RIIA grant of £1.6m to SESLIP for the current year
Tools & Templates
We have produced a Regional Improvement Plan (July 2025)
On 13 October Home+Future (the south east’s RCC) published Briefing 002 – cross regional placements
On 6 October Ofsted published Children’s social care questionnaires 2025
On 3 October APSEND and CSTUK published Upstream – best practice examples from specialst, AP and mixed trust schools
On 3 October 2025 IFS published Support for children with disabilities and special educational needs as part of its Green Budget for 2025
On 2 October Kinship published its annual survey of Kinship carers “Handle with Care”
On 2 October 2025 EEF published an independent evaluation of the BITUP programme – a low cost programme to improve secondary school attendance.
On 26 September 2025 HMIPrisons published Children in custody 2024–25
An analysis of 12–18-year-olds’ perceptions of their experiences
in secure training centres and young offender institutions
On 25 September DfE published a research report, Family Routes: children who returned to care after leaving for adoption or to live with a special guardian
On 25 September 2025 the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse published Developing your strategic response to child sexual abuse – A guide for safeguarding children partnerships
On 24 September 2025 West Midlands ADCS Network (the RIIA) published its team excellence awards brochure for 2025
On 24 September Speech and Language UK published Transforming SEND: An Alternative White Paper
On 17 September APPG for SEND launched Reforming the SEND
System in England
On 16 September The Law Commission published Disabled Children’s Social Care: Final Report
On 12 September the PAC published Improving family court services for children
On 12 September NAO published Managing children’s residential care
On 10 September the Alliance for Youth Justice published From exploited to exploiter?
On 10 September Ofsted, CQC, HMICFRS and HMIProbation published new JTAI guidance for inspections of the response to child sexual abuse in the family environment
On 10 September LGA published Teenage Pregnancy Prevention: Strengthening Local Leadership and Supporting young parents to reach their full potential
On 8 September Ofsted published Children missing education: statutory guidance for local authorities and schools
On 1 September Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) published new guides to help social workers support those children in care with insecure immigration status.
On 29 August SESLIP published its Targeted Support scheme prospectus
On 23 July LGA published Children and young people’s mental health in their “Must Knows” series
On 22 July ECPAT UK published More than Words: how definitions impact on the UK’s response to child trafficking and exploitation
On 16 July 2025 Ofsted published Social care providers and places as at 31 March 2025
On 16 July Foundations (What works centre for children and families) published a new practice guide: Parenting Disabled Children and Young People
On 13 July Nesta published on open call for an Early Years Resident as part of the Nesta Residency Programme
On 10 July 2025 DfE published Families first for children pathfinder – Implementation and process evaluation report: early findings
On 9 July Inclusion in Practice published Emerging Insights