Allen Baynes Learning Together Partnership

1. Allen Baynes Learning Together Partnership 21st January 2009

2. What do we mean by ‘narrowing the gap’? The difference / deficit between outcomes for a specific group and the outcomes for the whole range of children and young people, of which the group forms a part

3. Try to answer fundamental question? What is it, if applied universally and pursued relentlessly, would make a significant impact on the outcomes of vulnerable groups of children and young people?

4. Background – why do it? • Securing improved and sustainable outcomes for children and their families critical for social and economic regeneration and cohesion of localities (sense of ‘place’). • 4 years on from ‘Every Child Matters’. We need to tell the story more clearly – successes and challenges. • Much excellence, less equity - L.A.A’s

5. Programme hopes to: Identify ‘what’s working’ and ‘what still needs to be done’ in improving outcomes for vulnerable groups (against context of improving outcomes for all). Build on the ‘family’ of local Government Share ‘effective’ practice ‘Keep the faith’ in Every Child Matters

6. It is; • A 2 yearprogramme, DCSF funded, hosted by L.G.A., supported by IDeA. • Focussing on ‘3-13’ population. • Having 5 themes (key lines of enquiry). • Identifying critical building blocks – the ‘must-do’s’ for improving outcomes for vulnerable groups and ‘narrowing the gap’.

7. 5 themes (key lines of enquiry) • Howto create and sustain the right links between schools, children’s centres and Children’s Services. • Howto engage and support parents and carers in helping their children to succeed. • Howto use the new systems and process brought into being by Every Child Matters to orientate services more towards prevention and early intervention.

8. Year 2 • Howto strengthen and align local leadership and governance arrangements - both professional and political. • How to strengthen systems for developing local leaders to deliver improved services based on the understanding of what works.

9. Narrowing the Gap: Who for? • Children from poorer socio-economic groups (including white ‘working class’ boys) • Children in Care • Children with disabilities • Children with SEN • Children excluded from school • Children with poor records of attendance at school • Children from different ethnic minority backgrounds • Young Offenders • Young Carers • Children at risk from significant harm • Children living with ‘vulnerable’ adults

10. 100 90 80 High SEG High cog at 22 m. 70 High SEG Low cog at 22 m. 60 50 Low SEG High cog at 22 m. 40 and it starts early! Low SEG Low cog at 22 m. 30 20 10 0 22 months 4 years 5 years 6 years 10 years (Reducing Inequalities - NCB 07)

11. Data from longitudinal research studies Data from other surveys Secondary analysis of large datasets Publicly accessible data Overview and Analysis of Data

12. Initial templates completed • What seems to make the difference. • First 3 themes. • Drawn from a trawl of evidence and use of ‘experts’. • Against 5 ECM outcomes and 4 layers of ECM ‘onion’ (Inter-Agency Governance, Strategy, Processes and Front-line Delivery)

14. Top Twelve ‘Golden Threads’ Distillation of templates and NFER reviews Critical ‘must do’s’ – whole system change

15. You can do it! (Expect the best) • creating a culture of high aspirations • and giving children and parents access to a trusted (dependable) adult (e.g. mentor / health visitor)

16. From good to great – ‘passion with purpose’ • having transformational leadership in place, political and professional (local and national) • a clear vision communicated well. Planning and processes to back it up and deliver results, including the use of ‘Outcomes Based Accountability’.

17. ‘It takes a community to raise a child’ • regenerating local communities (housing, play, safe streets) • open accessible local services • Council’s/PCT’s employ local people • bring together all capital funds including BSF

18. Together with parents (“you know your child, we know about children’s services, together we can do better”) - working in real partnership with parents and families and building on their strengths - ‘doing with, not doing unto’

19. Through the voice and eyes of the child • ensuring children’s views are listened to and their participation supported • making all services more family centred, with adult services more sensitive to their clients as parents and alert to the needs of children • ‘Think Family’

20. Holding onto the baton • ensuring as much stability and continuity as possible, in relationships between trusted adults, with children and parents • managing those transitions that are unavoidable with care

21. ‘Learning to learn’ • making the building of children’s resilience a major policy objective • ensuring education benefits the most vulnerable or disadvantaged, encouraging their participation and giving them lots of supplementary and ‘catch-up’ support

22. ‘Cornflakes to Canoeing’- extended schools • taking active steps to make extended services available to disadvantaged or vulnerable children and their families within, and beyond, the school

23. Unite to succeed – ‘sanity not vanity’ • deepening the integration of services, systems and processes • focus on early intervention/prevention • locally based, multi-disciplinary teams

24. ‘Shape up and keep fit’ • re-shaping the workforce and ensuring it is appropriately trained, supported and celebrated!

25. Culture not structure • ensuring structures and processes underpinned by a culture of co-operation and high aspiration for all children (and all services) • driven by leaders who ‘walk the talk’

26. ‘Prove it’ – making change happen • right performance management systems in place nationally/locally; with a clear focus on improving outcomes of vulnerable groups • shared approaches to this across services, including Health • underpinned by shared data

27. So what do you need to ‘narrow the gap’ for children and families in your Local Authority • Need a vision • Need a culture that values all children and young people and believes that we (all of us) can make a real and significant difference in their lives • Need a workforce – who believe, who are committed and who have - Respect

28. Who are the workforce? • Anyone who works with children and young people • Anyone in – social care, education, criminal justice, health, voluntary sector • Huge resource – the more it operates in fragmented way, the less effective it is. It wastes money and lets vulnerable people down the most

29. So what do we do? • Make most efficient use of the resources we’ve got (in any area the greatest levers for social change are schools – they must be at the heart of what we do) • Find ways of working in collaboration not competition, seamless support that makes the difference • Systems that work for people not that are bureaucratically beautiful!

30. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. • So, what are we going to do differently?

31. Contact us: • 020 7843 6358  www.C4EO.org.uk • 8 Wakley Street, • London, EC1V 7QE  contactus@C4EO.org.uk

32. Part 2 - Discussion Take each ‘golden thread’ in turn and ask these questions (one person to take notes) • What do we do well in this area? Examples of practice in our Authority, Schools, Children’s Centres or other settings that we are proud of. • What do we need to do to improve in this area? At Local Authority level, in Schools, elsewhere. • What support is required from the Local Authority?

33. Feedback For further input contact; Allen Baynes Bridge 4 Learning Weston Point College Picow Farm Road Runcorn WA7 4UN Email – allenbaynesconsultancy@googlemail.com Telephone – 07772 698438