A message from Patrick Leeson:
12 May 2015 weekly update
12 May 2015
In this week's e-Bulletin we welcome our new Director, Gillian Cawley, give details of our newly recruited Early Help District Lead Managers and have some important information on School Website Statutory Requirements.
Dear Colleagues
I am happy to welcome Gillian Cawley, our new Director for Education Quality and Standards, to Kent. Gillian started in her new post this week. She will lead our services for school improvement, skills and employability, adult and community learning, and early years education and childcare. I know she is keen to start visiting schools and meeting Headteachers, and I am sure you will soon have the opportunity to meet her.
Early Help District Lead Managers We have now recruited to the District Manager posts for Early Help and Preventative Services. These are key posts in ensuring that Early Help is well coordinated in each local area, including ensuring the notification process works effectively and there is good follow up and communication with schools about Early Help cases. The names of the District Managers are set out below.
Early Help 0-25 Area Head of Service | Early Help |
|---|---|
North Kent - Stuart Collins County Role: Health
& Safeguarding | Dartford – Tim O'Brien |
Sarah
Gow | |
Sevenoaks – Christine Kiely | |
East Kent - Nigel Baker County Role: Adolescents,
Youth Offer (Duke of Edinburgh, Youth Participation and Outdoor Education) | Canterbury – Rob Jobe |
Swale – Nick Moor | |
Thanet – Sharon McLaughlin | |
South Kent - Louise Fisher County Role: 5 – 11
years | Ashford – Helen Anderson |
Shepway – Julia Easton | |
Dover – Bryony Khadaroo | |
West Kent - Nick Fenton County Role: 0 – 5
years | Maidstone – Hema Birdi |
Tonbridge & Malling – Karen
Coffey | |
Tunbridge Wells – Dan Bride |
At present there are about 5000 open cases of children and young people being supported through Early Help and Preventative Services, and the average case duration is about 12 weeks. Most cases (69%) are closed with a positive outcome and where the needs of the child or young person require the protection of statutory intervention, about 10% of cases are stepped up to children's social care.
We aim to ensure all notifications receive a response back to the school within two weeks and all cases that require a full assessment and an Early Help plan have this in place within one month. While this is not being achieved in all cases at present this is the benchmark we are aiming for to ensure there is a speedier response to meeting the needs of the priority children and young people for Early Help.
Please contact your Area Head of Service or your District Manager for any queries you might have or to address concerns. Also please let me, or the Director of Early Help and Preventative Services, Florence.Kroll@kent.gov.uk, have any comments about the development of this service.
School Website Statutory Requirements
We have become aware that a significant number of Kent school websites do not meet all the statutory requirements. You will know that the school website is accessed by Ofsted inspection teams prior to inspection to gather essential information about the school. It is also used by current and prospective parents to find information about the school. Can I ask you to please review your current website information in relation to the attached checklist (DOCX, 20.9 KB). This is currently under review by the DfE and revised guidance may be forthcoming shortly. I hope this is helpful.
Patrick
Leeson
Corporate Director, Education and Young People's Services