Key management messages
Dear colleague
Good news - DCC has received a letter from Minister Edward Timpson
informing us that the Department
for Education has lifted the intervention notice and is ending formal
intervention arrangements in Devon. We will shortly write to you with more
detail about the letter and what this means for our continued work to improve
things for children in Devon, but for now we wanted to share this good news
with you and thank all of you for your hard work in making this happen.
And, we are
pleased to announce that, following a recruitment process, the new interim Head
of Children’s Social Work has been appointed.
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Jo Olsson, who has most recently
been working as interim Director of Children’s Services for the States of
Jersey, will be joining Devon County Council on 14 March, to commence a
four-week handover period with Fiona Fitzpatrick.
We are delighted to welcome Jo,
who brings with her a wealth of experience including leading Peer Reviews and
supporting local authorities in their improvement journeys.
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Jo has asked us to pass on this personal message to you all.
We know that you will join us in
welcoming Jo, and in thanking Fiona for her commitment to Children’s Social Work
in Devon over the past two years, particularly leading the service through last
year’s Ofsted inspection. We wish Fiona all the best for the future.
A
picture paints a thousand words
Celebrating the rights of the
child
On
the 27 January 2016, a group of seven young people came together with Jennie
Stephens and Cllr James McInnes to celebrate the right of children and young
people to express their views and have a say in matters that affect them. The occasion
for the celebration was that a beautiful painting, which represents this
principle, has been hung behind Jennie’s desk.
Jennie and James used the event as a good
opportunity to hear from the young people. Unsurprisingly, they had a lot to say
and Jennie and James would like to share these important messages from the
young people with you.
See the artwork and find out what the
young people told us.
New Belongings Project
The aim is for us, as a local authority, is to improve
our services for care leavers by applying the experience and expertise of care
leavers themselves to drive change to ensure their specific needs are met. Our main objectives are
- to embed the principles of the Care Leavers’
Charter
- to join up services to care leavers in
order to improve their outcomes, and
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to bring in the energy of
local communities to support care leavers.
In
February, a team from New Belongings visited Devon to assess our progress. In doing so, they worked closely with care leavers, senior managers, managers in Permanence and Transition Teams and the
Participation Team. They were impressed
with our progress and Liz Lydon , the project lead, made the following
observation:
“You
have done so well. The way you have embraced the care leaver
apprentices and interns into your overall service is inspiring.” Find
out more.
Taking it to the next
level – success at National Children’s Bureau celebratory event
Last month, Beth Wakefield and Sam Heaton
from our Participation Team showcased Devon’s Corporate Parents and Children in
Care Councils at the 'Taking it to the Next Level' Celebratory Event in London.
At the national event, Beth and Sam presented
the journey of children and young people’s involvement in Devon, and our
commitment to meaningful participation. Beth and Sam tell us: “What’s new is
that we don’t only tick boxes, or as we say, look shiny on the surface. We want
to give something back and make a difference, not just get the job done.” Find
out more.
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Virtual School for Children in Care update
Devon’s Virtual School for
Children in Care is now producing their own half-termly newsletter. And this term there are several events in March; the taster day at Exeter
University, and our Children in Care Celebration Event on 18 March.
Find out more and where you can nominate.
Children, Young People and Families’ Alliance
update
What it is?
Who is part of it? And how you can engage with it?
Are you up to speed with the development of the Children's Alliance? Are
you promoting involvement for the children you are working with so that they
can have their say about issues that affect children in Devon?
The Children,
Young People and Families’ Alliance has been established and is now up and
running thanks to the joint efforts and hard work of those involved in making
this happen. The priority outcomes include:
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Joint Commissioning
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Early Help
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Children with Disabilities Board
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Communications group
Find out what
are we doing differently because of the Alliance.
And, if you missed the last update, find
out more here.
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Children Centres update - intention and timescales
Since the procurement of a new service in North Devon and Torridge
(May 2015) and South and West Devon (April 2016) the Public
Health Nursing Service is due to transfer from NHS England into the local authority
in October 2016. This now gives us the opportunity to reflect on current
contracts and look at the potential opportunities it may give to develop a joint commissioning specification, which could
provide a seamless Early Help and Prevention Service.
Health Visiting
Services for Devon Residents
As you will be aware, commissioning
responsibility for Health Visiting Services transferred from NHS England to local authorities from 1st October 2015.
Nationally, one of the implications of this change is
that local authorities will be funded to commission Health Visiting Services
for local residents based on where they
live, rather than where they are
registered with GPs, as was previously the case.
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