My South Ribble Blog
Hi I’m Carole Lee; I am employed by Home-start and have been working there for 14 years, previously working for the Youth & Community Service (now Young Peoples Service). I have also worked for several other voluntary agencies (Relate, Women Centre, Victim Support). Whilst I have been attending the Children's Trust meetings in South Ribble since 2008 I have only just begun to represent the wider sector. I have been tasked with writing a VCFS blog to ensure groups in the South Ribble area are kept informed of the Children’s Trust’s developments. The blogs will include key policy, strategy and funding information and any other issues which might impact on the work of your organisation. They will be posted on the Young Lancashire website a week following each meeting. I hope you enjoy this first update! And I look forward to receiving any comments you may have.
Another action packed meeting was held on the 7 June and here’s my account of what we discussed:
Safeguarding and looked after children inspection - Presentation by Lisa Kitto LCC. This inspection process supersedes the ‘Joint Area Reviews’ and will take place anytime between now and the 31 March 2012. Thereafter every three years. Only 10 days notice of inspection will be given. Tony Morrisey is the Head of Safeguarding for LCC and will be leading the inspection process. The inspection will follow the OFSTED framework and is extensive taking in aspects such as leadership, partnerships, value for money, dealing with complaints, and individual family case files will be assessed against five outcomes and what has been achieved. The inspectors will also survey children of 8yrs plus and children who have left care. The voluntary sector, and other organisations, working/supporting these children could also be asked to contribute to this inspection process. The Children’s Trust is currently looking at messages/lessons learned from 13 other areas that have already been inspected to ensure that they are ready for their own inspection.
Feedback from Targeted Youth Support and GRIP in South Ribble (TYSOG) - This service can be accessed by a CAF referral to the Young People's Service. The service is for young people aged 5-19 years of age who have been identified by agencies as needing extra help and support to prevent a range of issues from escalating. After a slow start in requests for additional support the service has had 49 referrals up to the end of May 2010. Case studies are being prepared for schools and other agencies to show the types of referral that TYSOG would accept, and the outcomes of those referrals. TYSOG is seeking funds as a matter of urgency to increase the availability of bereavement and family discord counselling within the district. Any agency can refer to this service.
The Early Intervention Strategy was discussed. South Ribble Children’s Trust will prioritise their funding to support children aged 5-13. Funding will be available from June. LCC will commission multi-agency Early Intervention projects with school leads through the Schools Early Intervention Project.
Financial reporting - Young Lancashire will produce an Online Blog on the work of the Trust for the VCFS in South Ribble. The Trust has around £70,000 for projects in the areas. Contact Talha Wadee at LCC (email address below) for more information on how to apply for this.
Children & Young Peoples Plan – The trust has set aside £10,000 to consult with Young People about the Plan using the Hear by Right toolkit. This needs to be completed by April 2011.
Implications for VCFS
A VCFS organisation might be called upon to take part in the Inspection. The trust discussed the possibility of inviting the VCFS to participate in future Ofsted inspections. They were most interested in whether all organisations are following Safeguarding policies and procedures which are relevant and have files up to date that are stored appropriately. They were also interested in whether all relevant staff are supervised and trained appropriately.
The trust also asked whether all VCFS organisations know about TYSOG and GRIP. Nighat Parveen from the Young People’s Service said that workshops had been offered in the past. I suggested that more information could be disseminated by CVS Newsletters to remind agencies on the referral process, and the criteria for referral. If you are a VCFS organisation working in South Ribble, please do visit http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/calendar/view.asp?calevent=1457463 and review the minutes and papers from the last meeting on the 07/06/2010. You may like to answer the following questions about your organisation and forward these onto me.
- Does your agency work/support children and families to prevent poor outcomes from arising?
- Do you have an Early Intervention approach that enables children, young people or their families from developing skills and confidence that may provide solutions to problems now or in the future?
Groups are advised to read the Lancashire paper ‘Prevention and Early Intervention for Children, Young People and their Families’ (Also available on the South Ribble Trust website under minutes and papers for the meeting held on 07/06/2010).
Schools and other statutory services will need to work in partnership, in a multi-agency way, this may mean working with VCFS sector. Look out for funding opportunities for the voluntary sector. Your agency could make a business case for working in this way that it could attract funding! The government have released guidance today about how the third sector can get involved in managing schools see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/10345302.stm . If your organisation/project works with young people 5-13 and it meets the priorities of the South Ribble Children’s Trust, you may be able to apply for Children’s Trust funding. Contact Andrea Smith asmith@southribble.gov.uk or talha.wadee@lancashire.gov.uk for more information.
Providing a voice on behalf of the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector relies a lot on feedback from you. If there is anything you would like me to raise at the next Trust meeting on 12 July, please get in touch via email: Carole@homestartchorley.org.uk.
