Leadership

Vulnerable Children And Social Care In England: A Review Of The Evidence

This research from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) examines the state of the children’s social care system in England – bringing together the latest data on children in need, intervention rates, staffing levels and funding provision. Leadership Briefing (141)

There are estimated to be 670,000 English children live in ‘high-risk’ situations, including with parents addicted to alcohol or drugs or in temporary accommodation, at least 800,000 have mental health disorders and 580,000 are in need of direct intervention. These included children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), children in low-income families, undocumented children and those who are excluded from school.

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      string(401) "... is needed. [This mightinclude] those on the edge of being excluded, those on the edgeof needing extreme intervention either academically or the factthat they are vulnerable children socially and emotionally.”(Extended services co-ordinator)Schools frequently drew on available socio-economicindicators as evidence of disadvantage (such as entitlementto free school ..."
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      string(5743) "42 Vol 2.4 n www.teachingtimes.comSchools in the Community Extended SchoolsSchool Leadership TodayBy the end of 2010, all state schools in England areexpected to offer extended services to all childrenand families. Extended services are intended toenable schools to fulfil the five Every Child Mattersoutcomes for children. The core offer of extended servicesthat each school is expected to provide has five elements:a rich and varied menu of activities for pupilschildcare (for primary schools)parenting supportswift and easy access to specialist services (for pupils andfamilies)community access (including adult education).Importantly, schools are not expected to provide all of theseservices on their own, but should co-operate with otherschools in the area to meet the needs of the community.Schools are also expected to consult with the localnnnnnExtended services vs.social disadvantageHow effective are extendedschools at targeting andtackling social disadvantage?The government recently askeda research team including LisaJones and Karen Laing tofind out43www.teachingtimes.com n Vol 2.4Schools in the CommunityExtended Schoolscommunity to ensure that the services they provide areattractive and relevant.Although extended services are intended to be availableto all, there is an often implicit assumption that those groupsand individuals most in need, or defined as disadvantaged,will be more likely to take up services (and thus benefitmore) than more advantaged groups and individuals.However, evidence from an Ipsos Mori survey of extendedservices in 2009 showed that pupils and families fromdisadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to use activitiescompared to their more advantaged peers.In order to enhance our understanding of how schools,in a range of circumstances, were defining and respondingto ‘disadvantage’ in their development of extended services,we conducted a review in 2009, as part of a wider evaluationof extended services in England. The review explored how15 schools in the north-west and north-east of Englandwere targeting disadvantaged people for particular services,and how they were encouraging those groups to use theservices. The review was relatively small in scale and didnot allow for in-depth studies of the relationship betweenschools’ strategies, the take-up of services, and the impacton service users. Nonetheless, we found a remarkablysimilar picture in all of the schools we studied. The schoolswere selected because of their diverse characteristics, yettheir approaches to extended services and to the issue oftargeting were surprisingly similar.We summarise the main findings of the review below andthen go on to discuss how schools can use these findings toinform the development of their own extended services.Identifying the disadvantagedAll school staff responsible for extended services wereaware of disadvantage in the populations they served,and the need to target at least some of their extendedservices towards the most disadvantaged people. Theyhad given considerable thought to how this could bedone. Nevertheless, although they were aware of the needto tackle disadvantage, they each defined disadvantagedifferently, and, in turn, their target groups varied. Thedefinitions used by school staff were often based upon theirknowledge of local circumstances and their own perceptionsof what constituted disadvantage. These definitions tendedto include indicators of socio-economic disadvantage butoften used a broader concept of ‘vulnerability’ which alsoincluded those faced with difficulties that weren’t directlyrelated to their economic circumstances.“Vulnerability, for us at [this school], does link to things likeattendance, but basically if a child is not happy or where thereis concern of quite a wide, broad brush, anything that we havea worry about, we’ll term that child as vulnerable. At whichpoint we work out then which provision is needed. [This mightinclude] those on the edge of being excluded, those on the edgeof needing extreme intervention either academically or the factthat they are vulnerable children socially and emotionally.”(Extended services co-ordinator)Schools frequently drew on available socio-economicindicators as evidence of disadvantage (such as entitlementto free school meals and IMD data) but, in addition, reliedvery heavily on the knowledge that staff had built up aboutindividuals and families. Some schools had formalised datacollection and information sharing about children, familiesand adults and involved other agencies, but the majorityrelied on their professional judgement to decide who neededservices and such decisions were often relatively informal.The schools we visited had a range of procedures andpractices for encouraging disadvantaged groups, often seenas ‘hard to reach’, to access their services. These practicesrelied heavily on personal contact and developing positiverelationships. Building trust between the school and thechildren and adults who might benefit from serviceswas seen as a crucial task for all schools. For the schools,having staff in and around schools with the time and skillsto engage successfully with individuals and groups whomight otherwise be hard to reach was key to increasingparticipation by disadvantaged groups. These staff were notalways teachers, and so were viewed as more approachable.The informal and personalised approach that these staffcould adopt was seen by schools to be important in reachingpotential service users.“Because all the other strategies don’t work, that’s why theyare hard to reach. You can"
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Leadership

Extended services vs. social disadvantage

11 Oct 2010

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Leadership

The paradox of future safeguarding

15 Mar 2012

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      string(5820) "Vol 2.6 n www.teachingtimes.comPolicyEvery Child Journal70The future ofsafeguarding inschoolsSchools are expected to play a key role in keeping children safe. But, says Kate Fitch,other education reforms will weaken their ability to protect childrenSchools play a crucial role in keeping children safe from harm both inside and outside the school day. Under Section 175of the Education Act 2002,1 schools, colleges and local authorities must fulfil a statutory duty to ‘safeguard and promotethe welfare of children’. In addition to protecting children from harm during the school day, schools have a responsibilityto identify and respond to suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. 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The Munroreview highlighted the crucial role that schools play in safeguarding children andthe ways in which this role should continue to be fulfilled.2Alongside Munro’s recommendations, the Coalition Government has beenseeking to radically reform the education system through changes to the schoolcurriculum, workforce, inspection arrangements and the relationship betweenschools and Local Authorities. These reforms will affect the way in which schoolsmonitor, refer and manage safeguarding and child protection concerns. In thisarticle I will be considering the Munro recommendations alongside the impactof wider reform to the education system and argue that these are potentiallycontradictory.Identifying children and families in needIn line with the Graham Allen review into Early Intervention,3 Munro stressed theneed for ‘early help’ through preventative services for vulnerable children andfamilies, in addition to the need to improve the child protection response for childrensuffering abuse and neglect. Munro is clear that as a universal service, schools areideally placed to identify children and families who are not in need of immediateprotection, but who clearly require help to deal with the issues they are facing.4Headteachers who gave evidence to the Munro review highlighted that theyoften face difficulties when seeking to access help for children and young peopleabout whom they have concerns, especially in cases where the child does not meetthe threshold for statutory intervention. 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In these circumstances, even where schools are able to identifychildren who would benefit from additional help, there may find there is no way toaccess it.“ Where schoolshave concernsabout a child,Munro statesthat timely accessto social workexpertise is anessential resourceto aid decision-making and tofacilitate links withpotential sourcesof support“http://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/8875_DfE_Munro_Report_TAGGED.pdfhttp://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/8875_DfE_Munro_Report_TAGGED.pdfhttp://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/8875_DfE_Munro_Report_TAGGED.pdfhttp://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/8875_DfE_Munro_Report_TAGGED.pdfhttp://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/early-intervention-next-steps.pdfVol 2.6 n www.teachingtimes.comPolicyEvery Child Journal72As well as helping children and families to access support, schools also playa preventative role in helping children to identify and avoid"
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Special Needs

The future of safeguarding in schools

16 Mar 2012

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Leadership Briefings Issue 4.06 (42)"
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      string(5853) "ResourceANALYSIS AND EVIDENCE STRATEGY 2009-10Original DocumentAnalysis and Evidence Strategy 2009-10: Delivering Evidence Based Policy. This DCSF strategy document describes the government’s strategic objectives over the last year and sets out future priorities in relation to achieving its aspirations for children and families within a tight fiscal environment. The document demonstrates the range, and impact, of evidence in support of the Department’s Strategic Objectives (DSOs).KeywordsDCSF strategy, objectives, priorities, aspirations, children, familiesSummaryThis DCSF strategy document describes the government’s strategic objectives over the last year and sets out future priorities in relation to achieving its aspirations for children and families within a tight fiscal environment. The document demonstrates the range, and impact, of evidence in support of the Department’s Strategic Objectives (DSOs).This document demonstrates the range, and impact, of evidence in support of the Department’s Strategic Objectives (DSOs). Examples from the past year highlight how evidence and insight has informed policy objectives and contributed to Departmental strategies and independent reviews. The Strategy then describes the main data developments and analytical work planned plan for 2009-10 and beyond.Key Points:DSO (Department’s Strategic Objectives)DSO 1 – Secure the wellbeing and health of children and young peopleImportant future analytical priorities for DSO1 are to:· Further develop measures of wellbeing, including in relation to provision of child mental health services.· Look extensively at causes of wellbeing and the circumstances which make some groups vulnerable to poor outcomes.  The DCSF will develop evidence on parents at risk of separation, including evaluating a programme of pilots intended to support separating parents, as well as assessing broader support for adult relationships.· Deliver a new survey in 2009 of children with disabilities and their families to assess their understanding and experience of services.· Inform the strategy to eradicate child poverty by 2020, through the joint Child Poverty Unit’s research programme to further investigate causes, drivers and effects of child poverty and to analyse the potential contribution of a number of policy areas, including employment, education and skills, to reducing child poverty.· Develop a Families module within the new Understanding Society household survey  being delivered by the Economic and Social Research Council.· Complete or continue with major evaluations of Children’s Centres, Extended Schools, provision of free childcare places for disadvantaged two year olds and the SEAL programme in secondary schools.· Carry out an economic evaluation of Family Intervention PilotsDSO 2 – Safeguard the young  and vulnerableImportant future analytical priorities for DSO2 are to:· Improve data on safeguarding issues,  including a new data collection on child deaths, and reviewing the role and take-up of indicators at local level.· Evaluate the early phases of ContactPoint and  its impact on the efficiency of service provision.· Evaluate Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) and undertake a programme of research and analysis to support developments arising from the recently published report by Lord Laming ‘The Protection of Children in England:  a Progress Report’.· Evaluate social work reform pilots and the Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) pilots with the Children’s Workforce Development Council.· Analyse the impact of initiatives to improve the quality of services experienced by vulnerable children.· Establish a rolling literature review on the issue of child safety in relation to internet use.DSO 3 – Achieve world-class standards in educationImportant future analytical priorities for DSO3 are to:· Continue to develop our rich administrative data sources, including linking early years and school phase data.· Look across the board at a range of school improvement strategies including measures to challenge and support ‘coasting’ schools.  This will be supplemented by qualitative evidence in support of our 21st century schools objectives to better understand the expectations of young people and parents and carers.· Carry out curriculum-related evaluations, from an overarching study of the new secondary curriculum to assessments of support for modern languages and of activities to promote the study of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).· Conduct evaluations of the suite of programmes to support individual pupil progress, including Every Child Counts, Every Child a Reader and  Every Child a Writer.· Commission research to examine initiatives to improve school accountability, including early stages of the new School Report Card.DSO4 – Close the gap in educational achievement for children from  disadvantaged backgroundsImportant future analytical priorities for DSO4 are to:· Support the improvement of information available about children and young people with SEN both nationally and locally in line with the SEN (Information) Act 2008.· Examine experiences of the SEN statementing process to explore how to improve parental confidence in educational provision for their children and in the statementing process itself.· Conduct evaluations of interventions,  including the Extra Mile programme and Alternative Education Provision pilots, and build on the lessons and good practice identified for future provision.· With the Department of Health, chart the implementation"
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Leadership

Delivering Evidence Based Policy

29 Oct 2009