Children First

Childrenfirst Putting Children First in North Tyneside

January 2011

Truly excellent

Children’s services in North Tyneside have been rated as ‘performing excellently’ by Ofsted.

Praise for ‘life-changing’ children’s centre

New Year, new Young Mayor

North Tyneside is the only authority in the region, and one of only 20 in the country, to achieve the top rating.

Howdon Children’s Centre, described as ‘life-changing’ by its users, has been praised by inspectors.

Meet Rebecca Leighton, North Tyneside’s new Young Mayor, who has big plans for her time in office.

Find out more on page 2

Read more on page 7

Read more on page 7

Keeping you informed | www.northtyneside.gov.uk

horizons widening

An excellent performance

Children’s services in North Tyneside have been rated as ‘performing excellently’ by Ofsted – making the borough one of only 20 local authority areas nationally to achieve the top rating, and the only one in the region.

Cllr David Lilly, cabinet member for Children,Young People and Learning, said: “North Tyneside is a borough of contrasts, but we believe that all of our children and young people should be given the same support, care and opportunities and be encouraged to have the same high aspirations, no matter what their background or circumstances.

“This is a credit to the commitment and professionalism of the children’s workforce in North Tyneside and I commend their ongoing dedication and

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hard work to ensure the future success, safety and wellbeing of our children and young people.”

Improving outcomes Inspectors noted a whole range of good and outstanding services including good or better education provision with good and targeted support for vulnerable schools, good or better pupil referral units, a good adoption agency and an outstanding fostering service, good children’s homes, and strong front-line child protection services.

They also praised significant and successful investments in education, good school behaviour and attendance, and ‘rare’ permanent exclusions.

As such, the number of young people gaining good qualifications by the age of 19 is rising.

Safety and wellbeing

Work to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people also continues to be successful.

A recent unannounced inspection of front-line child protection services reported that good policies and procedures assist staff well in their work, and risks to children are managed effectively. It also particularly noted that all cases are allocated to suitably qualified social workers.

Young people also report that they feel safer within the community and fewer say that they have experienced bullying.

Local initiatives to encourage children and young people to live healthy lives, including through childminders, schools

“This is a credit to the commitment and professionalism of the children’s workforce in North Tyneside.”

Cllr David Lilly and children’s homes, are praised, and there has been an increase in the number of children and young people who regularly take part in sport.

There has also been a good reduction in the number of young women under the age of 18 who become pregnant, as well as in increase in the number who breast-feed.

And almost all young people who offend are engaged and supported in education, work or training.

The report also praises work to ensure that children and young people are at the heart of decision-making.

Moving forward North Tyneside has been asked to look at only two areas for further development, namely improving outcomes at age 16 for young people who have special education needs and those from low income families, and reducing the number of young people who go on to re-offend.

The council has already made tackling re-offending and risk-taking behaviours two of its key priorities for the next four years, as part of the Children and Young People’s Plan for 2010 -2014.

The full North Tyneside assessment can be viewed on Ofsted’s website, at www.ofsted.gov.uk

Happy New Year and welcome back from what I hope was a relaxing break.

2010 posed many challenges for all who work in education and children’s services, yet we can reflect on many successes across the North Tyneside children and young people’s partnership arrangements.

We saw ‘outstanding’ Ofsted inspection outcomes in some of our children’s centres and schools and national recognition for excellent work undertaken in schools, early years provision and children’s social care arrangements.This included a hugely positive unannounced inspection of our child protection arrangements.

This drive for excellence, and the commitment of staff and high quality leadership and management that is its cornerstone, is one of the things that makes North Tyneside a great place to work. We tried to capture this in the 2010-14 Children and Young People’s Plan, and I think that this collective aspiration was one of the reasons that our 2010 Ofsted assessment of Children’s Services in North Tyneside was ‘Performing Excellently’.

The assessment covers the statutory services and direct provision of the council along with provision delivered by public, private and voluntary sector partners. As such, it was as much a judgment on the quality of our partnership working as on the council as a whole. I am sure that really effective partnership working, in all of its forms, will continue to be a feature of the way

we deal with the problems and issues we all face. This will apply just as much to our partnership working beyond the boundaries of North Tyneside as within them.

We have begun very positive discussions with our schools around the way that partnership working with the local authority will develop in the future, in order to sustain and improve provision for their learners. We are talking with other partners around the joint development of youth provision across the borough and we are working very hard to strengthen and further develop links with our employer, FE and HE partners to make sure we can take advantage of any economic development activities that may come to the borough.

The regeneration of the riverside and associated opportunities for renewable technologies and the low carbon economy will potentially touch all of us one way or another.

No doubt 2011 will bring no less of a set of challenges that we faced, successfully, in 2010. It is therefore very heartening to know that a common sense of purpose fuels the commitment of all our partners to improve the lives and life chances of the children, young people and families in North Tyneside.

Steve Rutland

Acting Strategic Director of CYPL and Head of Education, Skills and Innovation

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Fostering new partnerships

North Tyneside Council is committed to the principle of sharing services and creating partnerships for joint service provision, where possible, in order to work more efficiently.

The council has identified that this type of working will create opportunities to provide better outcomes for users and, in some instances, reduce costs.

North Tyneside Council and Northumberland County Council are currently exploring proposals for a joint fostering service.The two hope to create some level of partnership that improves placements for vulnerable young people and gives increased placement opportunities for looked-after-children.

This is an exciting initiative that will put both councils in a strong position to take forward their corporate parenting agendas and ensure that services are ready and able to move forward in challenging times.

At this stage, both councils are looking at various models of partnership and how they can work together to agreed aims and improved outcomes for those in their care.

Once these have been agreed, it is hoped that details of how the partnership will work will be announced in the spring.

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Putting childr The 2010-2014 plan North Tyneside’s Children and Young People’s Plan 2010-14 has now been published. It identifies nine priorities, gathered into three themes, for enhancing children’s services and improving outcomes for children, young people and families, particularly those most vulnerable.

Delivering the plan will require effective collaboration and integration across key partners no single agency alone can develop the sustainable solutions required by some of the complex issues facing many children, young people and their families in North Tyneside.

Steve Rutland, Acting Strategic Director for Children,Young People and Learning, says: “We are confident that the Children and Young People’s Plan 2010-14 provides the framework for making North Tyneside a great place for children and young people to live, learn and work.”

The plan applies to all children and young people between birth and 19 years, and incorporates pre-birth services and services for young people up to 25 years with learning difficulties or disabilities.

The full plan is available to view online at www.northtyneside.gov.uk

en first

can depend to provide love, security and the resources to enable them to thrive.This can only be achieved by building the capacity of parents, families and communities.

Our services will be rooted in local community infrastructures, champion learning for all and provide real choice for families, particularly those on low incomes.

Our vision Our vision for Children and Young People is to establish North Tyneside as a place where: • Children and young people are respected, valued and listened to • Childhood is nurtured • Children and young people are happy, healthy, confident and safe, and can develop as enthusiastic learners and tolerant, compassionate individuals who are challenged and supported to be the best they can be • The power of learning is harnessed to transform the lives of individuals and regenerate our communities.

The plan is underpinned by the principles that children and young people: 1. Come first; the challenge for all those involved in delivering children’s services is to see through the eyes of the child and understand what would make a difference to their life chances and in doing so put children at the centre of planning.

2. Have a right to be recognised as people with views and interests and should not be viewed as objects to whom we deliver services.They have a right to be listened to, to participate in decision-making.

3. Have a right to be protected from harm and discrimination and be able to live in an environment where they are safe and secure and free from harassment, bullying and discrimination. They are entitled to special care and protection if they cannot live with their parents.

4. Have a right to develop as curious, enthusiastic and autonomous learners by experiencing stable and stimulating teaching and learning which nurtures their individual talents and challenges them to be the best they can be.

10. Never give up; no child should be viewed as a lost cause and services should never give up on trying to create new beginnings for children and young people who are in danger of being left behind.

5. Have a right to the best health possible and to medical care through the provision of community-based support services and specialised intervention when necessary.

6. Have a right to live and play in a safe healthy environment, which provides a whole range of opportunities for personal and social development, recreational and cultural activity, creative self-expression and independent play.

7. Have a right to an identity, to know and be proud of their history and cultural heritage.

8. Have the opportunity to grow up in a family and a community and be able to depend upon adults to provide the conditions which enable them to gain self-esteem, dignity, selfconfidence and respect for others and for their environment.

In addition: 9. Parents, carers and communities need to be supported in promoting the interests and welfare of their children; children and young people need strong adults upon whom they

A young persons’ version of the Children and Young People’s Plan has also been created.

This version was produced by the members of the Young Cabinet and Youth Council to help their peers understand how the Children,Young People and Learning Board is working to improve their lives.

It can be viewed at www.northtyneside.gov.uk

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Churchill’s A new Integrated Disability catering Service for North Tyneside crusade

Churchill Community College has been praised for its efforts to liven-up school lunches.

Since December 2008, school meal uptake at Churchill Community College has more than doubled, from 30 percent to 62 percent, thanks to the concerted efforts of the school’s catering team. As a result, they have been named as runner-up ‘Secondary School of the Year’ at this year’s first ever Educatering Awards.

Changes have included better menus, an improved dining room environment, reduced queuing times and competitive prices and promotions. Improvements have been so successful that the college has now introduced a closed gate policy at lunchtime.

Plans are moving forward to establish an Integrated Disability Service for North Tyneside.

Children and young people with disabilities, complex health needs or additional needs within North Tyneside, and their carers and families, rely on a range of services from health, education and social care.

But some service users said that accessing the services and information they need can sometimes be difficult, often leaving them feeling confused, frustrated, isolated and lost within a complex system of multi-agency service provision.

To address this, partners from health, education and social care agencies have worked to improve and better integrate children’s disability and additional needs services across North Tyneside.

Those improvements are now being put in place, under the banner of a new ‘Disabilities and Additional Needs’ service, or DAN for short.

DAN is not a new or additional service – it is simply a new and improved way of working.

The DAN service will be formally launched in spring 2011, while staff involved in the new approach will start to put some of the new practices into place, from January.

DAN has four main elements: Lead professional All who are referred for a service will have a professional nominated to act as a familiar and reliable point of contact the ‘lead professional’.

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Their job will be to help the family navigate their way through the systems of disability and additional needs assessment, referral and service provision.

Information service – Ask DAN The Families Information Service will offer disability and additional needs information and advisory services and a dedicated point of contact to support families where lead professional services are unavailable. Information factsheets to signpost and help parents and professionals will available to download from a new dedicated web area, from spring 2011.

A new location Staff from a number of teams will locate to the Riverside Children’s Centre, from early next year.The centre will become a hub of holistic services, support and advice.

Escalation and resolution Unresolved problems or dissatisfaction with any aspect of service provision can be directed to a new high-level escalation and resolution panel, who have the power to make direct decisions on a case by case basis.

For more information, contact John Scott, Head of Access and Inclusion, on (0191) 643 8728.

Outstanding Howdon

New Year, New Young Mayor

Meet North Tyneside’s new Young Mayor.

Howdon Children’s Centre has been rated as ‘outstanding in every area’ in its first Ofsted inspection.

“Life-changing, brilliant, fantastic, empowering” are just some of the ways local users have described the impact the centre has had on their lives.

Most children from the area enter childcare or early education with a narrower range of skills and experiences than expected for their age.

But Howdon Children’s Centre has effected real and lasting change; improving life chances for the majority of families and children, often in the face of the most challenging circumstances.

Centre Manager Gillian Darby said: “We have worked hard to build up trust and respect within the community and the views of local parents and children are at the heart of all that we provide.

“As such, we have been able to make sure that the support available is flexible and responsive to the ever-changing needs of the community, and is carefully targeted.”

Impressive Inspectors note the ‘impressive’ expertise and breadth of knowledge of staff, which has created a ‘deeply embedded’ sense of security, ensuring parents have the confidence to ask for help before they reach crisis point.

Staff are well-trained and experienced in sensitively working with parents experiencing domestic violence or abuse, with one describing her experience of this as ‘life-saving’.

The centre also consistently helps parents and carers into learning, training and employment, and many parents have seen their confidence and self-esteem really improve.

Rebecca Leighton (pictured) is 15 and a pupil at St Thomas More RC High School.

Almost 6,000 young people turned out to vote at the Young Mayor and Youth Council elections in November, and Rebecca received a total of 2836 first and second choice Young Mayor votes.

post-natal depression, supportive breast-feeding classes, high quality early years provision, highly effective leadership and management, a ‘relentless’ drive for improvement, and the ‘tireless dedication’ and ‘infectious enthusiasm’ of all staff, including health visitors, centre support workers, speech and language therapists and dieticians.

Rebecca said: “I’m really overwhelmed to have won and very grateful for the votes and support that have helped me get this far. My family and school have been especially supportive.”

Praise

Rebecca will choose a new Young Cabinet from the current Youth Council members, in early January.

Howdon is the first of North Tyneside’s twelve children’s centres to be inspected

by Ofsted under new arrangements introduced from April 2010.

Cllr David Lilly, cabinet member for Children,Young People and Learning, said: “Howdon Children’s Centre has become a lifeline for many in its community, and it is evident that its users place a high value on the support it provides. I am certain that our professional and dedicated staff will continue this excellent work, and strive for further improvements.”

Pictured: Stephanie Hetherington, Megan Ross, 2, Matthew Galley, 3, and Nichola Curry, Cllr David Lilly and Gillian Darby.

Rebecca’s manifesto included a promise to improve perceptions of young people, and she says that’s now her priority

She added: “The thing I’d like to do first is some work on improving the image of young people, especially in older people’s eyes, and I definitely want to carry on with the great intergenerational work that John Akinropo started.”

If you would like to work with the Young Mayor or Young Cabinet, please contact Anne Taylor,Young Mayor Support Officer, on (0191) 643 8218, or email young.mayor@northtyneside.gov.uk

For more information about the youth participation, contact Vicki Nixon, Participation and Engagement Team Manager, on (0191) 643 8215.

“Life-changing, brilliant, fantastic, empowering”

Other areas singled out for praise include support for mothers at risk of

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Pledge to continue child poverty work North Tyneside Council has pledged its commitment to improving the life-chances of children.

A new ‘Tyne Gateway Poverty Pledge’ commits North and South Tyneside Councils to do more to help lift children out of poverty, through education, employment, health, financial inclusion, housing, transport and other services.

The pledge is closely linked to the work of the Tyne Gateway Child Poverty Pilot; a joint initiative with South Tyneside Council, which aims to deliver innovative ways of helping families break out of a cycle of deprivation.

Work will also be done through the council’s four-year Children and Young People’s Plan.

The Tyne Gateway Child Poverty Pilot is already transforming the lives of some of the most disadvantaged families.

The pilot tackles child poverty through parental employment.This began with the training and employment of 20 Community Entrepreneurs, who themselves were parents at risk of becoming stuck in a cycle of deprivation.

Government funding for the pilot is due to end in March 2011.

The Community Entrepreneurs have already started to explore how the scheme might be sustained beyond March, which could include winning new service delivery contracts, finding local business sponsorship or obtaining help from charities and grant-giving bodies.

The sound of success

A peer review of North Tyneside Council’s music service has found it to be ‘outstanding’.The review was carried out by colleagues from the Federation of Music Services, endorsed by the Department for Education.Visitors to the music service noted that it has made excellent progress in the past year and that it is ‘an outstanding service’.They also noted that the service is led by ‘very dedicated music consultants who work tirelessly to enable the service to make considerable improvements and progress.’

By royal appointment

Don Charlton, Community Governor and Vice Chair at Marden High School has been awarded an MBE in this years Queen`s Birthday Honours List.

He received his MBE at Buckingham Palace in December. His honour was for ‘Services to Scouting in the North East’, but all of his voluntary service, including with Young Enterprise and as a Community Governor, were taken into consideration as part of the award.

It could also involve the creation of a Tyne Gateway Social Enterprise, which would see selected entrepreneur projects being converted into trading ventures.

Cabinet member for Children Young People and Learning, Cllr David Lilly, said: “This innovative work fits in with the idea of a ‘Big Society’ – empowering local people and communities and giving them the opportunity to make a difference themselves.”

Children First is your newsletter – a chance for all partners delivering services to children and their families to share information and celebrate achievements.

If you would like to contribute to the next edition, please e-mail: nicola.sleightholme@northtyneside.gov.uk, or tel 643 5081.