Web edition contents
Welcome from Rosalind Turner, Director for
Children and Young People
Message from Cllr Patricia O’Brien,
Portfolio Holder for Children, Schools and Young People’s
Services
Suffolk’s Children and Young
People’s Plan: how far have we come?
It’s to go on 1 April – the Child Protection
Register
The Council’s Social Inclusion and
Community Cohesion Strategy and how it affects CYP
Update on Children’s Centres:
plans for 13 more Children’s Centres across Suffolk
Primary Capital Programme (PCP) Strategy
for Change – Transforming Learning with Communities
South West Ipswich and South Suffolk
(SWISS) Partnership
Suffolk Children’s Workforce:
Consultation Events
Induction training for children’s
workforce practitioners
WellChild Children’s Health Awards
2008
Suffolk Stop Smoking
Service
Common Assessment Framework
(CAF)
SOR supplement:
Cabinet agrees way forward for education
in the county
All staff in middle schools survey: executive
summary
Moving Foreword
Rosalind Turner, Director for Children and Young People
(Suffolk County Council)
Welcome to the April edition of Moving Forward. There’s a lot
that’s been going on and this is something that we need to be
mindful of – how to keep the big change strategies going whilst
continuing to do the day job. We mustn’t neglect the need for
continual professional development, in the midst of all the changes
that are going on. We need to reflect and still be aiming for
excellence, but we must ensure we are also keeping the focus on our
core service delivery.
On the theme of shared learning, I am certain this is something
we could all do better. We are a good authority but want to
be even better at sharing good practice, which includes right
across our Children and Young People’s Service and the Children’s
Trust Partnership. The
workforce development roadshows are a good way of contributing
to the shared learning we need across our service. I hope
many of you will be able to attend.
There have been some outstanding Ofsted reports in schools and
early years settings and many signs of positive impact from the
work we are doing through community clusters. The Childrens
Centres are showing the way in how early work with children and
families can make a significant impact. It is a huge
achievement and great credit to the Children’s Centres team that we
had all 35 centres designated by 1 April,
with a further 13 to come.
Many thanks particularly to Sarah Tatoo and Mark Parker.
Our Annual Performance Assessment (APA) is due in September, and
will be reviewing our Children and Young People’s plan. The new
plan will link to the National Children’s Plan released earlier
this year. Our existing plan has put us in good stead, but we
can make it even better for over the next three years.
There are many changes currently going on within the County
Council. Andrea Hill will replace Mike More as the new chief
executive. A start date has been confirmed on 21 April 2008 and we
look forward to her arrival. The Boundary Committee has now started
looking at unitary council solutions for Suffolk. These
discussions will continue over the next few months; you can find
out more about this in the latest
GO Suffolk electronic newsletter.
We are in a good starting position in Children and Young People
Services, despite all the changes that are going on and whilst
still keeping the show on the road, this will put us in good stead
to be able to adapt and achieve in the future the same good results
that we have been obtaining.
Thank you to all of you who have contributed to this month’s
Moving Forward. If you would like to send us something for the next
issue in May, please contact Carolyn Newcombe in the Internal
Communications team.
Rosalind Turner
Back to top
Cllr Patricia O’Brien, Portfolio Holder for Children,
Schools and Young People’s Services
Welcome to this month's issue of Moving Forward. This has been a
significant time for the development of our Transforming Learning
with Communities programme, which encompasses both the Building
Schools for the Future initiative and the School Organisation
Review. The county's vision for learning, recommendations for
the future organisation of schools in Lowestoft and Haverhill and
the future organisation of specialist education in the
county, were approved by Cabinet on Tuesday 4 March.
I spent an interesting morning at Deben High
School recently, amongst pupils from several schools, who had
come together to take part in the Holocaust Memorial Day. It
was a sobering experience for the pupils, who were reflecting
on the plight of Jewish teenagers, living
through barbarous times.
Back to top
Suffolk’s
Children and Young People’s Plan: how far have we come?
Peter Knight, Head of Policy and Planning
Lyn Baran, Head of Information and Performance
The 2008 annual review of the Children and Young People’s Plan
(CYPP) is well underway! The Children’s Trust Board agreed
the review should be a light-touch ‘refresh’ of the CYPP, and
outcome and priority leads are working on the priority action plans
for the coming year for each of the 19 CYPP priorities. The
2008 annual review will be agreed at a special joint meeting of the
Children’s Trust Board and Executive Group on 4 June.
The process for reviewing our CYPP will also provide the
evidence needed for the 2008 Annual Performance Assessment
(APA) of children’s services: Ofsted’s inspection
process. For this we will need to prepare a self-assessment
of the impact we have made on improving the outcomes for children
and young people in Suffolk in the last year, and progress made
against the recommendations made in last year’s Joint Area
Review. This self-assessment must be submitted by 26
June. Previously we have scored a commendably consistent
‘Good’ since the APA began in 2005, and therefore the pressure is
on to maintain our reputation!
CYPP2
The annual review of the Plan will take us up to the end of the
three-year period of our current CYPP. We are already working
up proposals for developing our next Plan (CYPP2), building on
experience and learning gained so far. Our new plan will once
again be grounded in a comprehensive analysis of need, building on
the original work undertaken with partners in 2005 for the Suffolk
Assessment. The needs analysis will draw on information and
performance data from across the Children’s Trust
partnership. It will also be informed by the views of
children and young people and their families, and seek the views of
key stakeholders, including schools.
At its meeting in March, the Children’s Trust Board agreed that
CYPP2 should be a two-year Plan from 2009-11, which will bring it
in line with the new Local Area Agreement (LAA) cycle, which runs
from 2008-11. It will also take account of the timescale for
the implementation of local government reform in Suffolk. The
Trust Board also agreed that in order to really drive change across
the Partnership, CYPP2 will have a much slimmer set of
priorities.
Over the last few months there have been some significant
national developments that will have a strong influence over how
CYPP2 is developed, including:
- the publication by the Department for Children, Schools and
Families (DCSF) in December of the National Children’s Plan –
Building Brighter Futures;
- the new performance framework for local government which
includes a reduced National Indicator Set;
- the reconfiguration of the Every Child Matters Outcomes
Framework, which should be published within the next few weeks;
and
- new inspection framework for local government and the
introduction of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) from 2009,
which will replace both the Annual Performance Assessment and Joint
Area Review inspections for services for children and young
people.
The National Children’s Plan: Building Brighter
Futures
Building Brighter Futures is a very important document that sets
out the government’s ambition and aspirations for children and
young people over the next 10 years. The national Children’s
Plan aims to make England the best place for children and young
people to grow up, and is based on the following five key
principles:
- Government does not bring up children – parents do
- All children have the potential to succeed
- Children and young people need to enjoy their childhood as well
as grow up prepared for adult life
- Services need to be shaped by and responsive to children, young
people and their families
- It is always better to prevent failure than tackle a crisis
later.
The National Children’s Plan also sets out a series of
aspirational goals to be achieved by 2020:
a) enhance children and young people’s well-being,
particularly at key transition points in their lives;
b) every child ready for success in school, with at least 90%
developing well across all areas of the Early Years Foundation
Stage Profile by age 5;
c) every child ready for secondary school, with at least 90%
achieving at or above the expected level in both English and
mathematics by age 11;
d) every young person with the skills for adult life and
further study, with at least 90% achieving the equivalent of five
higher level GCSEs, and at least 70% achieving the equivalent of
two A levels;
e) parents satisfied with the information and support they
receive;
f) all young people participating in positive activities to
develop personal and social skills, promote well-being and reduce
behaviour that puts them at risk;
g) employers satisfied with young people’s readiness for
work;
h) child health improved, with the proportion of obese and
overweight children reduced to 2000 levels;
i) child poverty halved by 2010 and eradicated by 2020;
and
j) significantly reduce by 2020 the number of young offenders
receiving a conviction, reprimand or final warning for a recordable
offence for the first time.
The challenge for us in Suffolk will be to translate the
aspirations and goals set out in ‘Building Brighter Futures’ into
our local plans and strategies, in particular our next Children and
Young People’s Plan (CYPP2), and the development of services for
children and young people and their families.
If you are interested in finding out more about our Children and
Young People’s Plan or our annual performance assessment, please
contact Peter Knight:
peter.knight@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk,
tel: 01473 264554 or Lyn Baran:
lyn.baran@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk,
tel: 01473 264547
Back to top
It’s
to go on 1 April – the Child Protection Register
Cliff James, SCB Head of Safeguarding & Quality
Assurance
The Child Protection Register will cease to exist from 1 April
2008. The registration of children, considered to be at risk of
significant harm, was first introduced following the death of Maria
Cauldwell, and at a time when joint working between local agencies
was not as strong as it is today.
All children who are currently registered are made the subject
of a child protection plan and it is the plan which protects
children, rather than being the subject of a register. The
Government has determined that greater emphasis needs to be placed
on having effective plans in place to safeguard and promote the
welfare of children and achieving the best possible outcomes for
them, rather than maintaining a register. This change does not
diminish the importance of ensuring children are protected.
Child protection conferences will continue to be held for
children considered to meet the threshold of being at risk of
significant harm and the conferences will need to determine if a
child protection plan is required or consideration should be given
to an alternative approach, such as a family support plan or care
proceedings.
The Child Protection Plan will be a multi agency plan, with
specifications and outcomes identified to be completed within a
specified timescale.
Practitioners and managers who have authorisation to access this
information will continue to be able to check if children are
subject to a child protection plan. The county council will also
continue to maintain very detailed records about these children, as
it does about children who are looked after by the Local Authority
or subject to family support plans.
The emphasis of this and the introduction of the Children In
Need procedures will be discussed at the Children In Need Seminars
in April 2008. The dates and venues for these are as follows:
8th April 2008 Wherry Hotel, Lowestoft
10th April 2008 Hotel Elizabeth, Copdock, Ipswich
11th April 2008 Suffolk Hotel, Fornham St Genevieve, Bury St
Edmunds
If you have any questions about these changes or the seminars,
please contact Cliff James:
cliff.james@socserv.suffolkcc.gov.uk
CYP SS2 SS4
Back to top
The
Council’s Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion Strategy and how
it affects CYP
Shammi Jalota, Social Inclusion Manager
From 1st April 2008, Suffolk County Council’s Social Inclusion
and Community Strategy came into effect. The strategy
outlines the direction the council will take over the next two
years, and there are there five principles in all which will
underpin this. DMT has agreed Children and Young People’s
Services will support the five principles and in taking them
forward in the new strategic centre and delivery
agencies.
The five principles:
1 Understanding the needs of individuals, families,
neighbourhoods and communities
2 Recognising, planning for and responding to the changing
demography of Suffolk
3 Recognising that social exclusion can affect anybody
4 Understanding the specific barriers to participation faced
by individuals and communities
5 Involving individuals and communities from diverse
backgrounds in planning services
What is the aim of this Strategy?
The aim of this Strategy is to support the development of
services that overcome barriers faced by individuals and
communities across Suffolk as a result of social exclusion. By
working in partnership with colleagues within the council and with
our external partners, services will be developed that can improve
the quality of life of everybody in Suffolk, and in turn enhance
community cohesion.
Link to the council’s social inclusion and community cohesion
strategy:
Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion strategy
Link to similar information on Suffolk County Council’s website:
http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/LeisureAndCulture/CommunityCohesion/
A county council toolkit will also be available shortly, which
will help us to focus on what we need to achieve and think
about.
If you would like to know more about social inclusion or the
council’s strategy, please contact Shammi Jalota, Social Inclusion
Manager, tel: 01473 265161, or email:
shammi.jalota@csu.suffolkcc.gov.uk
CYP
MPC4
Back to top
Update on Children’s Centres: plans for 13 more Children’s Centres
across Suffolk
More children’s centres than ever are opening around Suffolk and
offer a fantastic range of free drop in sessions, fun activities
and helpful services for families with children under 5.
The centres focus on giving children the best start in life and
are key places for them to learn and be cared for. They are also a
great place for children to play and parents to have a chat.
In Suffolk, there are 15 children's centres currently open, and
plans to have a total of 48 centres by 2010.
What’s on offer?
The centres are friendly places, offering many services to
families with children from birth to five years, such as childcare,
health services, social care support and adult education classes.
The services can often vary, depending on the area and needs within
that community, but it could include the support of midwives and
health visitors.
There’s often plenty going on with parent and young babies
infant massage and ‘feel free’ drop in sessions, as well as
specialised parenting classes, counselling and support
groups. Many parents and families have benefited, and the
shared experiences, worries and joys of parenthood provide a great
network of support and friendship to parents too. You can see
some examples of what parents have had to say about their
experiences by following the link below to a 10 minute video
clip:
http://www.bruizer.biz/
Everyone invited to help guide plans for 13 more Children’s
Centres across Suffolk:
During March, April and May everyone interested is invited to
help guide decisions as to where these new children’s centres
should be. Please use the web site which has all the information
and forms to give your feedback to the council:
www.suffolk.gov.uk/childrenscentres
The further 13 Children’s Centres are proposed, subject to
consultation, for:
- Eye
- Halesworth
- Woodbridge
- Kesgrave
- East Bergholt
- North Ipswich
- Stowmarket
- Needham Market
- Glemsford
- Stanton
- Brandon
- Bury St. Edmunds (two new children’s centres)
For information and details about where to find your nearest
children’s centre at:
www.suffolk.gov.uk/childrenscentres.
You can make use of the childcare voucher scheme if you have to
pay for childcare. Follow this link:
http://colin.suffolkcc.gov.uk/HumanResources/StaffBenefits/ChildcareVouchers.htm
Children’s centres are part of the Government’s Sure Start
programme, aimed at giving every child the best start in life.
BH1 SS1 EA2 AEW3
Back
to top
Primary Capital Programme (PCP) Strategy for
Change – Transforming Learning with Communities
Maria Chapman, Senior Education Officer
(Development)
In the Government’s Primary Capital Programme (PCP) initiative
it proposes to provide authorities with funding to modernise and
rationalise primary school accommodation over the next 14 years.
The initiative aims to have an impact on up to 50% of the primary
school estate nationally. The Department for Children, Schools and
Families (DCSF) issued the PCP guidance to Local Authorities, which
is available at:
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/News/PCP/
The PCP is one of a number of programmes supporting the
principles within ‘Suffolk’s Vision for Learning: Transforming
Learning with Communities’. The Vision was discussed at Cabinet on
4th March 2008 and provided an opportunity to help schools develop
their own vision for learning in relation to the Building Schools
for the Future Programme (BSF) for secondary schools and the
Primary Capital Programme (PCP). This is available at
http://apps2.suffolk.gov.uk/cgi-bin/committee_xml.cgi?p=doc&id=1_10865&format=doc
Our Primary Strategy for Change must comprise five core
elements:-
- our local perspective – setting out broad aims and
objectives
- a baseline analysis – educational performance, social
deprivation, need for places, condition of buildings, extended
services and co-location of schools, children’s centres and wider
children’s services
- our long-term aims – investment priorities, better buildings
and pattern and type of schools, national and local policy
objectives
- our approach to change – how the programme will be run
- our initial investment priorities – specific priorities
for the first 4 years of the programme
- In Suffolk, we are charged by the DCSF with improving 50% of
primary schools in the worst physical condition. A few may be
rebuilt, others refurbished, but this is very good news as it gives
us the opportunity to provide inspiring improved environments to
support effective teaching and learning and, where possible, link
with children’s centres and extended schools
developments.
This funding is in addition to our annual capital programme, and
it’s important to be aware of that. Suffolk’s aim is to bring all
our primary schools up to a standard to support learning in the
21st century.
The next step in obtaining the funding will be to submit our
Primary Strategy for Change to Cabinet for
approval and submit the strategy to the DCSF by 16 June 2008.
Suffolk’s PCP allocation is expected to be £5.17m in
2009-10 and £7.55m 2010-11. The full 14 year programme is
expected to bring an additional £100m capital funding to the County
to improve primary schools. In developing our approach to
producing the PCP Strategy for Change submission, and also gather
views regarding the prioritisation and the delivery of the
programme, we are currently meeting with Head Teachers, Governors
and other stakeholders.
If you would like to find out more about our PCP strategy for
change, please contact:
Maria Chapman:
maria.chapman@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk,
tel: 01473 264644.
EA1
Back to top
South West
Ipswich and South Suffolk (SWISS) Partnership
John Ross, Communications Manager CYP
Suffolk County Council is currently in the process of preparing
a planning application for a new Sixth Form Centre on land to the
south of London Road, Scrivener Drive, Ipswich. The SWISS (South
West Ipswich and South Suffolk) Centre, which is scheduled to open
in September 2010, will provide top class educational facilities
for over 2,000 16-19 year old students.
A public exhibition is to take place between 6pm-9.30pm on
Friday 18th and 10am-4pm on Saturday 19th April 2008 at the Holiday
Inn, London Road, Ipswich. It’s where you will be able to find out
more about the proposed SWISS Centre and have an opportunity to
give your comments and feedback on the draft proposals, which will
help to inform the final submission. Representatives of the
development team will also be available to explain how the
proposals have been developed and to answer any questions.
The exhibition will also be displayed in the foyer of Endeavour
House from Monday 14th to Thursday 17th April 2008, but
unfortunately members of the development team will not be available
during this period. If you are unable to attend either of the
exhibitions, then details of the proposals will also be available
by going to
www.suffolk.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/FurtherAndHigherEducation/SWISS/
where you can submit comments using the online feedback form.
The planning application will be submitted in May 2008 when
there will be a further opportunity to comment on the SWISS Centre
proposals. For further information, contact:
John.ross@comms.suffolkcc.gov.uk,
tel: 01473 264389.
EA1 AEW1
Back to top
Suffolk Children’s
Workforce: Consultation Events
Fiona Denny, County Advisor for Professional
Development
What is happening: a series of consultation
events to inform a Suffolk County Children and Young People’s
workforce development strategy. The strategy will be based
around the concept of one workforce. It will be considered by
the Children’s Trust Partnership and, when finalised, used to
inform commissioning.
There will be 9 consultation events, 3 in each area and then a
full day event drawing together the themes and learning from the
local events. These lively and interactive events are aimed
at every member of Suffolk Children’s Workforce (volunteer and paid
– frontline practitioner, strategic manager, business
support). Young people will be involved throughout the
consultation events, as well as their thoughts on the strategy
being actively sought.
The information from the local events will then feed into a
county event on 13th June 2008.
Dates: Local Events:
7 May
2008
- 10.00 – 12.15 High Lodge, Hinton, off A12 Nr
Darsham
- 2.00 – 4.15 High Lodge, Hinton, off A12 Nr
Darsham
- 6.00 – 8.15 High Lodge, Hinton, off A12 Nr Darsham
13 May 2008
- 10.00 – 12.15 Trinity Park,
Ipswich
- 2.00 – 4.15 Trinity Park,
Ipswich
- 6.00 – 8.15 Trinity Park, Ipswich
21 May 2008
- 10- 12.15 Newmarket Race Course
- 2.00 – 4.15 Newmarket Race Course
- 6.00 – 8.15 Newmarket Race
Course
Date: County Event: 13 June 2008
10.00 – 3.30 Ipswich Town Football Club
The aims of the consultation events are:
- to look at how we translate the vision into action.
- to get people thinking about what ‘oneness’ means. Where
are we along the ‘integration’ continuum and how do we move
forward.
- to identify examples of current practice at individual/team and
organisational level. These will be used to illustrate a
strategy document that will go for full endorsement by the Suffolk
Children’s PartnershipTrust
- to understand what is happening when integration is working
well. What are the behaviours we are seeking to develop
within ourselves and the Children’s Workforce? What helps
improve integration?
Bookings for the events are now being taken. To book
your place, please click on the following link: for the event flyer
with booking form, which once completed return to:
admin.wfd@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Back to top
Induction training for children’s
workforce practitioners
Fiona Denny, County Advisor for Professional
Development
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) Induction
Training Programme is now available as a part time option this
summer. Those interested will need to commit to all 3
evenings and there will be some inter-sessional work. All
sessions will be held at the Kerrison Centre, Thorndon, near
Eye. The programme will be delivered by a multi-agency team
and is for anyone (working in the Children’s Workforce including
private, voluntary and independent sector workers).
The programme is currently fully subsidised and there will be no
charge to delegates. For details on content and how to enrol,
please see below:
11 June (6.30-9.00pm) – Working in a Principled
Way: recent legislation and policy including Every Child
Matters, Children Act 2004, integrated working, Children’s
Workforce Development and UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Principles and Values underpinning work with children,
young people and families, including person-centred practice. Inter
sessional work: social and medical models of disability – their
impact on practice.
25 June (6.30-9.00pm) – Working Together; Theories of
Need: CAF, ContactPoint, Lead Professionals; Maslow’s
hierarchy of human needs and social, emotional and behavioural
development of children and young people; Prochaska and
DiClemente’s change and motivation cycle; Attachment theory –
impact on development
9 July (6.30-9.00pm) – Development Theories;
Understanding Behaviour; Transitions: Child
development theories including overviews of Piaget’s cognitive
development theory, Vygotsky’s social learning theory and Erikson’s
psychosocial theory. The observable and hidden aspects of
behaviour. Working to change challenging behaviour. Transitions and
change within the family. Managing transitions.
If you would like to enrol onto any of the above courses, please
phone or email Sandra Ayoub in the Workforce Development Team on
tel: 01473 260464, email:
sandra.ayoub@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Back to top
WellChild
Children’s Health Awards 2008
WellChild are inviting nominations for the 4th annual WellChild
Children’s Health Awards. The Awards celebrate the bravery and
courage of sick children along with the many dedicated volunteers
and professionals who support both them and their families. The
event will take place in October at Lord’s Cricket Ground in
London. If you’ve been inspired by the bravery of a child, or the
dedication of carers and healthcare professionals, take time to
nominate them. You can nominate someone who has either made a real
impact to your life or has touched the lives of others. Nominations
can be made online at Web:
http://www.wellchild.org.uk/awards
or email:
awards@wellchild.org.uk
if you would like copies of the nomination form.
BH1
Back to top
Suffolk
Stop Smoking Service
Jeff Keighley, Deputy Coordinator/Pregnancy Lead, Ipswich
Hospital
The Suffolk Stop Smoking Service has been providing for over
seven years clinical support for smokers wishing to quit. The
service is split into three tiers.
- Level 1: is asking clients if they smoke and making a referral
to the stop smoking service. Treatment is delivered by either level
2 or level 3.
- Level 2: stop smoking advisors such as practice nurses,
pharmacists and midwives support clients through quitting with 1-1
support. They undertake a health assessment on every client and
arrange drug treatment, such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy, Zyban
and Champix where appropriate.
- Level 3: is a specialist service. Some 1-1 work is undertaken,
but in the main advisors will undertake a programme of seven
stop-smoking sessions as a group. Support in groups seems to be the
most effective way to give up smoking.
Smokers are 4 times as likely to quit if they come for treatment at
an NHS stop smoking service; statistics also show that 70% of
smokers want to quit.
If you would like to find out more about the Suffolk Stop
Smoking Service, please contact Jeff Keighley, tel: 01473 704314
(ext 6314). If you contact this number we will send you your own
referral forms. Any practitioner can refer and we offer free level
1 and 2 training where appropriate.
BH1
Back to top
Common
Assessment Framework (CAF)
Alice Redfearn, Implementation Manager
Suffolk is one of the few local authorities to fully implement
the CAF within the DCSF target date of April 2008. We have
trained nearly 4,000 practitioners to work closely with children,
young people and their families using CAF as a tool.
Working with the CAF process enables professionals to fully
engage with families at an earlier opportunity to ensure that their
needs can be met with appropriate, timely intervention. CAF
helps empower both families and professionals by enabling them to
establish effective trusting working relationships together.
Information gathered for the CAF process is only shared with
appropriate professionals and only with the informed consent of the
child, young person and family.
Once the assessment is recorded with the family, it is presented
to a group of local professionals from a range of agencies that
will identify the right lead professional and suggest an action
plan for the family to consider.
Now we have implemented CAF it is essential that everyone
working with children, young people and their families help us to
ensure that the process develops consistently across the
county. We are currently undertaking an evaluation of the CAF
process and if you are on a panel, have completed a CAF or have
been a lead professional, you will be contacted to invite you to
contribute. If you would like to make a suggestion regarding
the CAF process, please send your ideas/comments to
caf@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
or contact your Cluster Development Coordinator, details can be
found on
www.suffolk.gov.uk/caf
under ‘CAF administrators’. Feedback questionnaires are also
available on that website.
We are planning more CAF training sessions in the future and
need to know who would like training. To register for
training, please contact Glenda Miller on 01473 260763 or
caf@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
and she will put your name on the waiting list. Please ensure
you give your name, contact details and preferred cluster for
training.
Back to top
SOR supplement
Cabinet agrees
way forward for education in the county
On Tuesday 4 March, Members of Suffolk County Council's Cabinet
endorsed the county's vision for learning, agreed recommendations
for the future organisation of schools in the Lowestoft and
Haverhill areas and approved principles for the future organisation
of specialist education in the county.
Statutory public notices relating to the changes in school
organisation in the Lowestoft area will be issued later in the
year. Before they can be issued a competition has to take place to
determine who will run the new high school in the south of
Lowestoft and the new post-16 centre. Statutory public
notices will be published in April for all the recommendations for
the Haverhill area.
Once the public notices have been published a six week period of
representation will follow. During this time people can make
comment on the proposals to the county council. As part of
these recommendations all middle schools in the two areas would
close, with young people remaining in primary schools until the age
of 11, before transferring to a secondary school.
Suffolk's vision for learning will now be submitted to the
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and
Partnership for Schools (PfS) as the basis for Suffolk's Building
Schools for the Future and Primary Capital Programmes.
The vision will also be made available for schools, parents and
other community members.
Cabinet also agreed principles for improving specialist
education provision in the county, including provision in the areas
of dyslexia, autism and severe emotional and behavioural
difficulties. It was also agreed to consider the future of special
education provision in a way that reflects the work of the School
Organisation Review and the opportunities which are available
through Building Schools for the Future and the Primary Capital
Programme. For further information about the SOR, visit the
Suffolk School Organisation Review page or contact Adam
Barnes:adam.barnes@comms.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Back to top
All staff
in middle schools survey: executive summary
Terry Dentith, County Adviser for Professional
Development
In December and January this year, all staff in middle schools
were invited to complete a questionnaire to indicate the phase, out
of the three options given, they are likely to apply for.
Also indicated from the survey were general and specific training
needs and preferred delivery styles. The survey had a
significant response rate of 32%, which also gave a reasonable
indication of training needs. In summary, the results
show:
- Clearly that many middle school staff are well placed to meet
the needs of the “new” primary and secondary schools.
- Some have not yet decided in which phase they wish to
work. 31% of those responding to the questionnaire were
undecided.
- Most people who responded identified some training needs.
Top of the priorities, indicated by over a third of all staff, was
about the nature of their job in other organisations. Job
application skills, management and leadership and use and
management of resources also featured in over 20% of
responses.
- One in six staff did not identify phase specific training
needs. However, over a quarter identified classroom behaviour
management as a need and over one in five need support with
pastoral work. This varied, nearly a third of teachers
indicate that they need no training compared with less than one in
ten of teaching assistants. A half of teaching assistants and
three quarters of cover supervisors identify “classroom and
behaviour management” as a training need compared with a quarter of
teachers.
- Not surprisingly, the core subjects are most commonly
identified for training needs for all staff; teachers also identify
subjects such as art and design and design technology but with
teaching assistants, who identify special educational needs and
information and communication technology, as areas of
need.
- Over half of the staff that responded prefer to have training
in their own school, although closely followed by having a course
at another venue and shadowing and observing practice and this was
not consistent across all groups of staff. Teachers and
senior managers prefer “shadowing” whereas many support staff
prefer “in school”, for example over three quarters of teaching
assistants and midday supervisors prefer training in their own
school. There needs to be a careful balance between choosing
efficient locations against the need to minimise the time and fuel
of travelling.
Next steps:
Work is well underway to produce a training infrastructure plan
in response to the survey, which will also need to tie in with
local, county and national initiatives that are underway. Examples
of this are the Key Stage 3 framework training and the ongoing
primary strategy developments.
Some pyramids are well underway with staff visiting schools in
other phases. We are currently putting in place arrangements
for staff in middle schools to visit primary and secondary schools
to see middle school age pupils in the different settings to enable
them to make decisions about their future career.
We are discussing ways of identifying staff needs in first and
upper schools. This may be by a questionnaire to all staff,
but it could build on the work in individual schools already
underway. We are aware that some schools have undertaken
significant, detailed analysis and we are aware of not replicating
existing work.
For more information about SOR, visit: visit the
Suffolk School Organisation Review page or contact Adam Barnes:
adam.barnes@comms.suffolkcc.gov.uk,
Terry Dentith:
terry.dentith@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Back to top
Information and contacts
Getting in touch
Comments on this publication
If you would like to feed back or submit articles to this
publication, contact: Carolyn Newcombe,
email:
carolyn.newcombe@comms.suffolkcc.gov.uk, tel: 01473 265187
Other information about Children and Young People’s
Services
We aim to provide the most extensive coverage of news and
information possible. Here’s what to expect from us, plus details
of how to get in touch:
On the web
General information about the CYP directorate and services
offered is available on the Suffolk County Council website at
www.suffolk.gov.uk/cyp.
Past publications and news from the directorate is available on
the county council’s intranet, COLIN, at
colin.suffolkcc.gov.uk.
In print
Moving Forward: Published monthly on Suffolk County Council’s
website. Moving Forward charts major work and developments in the
CYP directorate. To submit articles or get added to the
distribution list, email
news@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk.
CYPress: Published three times per year on the website and to a
limited print run in public buildings in Suffolk, CYPress magazine
looks at some of the good work and achievements of all those
agencies and organisations involved in Suffolk’s Children’s Trust
Partnership. To submit articles, email
cypress@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk.
Note from the Editor
If you have any articles, or news that you would like
share, for inclusion in next month's Moving Forward,
please contact:
carolyn.newcombe@comms.suffolkcc.gov.uk,
tel: 01473 265187.
Back to top