A number of recent policy developments around children and young people have significantly shaped the Government Office role in this important area of work.
More information on the national picture
This role is based on an appreciation of the increasing significance of
Government Offices across Whitehall and the need for a joined-up approach
in local areas with local authorities at the centre of delivering the
Government’s ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda in an
integrated fashion.
We are responsible for:
(i) working with local authorities, often through Children’s
Services Advisors, to ensure that the Every Child Matters agenda and
other Government priorities are embedded in local planning, commissioning
and delivery arrangements
(ii) working closely with key children's services improvement
partners, including Strategic Health Authorities, the Care Services
Improvement Partnership and the South East Public Health Group, the
Training and Development Agency and Ofsted; and private sector partners
such as Capita
(iii) advising local Learning & Skills Councils, Regional
Development Agencies (RDAs) and Regional Skills Partnerships about the
Department’s policies and priorities for children, education and
skills at all levels including higher education
(iv) understanding and sharing good practice across the region, with
other regions and with the Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF).
A statistical snapshot of children and young people in the South East shows
why we think this is an important area of work for us:
- children and young people make up nearly a quarter of the total
regional population (2,007,500), which is 16% of the total population of
children and young people in England
- a significant minority of young people reach the age of 16 with no
qualifications whatsoever (2,120 in 2007), which is a cause for concern
- there are approximately 5000 conceptions to teenage mothers in the
South East each year
- according to the latest available validated data, there are 7,3406
(41 children per 10,000) ‘looked after children’ in the South
East, with 71% living in foster care and 10% in either secure units,
children’s homes or hostels
- the percentage of ‘looked after children’ in Year 11 (2006)
achieving 5 GCSE A* - C is 10% for the South East as compared to 11.8% for
England and 59.7% for Year 11 as a whole in the SE
Field force prospectus and Calendar
As part of our work to support local authorities through joint improvement
support plans, we have been working with other field forces and agencies
across the South East to co-ordinate a better and tailored approach. This
has involved producing the following two documents to assist our local
authorities in identifying sources of support which are available:
1. Children's Services
Improvement Support for local authorities and Children's Trusts:
South East Supplement to the National Prospectus 2009-10. This
regional prospectus sets out clearly information about improvement
support agencies working across the region and the support they can
offer. It builds on the DCSF Children's Services Improvement Support
for local authorities and Children's Trusts: A National Prospectus
2009-10 published in February 2009, and provides information to
local authorities and their partners so that there is greater
understanding of the support available within the region. Limited number
of hard copies available – please contact 01483 882438.
2. Calendar of
Events. This calendar of events, which will be updated quarterly,
provides details of the events and network meetings that South East
fieldforce and other agencies hope to provide - we hope this will enable
local authority officers to take account of these meetings in their work
plans.
