Working in partnership to improve the lives of vulnerable children

Working in partnership to improve the lives of vulnerable children

Christine Davies CBE

… or “pressures, possibilities and partnerships”… or “pressures, possibilities and partnerships”

This presentation...

• Policy context (where we’ve come from and where we’re going)

• Challenges faced by children and young people

• Partnerships matter

• Concluding principles

Partnerships – Why bother?

…”Creation of a self-improving system needs a degree of co-ordination and strong

incentives to encourage schools to look beyond their own gate. Otherwise there is a danger that many schools will operate in

isolation rather than in co-operation”…

…”we heard of near universal support for the concept of schools collaborating in order to provide a better service for all

children and young people”…

Education Select Committee

…”Local Authorities have an indispensable role to play as champions of children and parents,

ensuring that the school system works for every family and using their democratic

mandate to challenge every school to do their best for their population”…

…”LA’s create an ‘enabling environment’, reflecting a collective accountability with Headteachers, driving moral purpose for system improvement for all children”…

Sir Michael Wilshaw – Dec 2013

NFER – ‘What works in enabling school improvement?’

Partnerships do matter

• Drive strong moral purpose• Secure equity and social justice• Promote community cohesion• Protect the vulnerable and ‘narrow the gap’• Attain the best education outcomes for all• Enable wise use of resources• Ensure economic growth

and success

Policy Context (2000 2010)

Significant challenges -• Raise education standards, particularly literacy /

numeracy• ‘Narrowing the gap’, long tail underachievement• Child deaths (Victoria Climbe), poor information

sharing• Diversity of school structures (Grant Maintained v.

Community)• Deprived communities• Highest rate of teenage pregnancy/NEET in Europe

Political Commitment

• School structures don’t matter: ‘Standards not Structures’

• Greater school autonomy – ‘Academies’

• Protecting most vulnerable – ‘Children Act 2004/ECM’

• Deprived communities, deprived families – ‘Sure Start’

• ‘Schools at the heart of their Community’

• Need for ‘middle tier’, holding all partners to account – ‘Working Together’/’Children’s Trusts’

• Literacy and numeracy strategies• EAZ• Sure Start• Children Act 2004• E.C.M.• Children’s Fund• Extended Schools• Healthy Schools• School Sports Partnerships• Parent Partnerships (SEN)• 14-19 Partnerships• Children’s Trusts• Building Schools for the Future

Initiatives, trailblazers, pathfinders and partnerships flowed

Strong sense of moral purpose

Schools, LA, families and communities together

Social mobility stalledAusterity (Public Services)Technology (sex texting, 200+ ‘chat’ sites)

2012 Was then, is now...

Raise education standards for allNarrow the gapChild deaths (Keanu Williams, Daniel Pelka)Highest rate of teenage pregnancy in EuropeDeprived communities, deprived familiesGreater school autonomy (Academies, Free Schools, Teaching Schools)Youth Unemployment

Plus

Political ambitions the same…

• Raise standards• School diversity and autonomy• Protect vulnerable children (Pupil Premium)

BUT• E.C.M. rolled back (Children Act still in place)• Role of LA’s, ambivalence and huge cuts• Top-down reorganisation / fragmentation - Schools - Health - Police - Probation

COMPLEXITY + CHALLENGES = COOPERATION

What are the challenges?

Despite years of sustained investment in public services – the ‘gap’ remains steep and wide (education, health, well-being,

economic success) Much excellence, less equity –

economically unsustainable in a competitive global economy

Strong sense of ‘moral purpose’ – imperative for social inclusion and community cohesion.

Cost of not doing it too high- individuals- families- communities- nation

for:

• Despite all efforts, the strongest links between circumstances into which a child is born (socio-economic group) and their adult outcomes

• The lower the social economic group, the higher the risk of poor outcomes

• ‘Poor’ circumstances, leading to poor qualifications, transmits poverty across generations

• Inequality affects us all

Poverty (and social class) matter

and it starts early!

0

22 months 4 years 10 years5 years 6 years

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50

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Low SEG Low cog at 22 m.

Low SEG High cog at 22 m.

High SEG Low cog at 22 m.

High SEG High cog at 22 m.

(Reducing Inequalities - NCB)

(Net Mums and Kids Company – June 2012)

2 children in every classroom are going hungry

1 million children in the UK live in homes without enough to eat.

Institute of Fiscal Studies UK child poverty rates likely to rise in 2013 23% in 2021

(return to child poverty levels of 20 years ago)

61% children from working households, living in poverty (2013)

• Key Stage 2 - 65.7% FSM at Level 4 - 82.5% (all other pupils)

- 50.0% (LAC)

• Key Stage 4 -36.8% FSM (5 A*-C, including English & Maths) - 63.0% (all other pupils)

- 43.2% (LAC)

• 19 year olds - 34% FSM 58.1% (all others)

[2012]

• Key Stage 2 - 65.7% FSM at Level 4 - 82.5% (all other pupils)

- 50.0% (LAC)

• Key Stage 4 -36.8% FSM (5 A*-C, including English & Maths) - 63.0% (all other pupils)

- 43.2% (LAC)

• 19 year olds - 34% FSM 58.1% (all others)

[2012]

- Drug users with dependent children increased

- 2.6 million children live with parents who drink seriously (705,000 living with ‘dependent’ drinkers)

- Parental alcohol misuse a factor in over 50% child protection cases

Drugs and Alcohol

- 12% of under 11 years- 17.5% 11-17 years- 24% 18-24 years

- 5% of children have experienced severe domestic violence in their homes.

- These children also 4½ times more likely to experience physical violence and neglect.

- Alcohol-related domestic violence increases risks to children (up to 33% of cases of child abuse)

Domestic Violence

Exposed to domestic violence between adults in their homes

- 1.8 million children living in workless households (down 26,000 from 2010)

- 7.6% 16-18 years NEET (10.2% 2010)

- 14.2%19-24 years NEET (16.5% 2010)

1.4 million 16-25 years looking for work1.4 million 16-25 years looking for work

Workless Households

- 1 in 10 children diagnosed with mental health disorder

- 3 children in every classroom have diagnosed mental health disorders

- 1 in 12 deliberately self harm (25,000 hospitalised each year)

- 80,000 children suffer from severe depression

- 2 young people kill themselves every day.

Mental Health in the UK

• 1 in 10 children have communication difficulties

• 2-3 children, in every classroom, have communication difficulties that require specialist help

Speech, Language and Communication difficulties in the UK

• 25-35% alleged sexual abuse – by under 21 year olds

• 47% cautions of sexual offences 10-21 year olds

• Known children subject to child sexual exploitation (CSE) = 17,000 (20 medium sized secondary schools)

• 200+ chat sites used by young people

Sexually harmful behaviour in children

• 68,100, an increase of 12% compared to March 2009

• 62% LAC (abuse or neglect)

• 74% LAC White British

Children ‘Looked After’ (2013)

Other challenges!

• LA’s (2010 2013) £10 billion real terms

• + further £2.1 billion (2015/16)

(New Local Government Network)

Public Sector cuts

Measured number of families with children ‘most vulnerable’ due to adverse economic conditions

Estimated impact on vulnerable families by changes to tax and benefits, cuts to public services and economic projections

‘In the Eye of the Storm’ – Britain’s forgotten children and families

Household dataset ‘Families and Children Study’ (used by Cabinet Office for ‘families at risk’ / ’troubled families’)

Families at risk have 5+ vulnerabilities;

1.Worklessness – no parent in family in work

2.Housing – living in poor quality and/or over-crowded housing

3.Qualifications – no parent having academic or vocational qualifications

4.Mental Health – mother has mental health problems

5. Illness/Disability – at least one parent limiting, long-standing illness/disability

6. Low income – below 60% of the median

7. Material deprivation – cannot afford number of food/clothing items

Definition of vulnerable children and families

Assume average value of all ‘in-kind’ public services (health, social care, education, transport, housing, police, welfare to work) of £16,200 for all families in 2008

Vulnerable families depend more on public services, especially children

New measures i.e. pupil premium + childcare for disadvantaged 2 year olds direct spending on vulnerable children

But do not compensate for cuts. Cash impact on vulnerable families between £1,000 and £2,500 per year by 2015

Combining changes to tax and benefit system with spending cuts to public services shows that families with 5+ vulnerabilities will lose £3,000 per year by 2015

Combining changes to tax and benefit system with spending cuts to public services shows that families with 5+ vulnerabilities will lose £3,000 per year by 2015

Impact of spending cuts on vulnerable families (2010-2015)

Between 2008 2015, estimated number of families with 5+ vulnerabilities increase from 130,000 to 150,000 (up 14%)

Number of children in these families set to rise by 54,000 up to 365,000 (17% increase)

Number of children living in families with 4+ vulnerabilities increase from 885,000 to 1 million (up 17%)

Other worrying facts…

Particularly worrying is the number of children living in families with 6+ vulnerabilities increase from 50,000 to 96,000 (up 100%)

Commissioning context for children more complex

Health commissioning for children:–School nurses LAs–Health visitors; public health NHS Board LAs (2013)–Safeguarding Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)

Mixed economy of providers and commissioners e.g. Social Enterprises, academies, free schools

Re-organisation of Council services (especially Adult Social Care / Children’s Services)Police Crime Commissioners

Five degrees of partnership

• Co-existence – You stay on your turf and I’ll stay on mine• Co-operation – I’ll lend you a hand when my work is done• Co-ordination – We need to adjust what we do to avoid overlap and confusion• Collaboration – Let’s work together on this• Co-ownership – We feel totally jointly responsible

CONFUSION, COMPLEXITY + CHALLENGES = COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION

Everything still possible

• Schools at heart of forging strong partnerships, with other schools and Local Authorities

to drive up education achievement and ‘narrow the gap’Essential

to protect the most vulnerable

Education Select Committee Conclusions

…” School partnerships and cooperation have become an increasingly important part of a self-improving or school-led system... ”we believe that such collaboration has great

potential to continue driving improvement to the English education system”

…” the issue of locality or geographical coherence is a key factor in creating effective

school partnerships”

…” Local Authorities have a critical role to play in a school-led system. We recommend that

Government set out clearly the role of LA’s in helping broker school-to-school partnerships and acting as champions of all parents and all

children in their region”

NFER: …” LA’s are repositioning themselves to put schools in the lead, whilst securing delivery of

their statutory duties through education partnerships. They were adopting a more

adaptive style of leadership and were prepared to move rapidly to enable school to school

support”

Changing role of Local Authorities

• Champion for children addressing inequality, promoting fairness, ensuring best possible life experiences and outcome

• Catalystbringing stakeholders, including all schools, together through shared vision and building effective partnerships to best meet need

• Commissionermaking best use of resources, through joint planning and joint commissioning, ensuring cost effective delivery – either ‘in house’ or through external providers

• Working together to safeguard children 2013

• LSCB (Local Safeguarding Children’s Board)including new local learning and

improvement framework (all services/agencies)

Statutory responsibilities for schools & LA’s

Multi agency responsibilities to support children and families (emphasising role of universal services in identifying early signs of abuse and neglect).

Mapping, joint planning, joint commissioning

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (shared understanding of data and ‘soft’ intelligence and engagement of C&YP)

Joint Health and Well-being Strategy

and other opportunities...

Greater integration across children’s services, public health and adult social care prompted by Health and Well-being Boards:

Healthy Child Programme

SEN - Single assessment;

Education, Health and Care Plans 0 – 25 years

Publish ‘local offer’ for pupils with SEN.

Children and Families Act 2013

Children and Families Act

School Improvement…

Education Act 1996 – promoting high standards in schools so that children and young people achieve well and

fulfil their potential

+ support for ‘schools causing concern’ Education and Inspections Act 2006

Ofsted inspecting LA’s now – Blackpool / Bournemouth / Isle of Wight / Norfolk / Wakefield

Plus

• Early Intervention locality teams

• Pupil Premium, including ‘Pupil Premium Plus’ and ‘Catch-up Premium’

• Troubled Families programme (£450 million)

• 2 year old offer / Family Nurse Partnerships / Health Visitors

• E-safety!

Education and LA Partnerships

Herfordshire

Herts of Learning

Liverpool

Lifelong Learning

Partnership

York Education

Partnership (YEP!)

Devon

Dartmoor Federation

SouthendEducation TrustBrighton & Hove

Learning Partnership

Wigan

Schools Consortia

Telford & Wrekin Severn Teaching School Alliance

Conclusions – the evidence is...

Schools have ‘strong sense of moral purpose’, taking collective responsibility for all children in local area

Schools are ‘looking beyond the school gate’

Schools and LA’s are cooperating, through innovative partnerships, to drive school improvement and ensure welfare of children

LA’s must have vision, energy and ambition to safeguard and champion all children and all families

So, as local leaders we can...

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Margaret Mead

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut

through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution

everybody can understand."

Colin Powell

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in

moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge

and controversy.”

Martin Luther King