CCT Briefing Issue 2, April 2012 - Cambridgeshire County Council

IN THIS ISSUE:
(Ctrl + click on a headline to jump to article)
NATIONAL POLICY CHANGES
◘ Seeing Through A Child's Eyes: Ofsted
Announces No-Notice, Inspections Of
Child Protection Services
◘ School Funding Reform
◘ School Admissions Code And Appeals
◘ Positive For Youth – Further Guidance
Issued
CHILDREN’S TRUST DEVELOPMENTS
◘ Integrated Access Team Moves Into The
Maru
◘ Healthy Child Programme
◘ Children’s Trust Arrangements
PARTNER UPDATES
◘ Domestic Abuse And Sexual Violence
Strategy 2012 - 2015 Consultation
◘ OFSTED Inspections
◘ Peer Review
◘ Fenland District Council’s Community
Grants Scheme
◘ Acadamies Update
◘ Social Work Units
◘ Shadow Health And Wellbeing Board
◘ European Social Fund (Esf) Families
Programme – Cambs North Locality
◘ Raising The Participation Age (RPA)
◘ Children’s Centre funding
◘ Consultation On Proposal To Close The
Work Related Learning Service
◘ The Future Pattern Of Education Provision
In St Ives
◘ Huntingdon Neighbourhood Forum
◘ Winter Warmers
NEXT MONTHS ISSUE:
A SPRING SPECIAL
A spotlight edition, where we focus on the work
of some colleagues and partners in the Trust,
the work they are doing and the challenges that
face them at the start of this new financial year.
Plus, a request for your views on the CT
briefing – to tell us what you think, what you
like, and what you would change as we give the
briefing a spring clean!
Supporting partners to work together to
make a difference to the lives of children,
young people and families
CCT Briefing Issue 2, April 2012
NATIONAL POLICY CHANGES
1. SEEING THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES: OFSTED
ANNOUNCES NO-NOTICE, INSPECTIONS OF CHILD
PROTECTION SERVICES
Ofsted is to introduce 2-week, no-notice inspections for child
protection services which will begin in May this year. The
new inspection regime will in effect replace the previous 2week
announced inspections of Safeguarding and Looked
After Children.
Although the focus is explicitly on child protection, Ofsted
have been very clear that inspectors will be interested in the
whole of the child’s journey including an evaluation of the
help that children and their families do or don’t get when
problems first emerge. This means the inspection will look
for the first time in detail at the role of universal,
preventative and early intervention services in protecting
children, as well as the work of Social Care.
Cambridgeshire could be one of the first authorities to be
inspected under the new arrangements and we have formed
a cross-directorate working group to prepare and to ensure
we are doing all we can to provide an integrated system that
keeps children safe.
For more information, please see the Ofsted website.
2. SCHOOL FUNDING REFORM
The Department for Education (DfE) have launched a
consultation on School funding reform: Next steps towards a
fairer system. The consultation document explains how
they plan to proceed with the reform until the end of the
current Spending Review period. It contains a number of
important announcements and invites views on areas where
there are different options. Key points from the document
include: confirmation that the DfE will work towards
introducing a national funding formula in the next Spending
Review period; setting the Minimum Funding Guarantee
(MFG) at minus 1.5% for 2013-14 and 2014-15; local
funding arrangements will be simplified, more funding will be
directed towards schools by default, and Schools Forums'
role will be reformed; the Education Funding Agency (EFA)
will play a strong role in ensuring fairness within the new
system; there will be a new methodology for funding high
need pupils, and the funding of early years provision will be
simplified and made more transparent.
All of this will have significant implications for schools and
services. The deadline for responses to the questions is
Monday 21 May 2012. CYPS are currently considering the
impact on service provision and how we work with schools.
For more information, please contact
sarah.heywood@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, 01223 699714.

3. SCHOOL ADMISSIONS CODE AND SCHOOL ADMISSION APPEALS CODE
A new School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code came into force on 1 February
2012. The Codes and supporting regulations are available to download from the Department for
Education website.
Source; Sam Surtees (Manager Admissions, Transport and Education Welfare Benefits),
sam.surtees@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, 01223 699388
4. POSITIVE FOR YOUTH – FURTHER GUIDANCE ISSUED
Following the announcement before Christmas of ‘Positive for Youth’, the Government’s policy
statement regarding its approach to young people aged 13-19, further guidance has
been issued to clarify its implications for different parts of the sector.
CHILDREN’S TRUST DEVELOPMENTS
5. INTEGRATED ACCESS TEAM MOVES INTO THE MARU
6.
Another partner agency has moved into the multi agency referral unit (MARU), responsible for
supporting victims of abuse and the vulnerable; Cambridgeshire County Council’s Children’s Integrated
Access Team moved into the MARU, based at Chord Park, Godmanchester on 16 th February. It will
work alongside the force as part of the joint response to safeguarding children.
Supt Simon Megicks said: “The arrival of the Children’s Integrated Access team is a significant
development in the MARU. By working together in one location we can share information, specialist
skills and provide a much more integrated service in protecting children from harm. By co-locating we
can cut bureaucracy and be more efficient with our resources, while building on the expertise of each
agency. Most importantly this is about improving the service for victims and preventing duplication so
that children only have to tell their story once.” The MARU was established in April 2011 and is a
partnership unit involving the force, the county council, Peterborough City Council, the fire service and
the health service as well as other statutory and non-statutory organisations.
HEALTHY CHILD PROGRAMME
The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) offers every family a programme of screening tests,
immunisations, developmental reviews, and information and guidance to support parenting and healthy
choices - all services that children and families need to receive if they are to achieve their optimum
health and wellbeing.
The overarching outcomes for the Cambridgeshire HCP to deliver will be:
• to reduce obesity in reception year children as measured by the National Child Measurement
Programme (NCMP)
• to narrow the gap in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) performance
Because the Healthy Child Programme Board covers such an extensive range of topics, and also to
ensure that the whole 0-19 agenda is adequately covered (both 0-5 and 5-19) it has been agreed to
divide the Programme Board into two meetings (that will be held back to back) with the 0-5 meeting
chaired by Helen Geall and the 5-19 meeting chaired by Val Thomas.
0-5: Priorities have been identified for the HCP 0-5 yrs in Cambridgeshire, these are:
• school readiness and
• healthy weight.
These are drawn from the prime outcomes of the national HCP:
• Strong attachment*
• Positive parenting*
• Care which promotes health and safety* *factors which link directly to school readiness
• Improved emotional social wellbeing* ** factors which link directly to healthy weight
• Readiness for school and improved learning*
• Increased breastfeeding**
• Healthy nutrition and increased physical activity**
The rationale for selecting these priorities is drawn from local evidence of a widening gap in
performance at Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS) across the deprivation scale and the long-term
negative effects on health of failing to establish habits that support children to be a healthy weight. 5 -19
priorities are currently under development and will be communicated shortly.
Please contact Helen Geall on Helen.Geall@cambridgeshire.nhs.uk or Val Thomas on
Val.Thomas@cambridgeshire.nhs.uk for further information.

7. CHILDREN’S TRUST ARRANGEMENTS
As you may be aware, the Children’s Trust is currently reviewing its arrangements and the partner
organisations have fed in their relevant comments. A formal response to the comments will be issued
shortly.
PARTNER UPDATES
8.
9.
DOMESTIC ABUSE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE STRATEGY 2012 - 2015 CONSULTATION
The Cambridgeshire Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership is seeking comments on its
DRAFT 2012-15 Strategy from community members and relevant professionals to enable the
Partnership to better meet the needs of those it serves. If you would like to provide feedback on this
document (available for download), please contact tricia.ager@cambridgeshire.gov.uk prior to 12.00 pm
on the 24th April 2012
OFSTED INSPECTION VISITS
An OFSTED thematic safeguarding inspection for disabled children took place on 7 th and 8 th March
2012. The two day visit included several focus groups with managers and practitioners as well as
detailed inspection of a small number of randomly selected cases. The thematic inspection was as a
positive opportunity for CYPS and its partners to focus on the needs of disabled children and the
learning from it will be helpful as improve our practice ahead of a future OFSTED inspections of the
wider service. Some key points of feedback from the inspector were:
• Strong multi-agency working that was evident for disabled children and the commitment of partners
to these services
• Cambridgeshire has good access to a wide range of support services, both at home, in the
community and in terms of overnight stays and residential services.
• Referrals and assessments for disabled children were evident from a wide range of sources and
that these were good quality.
• A strong commitment from social workers and other practitioners to engaging parents and building
good relationships even where families were reluctant to work with professionals or where barriers
to engagement exist.
• The voice of the child had come through strongly - the inspectors commented specifically that
practitioners were committed to finding strategies to ensure that children with disabilities were able
to be heard, even where their communication difficulties made this more challenging.
• The majority of the cases highlighted good social work and multi-agency involvement. There were
strong examples of robust child protection plans, prompt referrals and very positive feedback from
the parents of a child in need case where our effective response to a family really struggling had
significantly improved their situation and made a real difference in their lives.
• The early support cases the inspectors worked through showed evidence of good outcomes and a
positive impact, both for the children's development and on the capacity of the parents involved. The
inspectors described "well established early support teams, providing appropriate support to families
with children with disabilities up to the age of 5"
The inspectors highlighted a number of individual areas where we can improve and themes we will want
to reflect on as we continue to transform safeguarding services in Cambridgeshire.
• The need for a single and very focussed plan for every disabled child was a recurring theme.
• The way we record casework on our systems and the data quality in relation to disabled children
isn't consistently good enough.
• The inspectors challenged us around whether we are asking enough questions of ourselves at the
strategic level in relation to our service response and safeguarding arrangements for disabled
children, were we scrutinising the impact of CIN and CP plans for disabled children and trends in the
data through our strategic disability groups and the LSCB, for example.
• In relation to early support the key area of feedback was around CAF and its use to ensure that
access to services is always via a coordinated pathway and that services are coherent together -
they felt our interventions in terms of early support were individually good but sometimes in
isolation.
Because this is a thematic inspection, rather than a statutory one, there will not be a published formal
report or grading but we will continue to reflect on the feedback received and to ensure that appropriate
teams are involved in taking the learning forward. Contact; nicola.clemo@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
(01223 717989)

10. FORTHCOMING PEER REVIEW
Children and Young People’s Services has invited a peer review of our safeguarding arrangements that
will take place from 23-27 April 2012. The peer review is not an inspection; it is designed to be a
supportive but challenging process, which stimulates local discussion, to assist authorities in celebrating
their strengths and identifying areas for improvement.
The scope of the peer review covers safeguarding in a broad sense, and therefore the whole system in
Cambridgeshire, including all CYPS directorates (not only Children’s Social Care), schools, our partners
(in particular health), Adult Services and the strategic bodies (such as the LSCB) appointed to oversee
services to safeguard children.
A set of key lines of enquiries have been developed and these areas have been deliberately identified
within CYPS as areas for development, rather than existing strengths.
The review team will be led by John Gregg; Assistant Director for Children’s Social Care at Suffolk
County Council and will also include a lead councillor for Children’s Services, 2 social work lead
practitioners, a health manager/practitioner and an off-site data analyst, all from other authorities
nationally.
Prior to the peer review, we will be undertaking a range of preparatory work to support the Review
Team. For more information, please contact James.wilson@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 01223 699240
11. FENLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL’S COMMUNITY GRANTS SCHEME
Fenland District Council are delighted to announce that the Community Grants Scheme is now officially
open. They welcome applications from local community groups (up to a maximum of £5,000) which
meet one or more of the Fenland Strategic Partnership Priorities; Improving life chances for young
people, Reducing crime and disorder, Improving health outcomes and Improving economic prosperity.
Please note the closing date for applications is 27th April 2012. If successful, the funding will be
allocated in August 2012 and projects must be completed by April 2013. For information or to obtain a
copy of the Community Grants scheme application form then please contact the Community Support
Team on 01354 654321 or email jmoden@fenland.gov.uk
12. ACADEMIES UPDATE
Secondary Schools: St Bede’s Church School converted into an academy on 1 March 2012. Four
Secondary schools are due to convert in May 2012 (Sir Harry Smith, Cromwell Community College,
Neale Wade Community College and Thomas Clarkson Community College). Manor Community
College and Netherhall remaining as maintained schools.
Primary / Middle Schools: There are currently eight Primary schools who have converted so far, with
Middlefield School sponsoring Winhills Primary school due to convert on 1 July 12. Park Lane Primary
and Godmanchester Primary due to convert on 1 September 2012. This will leave 191 maintained
Primary Schools.
Special Schools: Meadowgate Special School are due to convert in October 12
For more information contact Sandra.pedley@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 01223 727931
13. SOCIAL WORK UNITS
Eight more Social Work Units went live during March 2012, these included:
• Children in Need (CiN) Unit, Babbage House, Cambridge City
• Children in Need (CiN) Unit, Babbage House, Cambridge City
• Children in Need (CiN) Unit, Ely, East Cambridgeshire
• Children in Need (CiN) Unit, Ely, East Cambridgeshire
• Children in Need (CiN) Unit in Buttsgroves, Huntingdon
• Children in Need (CiN) Unit in Bargroves, St Neots, Huntingdonshire
• Children in Need (CiN) Unit in March, Fenland
• Permanance Unit in Scott House, Huntingdon
In addition, researchers from the University of Bedfordshire who are evaluating how we are
implementing the model have offered very positive feedback. For more information contact
Elaine.petch@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

14. SHADOW HEALTH AND WELLBEING BOARD
At the meeting on the 8th February 2012, the Board received an update on progress against the areas
for immediate action identified at its first meeting in October 2011;
Domestic Abuse
The Board discussed the need to appoint a more appropriate Chairman for the Domestic Abuse
Partnership to enable the Domestic Abuse Partnership Manager to act as a supporting officer rather
than Chairman. The Chairman’s suggestion of the appointment of County Councillor Sam Hoy was
met with agreement. Cllr Hoy is the Local Member for Wisbech North, and had been part of a
Member Led Review on Domestic Abuse.
The board also agreed the need to take into account the views of the District Council Health and
Wellbeing Forum, and to have a link worker or advocate who had the authority to encourage
partners such as GPs to work with difficult families. The appointment process for two Advocates from
1 April 2012 is in progress. The Board was informed of the Family Intervention Project, working with
troubled families using time limited interventions. It was noted that GPs were linked in with this work.
Preventing Serious Illness and Hospital Admissions in Winter
Use the successful Department of Health funded “Warm Homes, Health People” project bid of
£207,000 as effectively as possible was discussed. It was noted that the Steering Group had been
very active. Referrals had already been received by the Care Network, and there had been good
involvement with GP surgeries. The Board discussed targeting those vulnerable elderly people who
were reluctant to accept help, and it was noted that Voluntary Sector Groups were already involved.
It was acknowledged that the media had increased anxiety and fear about escalating fuel costs,
which had resulted in some people reluctant to switch on heating. It was therefore felt important to
provide these people with reassurance and increase communication in this area.
Addressing Inequalities
The Board discussed the composition of the Health Inequalities Task and Finish Group. The
Chairman asked the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing to review all processes to make sure
elected members were engaged.
It was noted that the Broad Market directive had created a change in market rents by including East
Cambridgeshire and Fenland with Cambridge City, which would lead to a serious reduction in rent
expectations. There were concerns that this would lead to tenants being forced out of their current
accommodation, and whether there was sufficient private rented capacity across Cambridgeshire to
cope with this change.
The Board received a report proposing how the development of a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy
for Cambridgeshire could be achieved. Attention was drawn to the proposed timeline and process. It
was proposed to hold a special meeting of the shadow Board in early June to approve the draft Strategy
for consultation. The Board approved the development of a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for
Cambridgeshire to the timetable outlined in the report, and hold a special meeting of the shadow Health
and Wellbeing Board in early June in Wisbech, to launch the draft Strategy for consultation.
The Children’s Trust arrangements were also discussed, please see the article above. Other topics
included reviewing the Local Healthwatch, a presentation on the clinical commissioning group
configuration and operating model, and the second stage service financial overview. Details can be
found in the minutes, available here. The next meeting will take place on 11th April 2012.
14 EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND (ESF) FAMILIES PROGRAMME – CAMBS NORTH LOCALITY
Department for Work and Pensions has combined forces with the ESF to invest in new support for
families with multiple problems where worklessness is a key barrier to better outcomes. This initiative
will start from 2012 in Cambridgeshire and North Cambridge will be one of the first areas to benefit from
this programme.
The programme will run from 2012–2015. This additional support will come via Family Employment
Advisers (FEAs) who will work directly with families to help them back into the labour market. The
Locality Team are intending to working very closely with the FEAs as the team are likely to know, and
already be in contact and supporting, many of these families. This initiative offers a great opportunity
for joint working and to extend the ‘team around the family’ approach.
Contact; Paul Connelly - Locality Manager, paul.connelly@cambridgeshire.gov.uk Tel: 01223 729075

15. RAISING THE PARTICIPATION AGE (RPA)
Through the Education and Skills Act 2008, the government legislated effectively making having any 16-
18 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) against the law. This Act increased the
minimum age at which young people in England can leave learning, requiring them to continue in
education or training until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17 from 2013 and until their
18 th birthday from 2015. This is the current Year 10 and Year 9 cohorts, respectively.
Young people will be able to choose one of the following options:
� Full time education, such as school or college;
� An Apprenticeship or other work based learning;
� Part time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering for more than
20 hours a week.
It is likely that a small number of young people will remain NEET, who have a ‘reasonable excuse’ – for
example, because they are pregnant, or have a young baby, have a life limiting disability or are
seriously ill.
In Cambridgeshire, the local authority in collaboration with the 14-19 Area Partnerships is developing an
RPA strategy. A ‘Raising Participation Operational Board’ is leading the delivery, reporting to CYPS
Management Team. The Board includes representatives from across the Local Authority and the local
Area Partnerships.
Early work, including a County self assessment supported by consultants working with the Department
for Education (DfE) and feedback through questionnaires completed by staff, partners and stakeholders,
led to six key objectives being developed;
� Getting the data right so that we know where the young people are and how they’re doing.
� Improving support for young people at risk of not participating.
� Putting in place the right provision to meet the needs of young people and local employers.
� Linking employers with schools and colleges to support the progression of young people into
skilled employment.
� Guaranteeing general and targeted high quality information, advice and guidance to all young
people.
� Making sure that all young people, their families, schools, colleges, employers and providers
understand what RPA means for them.
These are being incorporated in the strategy, and action plan that is being developed and monitored by
the RPA Operational group, detailing the commitments and activity that will ensure that RPA legislation
is implemented in Cambridgeshire in time for the requirements by 2013 and 2015. In the meantime, the
DfE is consulting on elements of how RPA will work in practice, in order to form further legislation to
define of parts of the regulations and Cambridgeshire County Council, in conjunction with the 14-19
Area Partnerships will respond to this.
The strategy has been presented to CYPS Management Team during March. It will be discussed at
CYPS Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the end of March, in time to go to Cabinet for approval in
May.
16. CHILDREN’S CENTRE FUNDING 2012/13
Children’s Centres are developing budgets on the funding formula developed in Autumn 2011. The
formula is based on deprivation in a ‘reach’ area and the total number of children under 5 in the ‘reach’,
including a factor adjusted for demographic changes in new communities. Some centres will need to
make some adjustments to take into consideration the overall savings requirement of £300k, but
services continue to be viable at all centres.
For more information contact jo-sollars@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 01353 612836
17. CONSULTATION ON PROPOSAL TO CLOSE THE WORK RELATED LEARNING SERVICE
In February, a formal consultation on proposals to close the Work Related Learning & Enterprise
Service was launched. The proposal is to close the Service at the end of August 2012. This is in
response to changes in government policy, removing the statutory duty to provide 14-16 year olds with
work-related learning and ending universal work experience. Schools and other providers are
increasingly looking to manage work experience placements themselves.
Source: guy.dickens@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 01223 706301

18. THE FUTURE PATTERN OF EDUCATION PROVISION IN ST IVES - CONSULTATION
A significant number of new homes have been built in St Ives and the surrounding area, with still more
planned , and this new growth together with increasing pressures from the existing population results in
the need for additional Reception class places across the town and local area, together with the
opportunity to invest in pre-school and the Children’s Centre accommodation.
Cambridgeshire County Council, as the local Children’s Services Authority, has a statutory duty to
provide a school place for every child living in its area of responsibility who is of school age and whose
parents want their child educated in the state funded sector. The Education and Inspections Act 2006
also requires local authorities to adopt a strategic role, with a duty to promote choice, diversity and fair
access to school provision.
The Council is therefore undertaking a consultation to seek views on proposals to increase the size of
some schools, replace temporary accommodation and review the location of the St Ives Children’s
Centre. They would like to find out what parents, staff, school governors and any other interested
parties think about the proposals for expanding the number of places for primary-aged children and
associated pre-school and Children’s Centre provision in St Ives.
Comments can be made by completing the Comment Sheet on the Consultation Paper which can be
found here. You can also contact Alison Cook, the Assistant Education Officer who is leading this work,
by post or e-mail. Contact details are provided below. Comments should be received by Friday 4 th May
2012.
19 HUNTINGDON NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM
The February meeting of the Huntingdon Neighbourhood Forum changed format and time to facilitate a
discussion on local developments and how they impact on the community. Young people from 3 local
schools participated in preparatory work in their own schools and 17 young people represented their
peer's views in the discussions at the meeting. A report is being compiled for distribution to local
developers and other interested parties and ways to continue involvement of young people in local
developments is under discussion.
Source; Gill.Hanby@huntsdc.gov.uk, 01480 388462.
20. WINTER WARMERS
The Childcare Information Service and Good Food and You have been contracted by CCC Children’s
Centres Team to deliver the Winter Warmers project. Funded by the Department of Health’s ‘Warm
Homes, Healthy people’ project, the Winter Warmers aims are:
� To provide practical advice and learning to vulnerable families
� To encourage adults to provide warm, nourishing food for their children, particularly those under
5, to increase resistance to winter illnesses
� To ensure families are aware of the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals and Healthy Start
initiative
The hands-on practical cookery demonstration and information workshops are being delivered in all 40
of the County’s Children’s Centres to the end of March. At the time of writing this seven workshops have
taken place with an average seven parents attending each session. For more information on this project
contact kate.warboys@young-lives.org.uk.