Service

/ 0 – 19 Learning and Development / Head of Service / Tony Mays

Section 1: About the Service

1.1Service Aims / To secure the entitlement of children and young people in Northumberland by working with schools, settings and communities to transform the way we think, learn and work, so that all children and young people whatever, their starting point, make progress and experience success.
1.2Service Objectives /
  1. To work with schools, settings and other agencies to raise standards and address the five outcomes of Every Child Matters.
  2. To ensure the delivery of high quality integrated early years care and education in line with the requirements of the ten year childcare strategy and Childcare Act 2006.
  3. To assist in reducing inequalities by focusing on children and young people most at risk of poor outcomes because of deprivation and/or disadvantage.
  4. To ensure the maintenance and delivery of the core offer for Children’s Centres.
  5. To provide advice and support to early years providers in the private, voluntary and independent sector, in respect of both day care and education.
  6. To raise the qualification level of early years practitioners in line with government expectations in order to develop an effective early years workforce.
  7. To implement the national strategies in schools to raise standards.
  8. To provide support to schools and settings in proportion to need.
  9. To create strong networks of challenge and support.
  10. To promote effective and relevant organisational structures between schools and settings.
  11. To promote collaboration in the 14+ partnerships to support the implementation of the 14-19 agenda.
  12. To provide instrumental tuition, curriculum support and whole class instrumental and vocal tuition (WCIVT) in music.
  13. To be a continually developing service able to respond to the needs of our schools and settings.
  14. To consult with and involve children, young people, parents and partners in developing our service.

1.3Service Resources / No. FTE posts / 270.93
Capital Expenditure / 0.00
Gross Revenue Expenditure / Income (mainstream/external) / Net Revenue Expenditure
24,006,190 / -21,796,370 / 2,209,820
Inspection/assessment e.g. IIP /
  • National Strategies RAG Dashboard – ongoing throughout year
  • Government Office North East (GONE) 14-19 RAG Dashboard – November 2009
  • Audit Commission’s Schools Survey – July 2009
  • Tell Us Survey – July 2009
  • Schools, Children’s Centres, Settings and Childminders Ofsted Inspections – ongoing
  • Ofsted Review Visits – not known

Section 2: Medium Term Developments and Implications

2.1Key medium term developments /
  • To support the Local Government Review (LGR) through:
-reviewing service provision in the light of Local Government Review changes
-establishing a relationship with new elected members over learning and schools
  • To raise standards at key stage 2.
  • To complete the programme to provide Children’s Centres across the County.
  • To integrate early learning and care in line with the ten year childcare strategy
  • To support Putting the Learner First (PLF) process in Blyth and Hirst.
  • To plan for changes to post 16 funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to local authority through ‘Machinery of Governance’

2.2Delivering partnership outcomes / Improving business enterprise and skills /
  • Supporting schools to become enterprising.
  • Supporting the Wansbeck Educational Enterprise Network.
  • Implementing with schools the NSP Regional Enterprise Strategy.
  • Joint work with Job Centre Plus in Children’s Centres to encourage more to take up training and employment opportunities.
  • Strategic support to childcare businesses.
  • High Level Employer Engagement Strategy approved and implemented by 14-19 Strategy Group.
  • Supporting the implementation of 100 Local Authority apprenticeship placements.
  • Using enterprise as a way of learning to support teaching and learning of diplomas.

Developing culture and tourism /
  • Curriculum delivery, core and enrichment, encourages pupils to appreciate their local area and culture
  • Contribute to the NCC cultural strategy
  • Work in progress to develop Heritage Play Trail across Berwick Borough in partnership with the Borough Council, CountyArchivist, Sure Start and Parish Councils.
  • Development of an innovative Diploma Centre at Hexham and HaydonBridge for Creative and Media.
  • Implementation of Travel and Tourism Diploma.
  • Development of Community Cohesion Strategy with schools and settings.

Safeguarding and sustaining the environment /
  • All children centres have play facilities for birth to fives.
  • Strategic support to develop high quality built environment and adequate and appropriate resources to support children’s learning and development.
  • Promoting the use of the outdoor environment to deliver the curriculum.
  • Sustainable practice through the curriculum
  • Programmes in early years to make use of the outdoor environment.
  • Development of Carbon neutral 14-19 capital developments.
  • Development of ECO Classroom at HaydonBridgeHigh School.
  • Development of innovative Diploma centre at Hexham for Creative and Media.
  • Support schools to develop carbon management systems.

Improving health, care and wellbeing /
  • Inclusion work includes a coordinated Healthy Schools Programme/Physical Education and Sport Programme and anti-bullying programme promoting the five outcomes of Every Child Matters (ECM).
  • Children Centres involved in providing specialist parenting courses.
  • Childcare Development Team worked in partnership with Extended Services to provide network events to promote health.
  • Training for early years practitioners to promote improved health, care and well-being.
  • Parenting Initiatives deliver a range of courses which links to health and well-being.
  • All Children’s Centres provide support to Teenage Parents and young mothers.
  • Respond to Laming report in relation to supporting school’s child protection responsibilities

Supporting the development of safe and strong communities /
  • Health, Well-Being and Equalities strand seeks to support vulnerable young people.
  • Healthy schools and national strategies include focus on behaviour and attendance, drugs. Extended services strategy to build shared services across partnerships of schools.
  • Anti-bullying policy in place with implementation of wider strategy under way.
  • Cultural and diversity strategy under way, supporting community cohesion.
  • ECM delivery encourages pupils to make positive contribution and become responsible citizens.
  • Children’s Centre Managers members of a range of community based groups.
  • Parenting Initiatives has been working with the Youth Offending Service.
  • All children age three to seven years in the county will have a reflective vest provided for walking to and from school.
  • Supporting the development of five 14-19 local partnerships based on three planning areas.
  • Supporting collaborative working with FE Colleges, Work Based Learner (WBL), employers and the Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) to enable young people to develop employability skills, increase motivation and raise aspirations.
  • Support the transport needs of young people wishing to travel to learn diplomas in another location.
  • Support for schools, settings and communities through the cultural diversity website and community cohesion strategy.

2.3Meeting the needs of local people / Localism /
  • Development of partnership performance data packs
  • Developing extended services across partnerships.
  • Supporting links between Children’s Centres and Schools to promote better learning and development.
  • Develop scope of Children’s Centres to deliver county-wide services.

Cohesion /
  • Implement the plans described in Section 3, Health, Well-Being and Equalities.
  • Cultural diversity and community cohesion support website.

Equalities and Diversity /
  • Centres will need to target services on children living in 30% most disadvantaged areas whilst providing a universal level of service for all.
  • Implementation of actions identified in Hard to Reach strategy will enable better provision of services.
  • Standards to be developed to support the work with fathers within Children’s Centres.
  • To enable better provision of services to the increasing Polish community in Northumberland, publicity materials to be produced by Children’s Centres and the summary of the Parenting Strategy will be translated into Polish.
  • EIA incorporated into service plans as a matter of course.
  • Performance management processes are in place and were endorsed by Investors in People (IIP) review.
  • Continued implementation of Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) action points e.g. producing performance data for vulnerable groups.
  • Narrowing the gap by improving the performances of pupils on Free School Meals (FSM), Special Educational Needs (SEN) pupils, Looked After Children (LAC) and travellers.
  • Training for School Improvement Partners (SIPs) in relation to equalities and diversity.

Customer Satisfaction /
  • Quality Assurance of School Improvement Partner process.
  • Analyse the results of the 2008 Audit Commission Survey
  • Annual Parental Satisfaction survey.

2.4Developing and Protecting the Workforce / Capacity /
  • In light of further guidance from Together For Children – will review the designation of existing Children’s Centres which may or may not impact on the services provided.
  • To implement a revised staffing structure within the Learning and Development (0-19) Service.
  • Workforce Plan to be developed across the EYCC service.
  • Promote SIP accreditation amongst headteachers in schools.
  • Review service structure to take account of changing national and local priorities.
  • PE and Sport – reduced capacity to impact on PE target.
  • Reduced capacity to deliver leadership and succession planning strategy will require the work to be contracted to schools.

Skills and Knowledge /
  • To develop a revised professional learning programme for the newly formed service.
  • Support for Early Years managers to work towards Early Years Professional status.
  • To support the professional development of Early Years and childcare staff so that 70% of workforce are L3 qualified by 2010.
  • Complete corporate learning as identified through performance management for capability, disciplinary and sickness management.

IIP /
  • To create a better link between performance management, service plans and professional learning.
  • To identify cross divisional working.
  • The appraisal system is well embedded in Children’s Services Directorate.
  • Reviewing the learning and development needs of the whole Directorate and its objectives/priorities when formulating the annual training plan

Health and Safety /
  • There are concerns over health and safety issues at HepscottPark as the site becomes less well cared for.

Working Protocols are being agreed between service providers using the same site e.g. Children’s Centres on school sites, work with private voluntary and independent providers.

Lone working policies across service area to be reviewed.

  • A single child protection policy to be developed across all Children’s Centres.

2.5Managing Resources and Assets / Efficiency Savings and Value for Money /
  • Review our car mileage and carbon footprint.
  • Re shaping of some directly provided day care to enable more cost effective provision and to better meet needs of ‘hard to reach’ communities.
  • Continuing review of staffing structures to best meet needs of changing priorities.
  • Wherever possible staff shared across programmes / services.
  • Work to be undertaken to look at possibility of pooling budgets with other service areas for a more cost effective provision of day care.

Assets / 24 Children’s Centres.
Procurement /
  • Re procurement of Secondary SIP contract.
  • ICT resources.
  • Leadership support programme for schools.
  • Capital process ongoing for Children’s Centres (one in Ponteland and several small scale capital developments).

IT /
  • Review IT support for new team.
  • Embed new Management Information System across all Children’s Centres.
  • Make better use of electronic storage systems to draw together information about schools and settings.

Section 3: Focus on 2009/10 – these key priorities support the CYPP Strategic Priorities 1, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16

3.1Key Priorities / Strategic Management
  • To ensure Learning and Development (0-19) Service is of highest quality and fulfils its duties to the best of its ability.
  • To further develop effective links with schools and partnership, Children’s Centres and settings.
  • To reconfigure service to ensure effective high quality delivery and take account of changing priorities nationally and locally.
  • To integrate further the Learning and Development Service within Children’s Services Directorate to give more co-ordinated support to schools and settings.
  • Information management of Learning and Development (0-19) Service.
  • More rigorous monitoring and support for weaker schools and settings.
  • To support the identification and development of potential future school leaders.
  • To support schools in carrying out effective recruitment processes.
  • To develop and implement an effective induction programme to support new school leaders.
  • To implement a strategy to support the retention of school leaders in Northumberland schools.
  • To support the development and maintenance of models of school leadership and succession planning.
  • Support the development of Provision Management within schools

School and Settings - Monitoring, Intervention, Support and Challenge
  • Implementation of the County Council’s Schools Intervention and Support Programme (SISP).
  • Review of School Improvement Partner function in all phases.
  • Provision of performance data to support schools to raise standards.
  • Supporting schools in target setting process
  • To improve support to SISP schools.

Early Years and Childcare
  • To reduce inequalities by focusing on children most at risk of poor outcomes
  • To support leadership teams in promoting further quality within EYFS in schools and settings
  • To increase schools/settings capacity to ensure that all pupils have access to effective learning in line with EYFS principles
  • To involve parents, and listen to children in the planning, commissioning and delivery of services for young children.
  • Note – further references to Children’s Centres and childcare development will be added once the new service is formed.

Primary Education
  • To support and challenge schools and settings to raise standards and improve rates of progress.
-Identify areas of underachievement and target resources accordingly.
-Engage schools and settings in effective collaboration and partnership.
-Support and challenge schools and settings to personalise learning effectively.
-To support schools and settings to build capacity through the use of a range of school improvement strategies.
  • To support schools and settings to improve levels of engagement and enjoyment.
-Support schools to review and develop the curriculum.
-Promote the effective use of e-learning.
-Improve behaviour where it adversely affects pupil achievement.
-Improve attendance where it adversely affects pupil achievement.
-Further improve the quality of teaching and learning primarily through the development of Assessing Pupil Progress (APP)
-Develop the quality of teaching and learning,
-Engage schools in effective collaboration and partnership.
  • To support schools and settings to develop the quality of leadership at all levels, promoting effective and enthusiastic practitioners.
-Support school Senior Leaders, Strategy Managers and Middle Leaders in order to audit teaching and learning and identify priorities for improvement.
-Engage schools in planning actions to address priorities.
-Build capacity through classroom based support including coaching, joint planning, team teaching, observation and feedback, work sampling, pupil voice etc.
-Monitor and evaluate the impact of planned actions so that next steps can be identified and good practice shared.
  • To be a continually developing service able to respond to the needs of schools and settings.
-Ensure CPD effectively supports consultants in their developing roles.
-Develop closer working links with School Improvement Partners.
-Maintain sufficient flexibility to ensure consultant support for schools in the Schools Intervention and Support Programme.
-Support schools and staff undergoing transition from three tier to two tier education.
-Support schools in preparing for the new Primary National Curriculum being introduced in September 2011.
Secondary Education
  • To support and challenge schools to raise standards of achievement and improve rates of progress
-Ensure secondary School Improvement Partner programme supports and challenges robust self evaluation
-Ensure secondary School Improvement Partner brokerage of support achieves effective alignment between school improvement priorities and LA support
-Ensure Secondary Strategy Offer of Support aligns with national and local school improvement priorities
-Ensure universal offer of support is effectively disseminated to schools at all levels from Headteacher to classroom teacher
-Ensure targeted consultancy has a positive impact on standards and rates of progress in core subjects
-Ensure targeted consultancy has a positive impact on social and emotional aspects of learning, behaviour and attendance.
  • To support schools to improve levels of engagement and enjoyment
-Support schools to review and develop the curriculum.
-Support schools to develop the quality of teaching and learning
  • To support schools to develop the quality of leadership at all levels, promoting effective and enthusiastic practitioners
-Ensure Headteachers understand Secondary Strategy priorities
-Support and develop the role of the School Strategy Manager.
-Build the leadership capacity of middle leaders, core subject line managers and B&A leads
  • To be a continually developing service able to respond to the needs of schools
-Ensure CPD effectively supports consultants in their developing roles
-Develop greater coordination of National Strategies teams and the 14-19 team.
-Develop closer working links with School Improvement Partners.
-Ensure consultant support for schools in the Schools Intervention and Support Programme.
14-19
  • Strengthening of partnership working at County, local and regional partnership levels with new structures in place.
  • Further development of diploma implementation strategy and taken forward by all partners through submissions to Gateway 4.
  • First six diploma lines implemented, underpinned by protocols for funding, timetabling, transport and safeguarding.
  • 14-19 Capital Improvements in rural areas (North and West) are planned and implemented.
  • Further support for Functional Skills across all pathways.
  • Key Stage 4 School Engagement Programme and Foundation Learning Tier (FLT) 14-16 merged through 2009-10.
  • Employer Engagement High level strategy includes the transition arrangements for Learn2Work, EBPO.
  • Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) Audit outcomes inform planning and implementation of IAG strategy for 11-18 year olds.
  • Ensure NorthumberlandAWP is refreshed and updated and fit for purpose. Young people must be able to find it a useful and authoritative source of IAG.
  • Common Application Process (CAP) disseminated and further developed.
  • Workforce Development action plan developed with a focus on teaching and learning.