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Articles by Matt Dunkley
Cómo Keir Starmer, ex flautista, se formó gracias a las "muchas oportunidades" de la música
hSu padre, como sabemos, period fabricante de herramientas y ha hablado a menudo del semirremolque lleno de guijarros donde creció. Pero cuando Keir Starmer habló en la conferencia del Partido Laborista esta semana, decidió resaltar un aspecto menos acquainted de su infancia. Una de las cosas que le había dado “gran alegría” cuando period niño, “además del fútbol, obviamente”, period tocar la flauta, dijo a los delegados en Liverpool.
The power of reconnection
Matt Dunkley Friday, September 24, 2021 This week saw the first gathering in person of ADCS colleagues for 18 months, when we held our Council of Reference meeting in the reassuringly familiar surroundings of the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Our president, Charlotte Ramsden, spoke of the emotions invoked by reconnecting with colleagues and ADCS staff in person again after such a long time, in the very place where we have gathered for our annual conferences for the last 15 years.
A juggling act
Matt Dunkley Monday, June 21, 2021 In the week that “Freedom Day” was delayed for a month, almost as if it were a DfE policy announcement, I was struck by what we are currently juggling as DCSs and the amazing reach and complexity of our statutory roles. Given I have been doing this since dinosaurs roamed the earth, you might think it would have stopped surprising me by now. As well as national challenges in common, we all have our unique local issues.
Working through the pandemic to protect Kent’s children and families
By Matt Dunkley | 23 April 2020 It’s a pretty extraordinary time. We in Kent went within the space of about three days from having just over 3,000 staff in offices and out in the field to having all of those staff working from home. We have the largest front door service in England for contacts and referrals and we managed to locate 130 staff at home to do that work. It was a pretty astonishing technical achievement to be able to do that.
Hinds launches evidence review into school SEND funding
By Nina Jacobs | 03 May 2019 The government has asked education leaders to provide evidence on the extent of the crisis in special needs provision and suggest ways that funding arrangements can be improved.
Opportunity Areas accused of 'draining resources'
By Joanne Parkes | 02 May 2019 Opportunity Area leaders have passionately defended the £72m scheme's value - amid concerns that it may be sucking money from other disadvantaged areas. Duncan Jacques, Bradford Opportunity Area Partnership Board member, believes the initiative is an opportunity to innovate Among the claimed benefits of the initiative - which targets 12 "social mobility coldspots" - are that it is helping to develop innovative practices that can be rolled out nationwide.
Councils 'missing chances' to safeguard runaway children
By Dan Parton | 02 May 2019 Just half of children who go missing from care are given statutory interviews when they return home, a study suggests, leading to calls for clearer guidance for councils. The First Steps report says one in five local authorities do not record information from return home interviews consistently. Image: The Children's Society When councils do carry out the return home interviews, few are making the best use of the data, risking a "tick-box exercise".
In the May edition of CYP Now: Youth work reboot; Troubled Families programme; Domestic abuse special report
By Derren Hayes | 02 May 2019 Amid the debate over how to tackle rising levels of youth violence, the government has unveiled plans for a youth charter and review of youth workers' qualifications to help them meet young people's needs. In the new edition of CYP Now, youth work experts outline how the proposed reforms must boost access to universal youth services and reverse the recent decline in the workforce.
Ombudsman slams council treatment of vulnerable siblings
By Joanne Parkes | 02 May 2019 Lancashire County Council has been criticised for consistently failing to support two vulnerable siblings over a two-year period after they moved to live with their close relatives.
Action for Children wins £5m contract to run children's centres in Norfolk
By Dan Parton | 02 May 2019 The charity Action for Children has been awarded a £5.2m per year contract to run children's centres in Norfolk from October. Norfolk County Council has handed the running of its children's centres to charity Action for Children. Image: Google The service will have a network of 15 bases, offering outreach support across the county and delivering early childhood and family services for families living nearby.
MPs urge £3bn council funding injection in Spending Review
HCLG committee chair Clive Betts MP says the current funding gap is unsustainable The urgent call for action follows consistent warnings from local government that children's services are at "breaking point" and the government should back local authorities with funding that meets demand.
Fall in DCS turnover and new appointments
By Nina Jacobs | 30 April 2019 Only 17 new director of children's services (DCS) appointments were made last year, the second lowest number recorded in the 12-year history of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS).
Reoffending from youth custody on the rise
By Nina Jacobs | 30 April 2019 The proportion of young people released from youth custody who go on to reoffend within 12 months has risen to its highest level for two years, according to latest official figures. The number of young people who reoffend after leaving custody has risen to the highest level since early 2015, figures show.
Extend 30 hours to more families urges social mobility body
By Nina Jacobs | 30 April 2019 The government should extend the 30 hours childcare entitlement to all parents working eight hours a week to ensure it reaches more low-income families, the Social Mobility Commission has said.
CAHMS beds provision in the UK 'ranked below eastern Europe'
By Joanne Parkes | 29 April 2019 The UK has some of the lowest numbers of beds for treating young people with serious mental illnesses in Europe, according to research published today. The Milestone study looked at the number of inpatient beds per 100,000 young people. Picture: zinkevych/Adobe Stock Out of 28 countries in the European Union, the UK comes 18th - below some of the poorer countries of eastern Europe.
More support needed for BAME young carers, charity says
By Dan Parton | 29 April 2019 Health and care services need to do more to identify young carers from black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities and provide them with support, a children's charity has said. BAME young carers are often missed by health and social care services because of cultural barriers, according to research by Barnardo’s.
Bradford DCS apologises to social workers over 'slur'
By Dan Parton | 29 April 2019 The interim director of Bradford Children's Services has apologised to all department staff after a senior colleague appeared to publicly admit that council bosses did not take social workers at their word.
Call for watchdog to develop policies to improve childhood nutrition
By Nina Jacobs | 26 April 2019 A children's food watchdog is needed to help young people access more nutritious food, an inquiry set up to investigate children's food insecurity has concluded. A watchdog should consider policies such as extending free school meals, the inquiry has concluded.
Spending on children in care exceeds £4bn for first time
The amount spent by councils supporting children who have been taken into care is set to rise by more than £370m this year, breaking the £4bn barrier for the first time. Figures published by the Department for Education show that total spend by local authorities across England on children in care will increase to £4.16bn for 2018/19, a rise of £370.1m on the 2017/18 figure of £3.79bn.
DfE to fund 'family holidays' in bid to reduce numbers of children in care
Councils will be able to use government money to send struggling families on holiday as part of efforts to reduce record numbers of children going into care, it has emerged. In a bid to identify the best ways to prevent children being removed from their families, social workers will be handed "significant funds" to spend in "creative ways" as part of a Department for Education initiative.
Youth workers agree two-year pay deal
Youth workers will get a two per cent pay rise this year and again in 2019 after union members agreed a two-year deal. The National Education Union, the University and College Union, Unison and Unite, which jointly negotiate on behalf of more than 10,000 youth and community workers across England & Wales confirmed details of the agreement following consultation with members, with all voting in favour of the deal.
Girlguiding defends controversial transgender policy
The youth organisation released a statement yesterday (Tuesday) saying its decision to admit children and adults who identify as women does not put other female members at risk. However, a campaign group has claimed young people are at risk of being raped or falling pregnant if it continues to admit transgender people.
Councils set to 'trailblaze' projects to tackle child obesity
Public health minister Steve Brine, speaking at a Local Government Association (LGA) conference on obesity, said a Department of Health trailblazer scheme, delivered in partnership with the LGA, would see authorities bid for funding to help the government reach its target of halving childhood obesity by 2030. NHS data suggests nearly a quarter of children in England are obese or overweight by the time they start primary school aged five - rising to one third by the time they leave aged 11.
Schools 'unsure how to react to LGBT families'
Schools are not always sure how they should react to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) parents, and need to do more to make sure they feel welcome, a study has found. Research, involving interviews with 26 LGBTQI parents and 19 children, found that existing support often centred on issues around bullying, rather than efforts to improve inclusiveness.
Children's services 'fail to support children of disabled parents'
A study of disabled parents who had all been referred, or self-referred, to children's social care, found support offered by the services did not aim to support parents to care for their own children, but rather provided substitute care that separated families.
Labour to allow councils to take over failing academies
Councils will be allowed to take control of struggling academies as part of efforts to improve the education system, Labour has said. Speaking at the party's annual conference in Liverpool, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said if it gains power it will tackle the problem of failing academy trusts, a situation she said results in schools being "stranded outside the system". Currently, local authorities have no say in the management of academies or free schools.
Corbyn to announce 'radical expansion' of free childcare
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will announce plans for a "radical expansion and transformation of free universal childcare", if his party gains power, it has been announced. Corbyn will use his speech tomorrow at the annual Labour Party Conference to set out plans for 30 hours of high-quality, "genuinely" free childcare to be available to all two-, three- and four-year-olds, with no means testing.
Quarter of CAMHS transformation funding not reaching frontline services
More than a quarter of the money set aside by government to transform child and adolescent mental health services is not going to frontline services, it has emerged. As part of the Future in Mind initiative the government set aside an extra £1.4bn for the period up to 2020 in order to improve child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), which they are responsible for commissioning.
Labour pledges support for victims of domestic abuse
Speaking at the Labour Party Women's conference, shadow minister for women and equalities Dawn Butler said the move could help save the lives of more than 100 victims a year, and address its impact on those around them. The time off work would provide an opportunity for men and women to find help without putting their employment at risk. According to latest Office for National Statistics figures, 130,000 children in England and Wales live in homes where there is a "high risk" of domestic abuse.
Councils seek urgent assurances on controversial 'mythbuster' guidance
Local authorities have called on the Department for Education to urgently clarify the legality of controversial guidance amid claims it encourages councils to renege on statutory child protection obligations. The document, Children's Social Care statutory Guidance Myth Busting, which appears on the government's social care innovation website, highlights a number of elements of statutory guidance that "act as a barrier to good practice and outcomes for children and families".
Multi-agency unit to tackle 'county lines' crime launches
A £3.6m unit to tackle "county lines" crime where gangs from urban areas exploit children to establish drug-dealing networks in rural areas has launched. The National County Lines Coordination Centre consists of a 38-strong multi-agency team of experts from the National Crime Agency (NCA), police forces and regional organised crime units.
Youth groups receive £2.6m funding from London mayor
Theatre and sports initiatives are among 36 youth projects to benefit from £2.6m worth of funding released by mayor of London Sadiq Khan to divert young people in the capital away from crime. The funding forms the third investment for youth projects made available through the mayor's £45m Young Londoners Fund, after previous rounds of investment in May and June.
Youth sector organisations announce merger
The Centre for Youth Impact, which aims to help youth organisations improve their effectiveness, has taken over Project Oracle, a training and validation provider for organisations working with children and young people. The two organisations are now operating under the Centre for Youth Impact brand, with its current director Bethia McNeil due to head both bodies from November when Project Oracle director Sue Holloway will retire.
Call for overhaul of sentencing guidelines for young adult offenders
Formal sentencing principles for young adults, similar to those already in place for children, should be introduced to assist the courts and improve sentencing outcomes, a new report has said.
Health visitors 'quitting over fears they are unable to protect children'
Health visitors are leaving the profession amid concerns that they are unable to keep children safe due to ongoing public health cuts, it has been claimed. Research published by the Labour Party shows that 130 out of 152 (85 per cent) councils plan to reduce their public health budgets this year by a combined total of £96.3m compared with 2017/18 levels.
Councils plan £900m of cuts including children's services and early years
The worst council cuts are still to come, with more than £900m of reductions set to be made next year affecting children's services, early years, and youth services, the organisation representing county councils has warned. A survey by the County Council Network (CCN) found that all 36 county council and county unitary authorities will be making cuts, totalling an estimated £918m - an average of £25.5m each - when they set their budgets next February.
DfE drops waiting time target for adoption support decisions
The Department for Education has dropped a target to review applications for support for adopted children within five days due to a high volume of applications. Government guidance on how the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) works, and how help can be claimed, has been updated with references to a five working day target for completing reviews removed.
London to adopt public health approach to tackle serious violence
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced that a public health approach will be used to tackle serious violence in the capital, with a new a new Violence Reduction Unit featuring specialists in health, police and local government set to be established.
Ofsted warns of lack of stability at 'inadequate' council
Children's services at Tameside Borough Council were rated inadequate in December 2016 with a lack of sufficient workforce capacity cited as a "primary contributory factor" to poor practice. A year later a monitoring visit in October 2017 concluded the pace of change at the authority was "too slow". And the latest monitoring visit, conducted on 22 August 2018 found staffing issues continue to dog progress.
Government early years spending rises for first time in three years
The total amount spent by government on early years services rose for the first time in three years in 2017/18, but is still down on 2014/15 levels a report has found. A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that the government's combined spending on early years provision rose to £5.77bn in 2017/18. It represents the first spending rise since 2014/15 when spending rose to a record £5.84bn, but fell in subsequent years to £5.57bn in 2015/16 and £5.38bn in 2016/17.
Council to close 46 children's centres and encourage community-run services
A council has announced plans to close 87 per cent of its children's centres, taking the number of buildings down from 53 to seven, with more services provided by local communities. Norfolk County Council said the seven remaining children's centres buildings will become "early childhood and family bases", with the majority of support being provided on an outreach basis within local community venues, such as libraries, village halls, schools, and in families' homes.
Ofsted relaxes inspections for struggling 'inadequate' councils
Councils where children's services standards are deemed to be "inadequate" are to receive shorter, less intense re-inspections, Ofsted has announced. Under the inspection of local authority children's services (ILACS) system, which was officially introduced in January, inadequate councils received up to six quarterly monitoring visits prior to a three-week re-inspection under the predecessor to ILACS - the single inspection framework (SIF).
Sharp increase in nursery closures since introduction of 30 hours childcare
The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has said nurseries that cancel their membership and close down are increasingly citing underfunding for the flagship government initiative as the cause. Its records showed 73 settings closed their doors between September 2016 and August 2017. This number rose by 66 per cent to 121 from September 2017 to August 2018 after the scheme was introduced.
Young people distribute £180,000 to youth projects
A grant-making body has given a panel of young people the final say on how £180,000 worth of funding for projects supporting vulnerable young people is distributed. A panel of 13 young people selected 11 projects to receive funding after a series of interviews involving 21 shortlisted bids for Jack Petchey Foundation grants.
Media focus on knife crime 'fuelling excessive arrests of black children'
An increase in media coverage of knife crime and gang issues has contributed to high levels of arrests of black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) children and their disproportional representation in youth custody, a charity has said. The Howard League for Penal Reform said that while the overall number of child arrests have fallen for a seventh year in a row, BAME children continue to be treated unequally.
Call for councils to monitor profits of private children's homes
By Tristan Donovan | 17 July 2018 Local authorities must regularly check how money handed to private children's homes providers is spent, in order to ensure they are prioritising the welfare of vulnerable children over profit. The Howard League for Penal Reform is keen to reduce the number of police call-outs to children's homes to address the over-criminalisation of children in residential care.
Shift your career up a gear: Be a social work leader in Norfolk
For the past two years, Norfolk County Council has been moving at pace to improve services for children and young people. We’ve reviewed how we’re organised. We’ve strengthened our leadership and management structure. And we’ve embedded the Signs of Safety approach throughout children’s services and its partner agencies. Now, we are ready to recruit the senior social workers who will enable us to accelerate the improvements already recognised by Ofsted and the Department for Education.
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