Children & Young People Now
February 2011
Comment
Christine Davies CBE, Director, C4EO
Last summer, C4EO shared the learning from all of our themes at four large-scale
training events around the country.
These Excellence and Evidence events brought together the most up-to-date evidence
relating to a wide range of topics and helped delegates explore the fundamental
issues facing the sector today.
This year, we wanted to go one step further to ensure local areas are focused on
the issues most critical for them.
We consulted children's services leaders and practitioners through the Association
of Directors of Children's Services and using this feedback developed a series of
local training workshops.
During February and March, C4EO is therefore running 10 bespoke Excellence and Evidence
training workshops featuring content specific to the priorities of that local area.
Sessions include early intervention, improving outcomes for looked-after children,
supporting families with multiple problems, and integration on a shoestring.
Each event will highlight key messages from relevant research around "what
works"; share relevant validated local practice; showcase C4EO's cost and outcomes
tool, explore the role of participation of children, young people and parents in
improving services; and provide a chance to share in the learning from the child
poverty pilots.
We hope delegates will gain a great deal from the opportunity to look in detail
at research and examples of effective local practice, and see the benefits of sharing
their own best practice.
C4EO is continuing to search for examples of best practice across all of our themes,
which help improve outcomes for children, young people and families. Our bank of
sector specialists, who deliver tailored support to local areas, is growing daily
and also helping to build local capacity, leading to improvements in services.
Details of each local event and how to book are available on the
events section of the C4EO website.
Making the difference
Parental engagement - How to encourage parents' involvement
A scheme to engage parents in their child's education has improved attainment and
parents' involvement in school life
Engagement courses give parents the skills to support their children’s education
Parents in deprived parts of the UK are getting more involved in their children's
education and school thanks to a programme backed by Save the Children UK.
The charity teamed up with the Families and Schools Together (Fast) programme, developed
at Middlesex University by Dr Lynn McDonald, to roll out the scheme.
"It's designed to bring children and parents closer together, bring parents
together with other parents, and bring parents and schools together," explains
Gemma Bull, UK strategy manager at Fast.
The voluntary programme for parents of three- to five-year-olds is based in primary
schools and run by local multi-agency teams that include local parents, community
leaders and others from health and social services.
Each team devises a local recruitment strategy based on their knowledge of the community
and what will work.
The fact that parents are heavily involved from the start is a key strength, says
Bull.
"If a parent you know says: ‘I'm involved in this new programme and it's really
good', you're more likely to come," she says.
The programme is flexible and can be adapted to suit the needs of different communities,
she adds.
It comprises eight weekly sessions featuring activities families can copy at home,
including having a family meal around a table.
Sessions also include a parents' self-help group where they share and discuss issues,
and time spent playing one-to-one with their three- to five-year-old. After the
course, parents continue to meet monthly.
An evaluation of the pilots found 88 per cent felt better able to support their
children's education. Nearly three-quarters said they had more friends and local
support.
Schools noticed improvements in children's behaviour, numeracy and literacy skills.
Crucially, many parents become involved in school life with some going on to become
governors.
The project has secured substantial financial support including Charity of the Year
funding through Lloyds TSB and plans to expand to 120 groups in 60 sites over the
next 18 months.
Key points
- Listen to parents as they know best how to reach and appeal to other parents
- Bringing together a genuine multi-agency team is key to success
- You need strategic people such as directors of children's services on board as well
as frontline staff
- Evaluation is critical – you need to keep track of the difference your project is
making
Need to know
Looked-after children database to match information
A new database that brings together information about looked-after children can
help councils target scarce resources to improve services for this vulnerable group,
according to Simon Rutt, head of statistics at the National Foundation for Educational
Research and C4EO's data lead.
For the first time, local authorities will be able to match information on young
people's educational attainment and school attendance with other information on
offending, substance misuse and health, thanks to statistics published by the Department
for Education.
The new publication – released in December last year – includes information on attainment,
special educational needs, absence and exclusions among looked-after children.
It follows the merger of the National Pupil Database with the Children Looked After
database so it also includes information on cautions and convictions, substance
misuse and healthcare such as immunisations and dental checks.
"This combination of data allows for more informative analysis and more probing
questions," says Rutt.
"For example, researchers will be able to look at the relationship between
substance misuse and the levels of truancy among looked-after children and its overall
impact on educational attainment."
The "statistical first release" will allow local authorities to compare
their performance against that of their neighbours and other councils.
"More of this kind of linked-up pupil-level information should also give local
authority decision makers a better chance to identify areas of need and where their
resources should be targeted," adds Rutt.
However, he cautions against rushing in and advises authorities to invest in thorough
analysis of raw data.
Nuggets of useful knowledge
The number of children in England looked-after for a year at 31 March 2010 was
44,400
This is an increase of three per cent from 2009
Source: Outcomes for children looked-after by local authorities in England up to
March 2010, Department for Education.
Of children continuously in care for a year up to 31 March 2010
1,900
had problems with substance misuse
Source: Outcomes for children looked-after by local authorities in England up to
March 2010, Department for Education.
Of children looked-after continuously for a year and aged over 10 at 31 March 2010
2,400
had been convicted or given a verbal warning
Source: Outcomes for children looked-after by local authorities in England up to
March 2010, Department for Education.
Where to go next?
Cost-effectiveness models
Children's services leaders and managers can assess the cost-effectiveness of local
projects and services thanks to a model developed by C4EO. Resources available from
the C4EO website include cost calculators, cost comparison tools, guidance on placing
a financial value on outcomes and examples of best practice.
View the cost effectiveness section on the C4EO website.
Schools and communities research
The
final recommendations from C4EO's research into schools and communities are now
available in the publications section. The summary brings together findings
from three different reviews encompassing the latest research evidence, local practice
and the views of service managers, young people and families.
Excellence and Evidence
C4EO's series of local Excellence and Evidence training workshops kicked off this
month with events across the UK. Ten workshops will take place during February and
March covering topics such as integration on a shoestring, looked-after children
and families with multiple problems.
Find out more about Excellence and Evidence training workshops.
Top
