From Solihull’s DCS.
I thought I’d take the opportunity, whilst writing this introduction, to tell you a little about me. As many of you will be aware I became DCS in Solihull last November. However immediately before that I had retired from the same role in Wakefield and was undertaking some scrutiny work for Solihull. Unexpectedly this led me to agree to come out of retirement and, well the rest is history.
As we all know, the journey to Good, or Outstanding, is not formulaic, for if it were, that formula would have been applied across every children’s services directorate in the country by now. There are of course, many factors that come into play. Nevertheless, I know that the experience I bring, to both Solihull and the West Midlands as a whole, will be of benefit. I know too, that there is much I will learn whilst I am here in this wonderful region again. To that end I am grateful to colleagues from Birmingham and Warwickshire for the time they are investing in supporting Solihull. Similarly, Sir Alan Wood’s input, as our commissioner, is invaluable.
All of this leads me to talk about some of the exciting change that we are embarking on. First and foremost, we are embedding Restorative Practice as our model of working. But beyond this, we are building a new Edge of Care service, we are expanding our Family Group Conference offer, we are in the process of opening three new children’s homes. Again, working with Birmingham we are developing our own version of Breaking the Cycle, to divert from, where we can safely do so, repeated pre-birth proceedings. All of this comes at a cost, and I don’t necessarily mean monetary (although there is that too), but it means taking our staff through the journey with us, expecting that this will raise anxieties, and supporting them with these. However, in the end, we will have a stronger service, will be able to do the right thing for all the borough’s children. Our staff already have reasonable numbers of children open to each of them and we are creating new management opportunities. Inevitably, this also means there will be opportunity for our workforce to develop.
There is another cost too, and that is the amount of time that I and my leadership team have to invest in regional working. We recognise this, and ask if you would, that you bear with us for a while. Soon, a stronger Solihull will emerge, and when it does, we will have much to share with all of you.
So, on that note, it just leaves me to thank you for the work you do, individually, and collectively for the children, young people and their families, in the West Midlands.
Kind regards
Beate Wagner
DCS updates:
Sukriti Sen has now started in post as the new DCS in Coventry. Please join us in offering Sukriti a warm welcome to the region. We would also like to thank Neil Macdonald for his contribution to DCS Network whilst he was interim in Coventry.
An update on Sector Led Improvement:
Since embarking on my role as regional senior officer for SLI in March 2024, I initially prioritised engaging in explorative sessions with key leaders. This enabled me to gather a comprehensive and updated understanding of each LA. These conversations have specifically focused on key priorities that were set out by the Directors in early 2024. These priorities were for were care proceedings, placement sufficiency and fostering retention and recruitment. These conversations have been instrumental in forming a true picture of both our challenges and opportunities to share learning across our region.
Through these meetings, several insights have emerged. Firstly, there is a unanimous recognition of the need for more foster carers, there are several regional groups that meet to discuss and share challenges concerning recruitment and retention to strategies to retain, support and train carers. There have been discussions how we can share financial resources across the region specifically to target recruitment online. There has also been an appetite to share and discuss marketing strategies, there have been diagnostic reports undertaken which have given some LA’s a particular steer in how to enhance retention and recruitment. Some of these reports have been shared with me which has been helpful in identifying patterns and linked threads.
In terms of care proceedings, there appears to be a focus and conversations across most of the region on pre-birth pathways and processes. How we can support mainly vulnerable mothers to be supported to care for their children, or alternatively provide children with clear plans for adoption and permanency at earlier stages. There will be some regional conversations to enable sharing some of the learning and good practice that is taking place. Some LA’s are in the early stages of implementing pre-birth systems and teams so it will be a good opportunity to test and learn as we go.
My plan in the late autumn is to bring together some of the learning through some taster webinars, these will consist of some key insights into areas in which our region is thriving and are looking at more innovate ways in which we deliver services to children. These are likely to be in relation to Pre-Birth planning, regional commissioning, setting up children’s homes as well and new ways on which family group conferencing and lifelong links are being implemented.
The plan is this will all be brought together at an in-person conference in Spring where there will be an opportunity to hear from our regional colleagues in what is working well in individual LA’s. Dates of the webinars and conference will be shared in mid-September.
Sandeep Virk
Key Events:
Black and Asian Leadership Initiative:
Following on from our recent rounds of both LeadHERship in Colour and Breaking Through, we are pleased to announce that we have commissioned the Staff College to run their BALI programme exclusively for West Midlands staff. We have 25 places available, these are fully funded and there is no onward cost to the participant’s council/trust. However, we do ask that each delegate secures confirmation from their line manager, that they will be released for all three days of the programme.
If we receive more than 25 applications, we will work with Staff College colleagues to identify those who are likely to gain the most benefit at this time.
For more information and details of how to apply, please click here.
Upcoming conferences:
Participation Leads Conference – 24th September
This is the first time we will be holding this event, which is aimed at those working within participation teams. Places are limited, so please talk to your Participation Manager if you would like to attend.
Many thanks to Worcestershire County Cricket Club who are providing space, at New Road, for this event at no cost to the region.
Big Thinking 24 – 12th November
The aim of these Big Thinking Events is to think differently when it comes to working collaboratively in our efforts to promote the permanency and retention of a good quality Childrens Services workforce in the West Midlands. The aims of the event are to find creative solutions which ultimately aim to ensure that children and their families receive the best outcomes that we can offer because they are supported by a strong, stable, and quality Childrens Services workforce.
Each local authority area has a limited number of places, so if you are interested in being part of an exciting and innovative conversation, please talk to your Children’s Workforce Lead or Principal Social Worker.
Safeguarding Conference – 28th November
Following on from last years successful Safeguarding Conference, we have agreed to hold a similar event in November.
The theme of this years conference is Safeguarding, Innovation & New Ways of Working.
The target audience is IRO’s and CP chairs, but if you have an interest in attending, please talk to your Regional Safeguarding Network representative.
Regional Master Classes: Each year our 14 Councils and Trusts share their good practice across the breadth of children’s services in the form of online Masterclasses.
Our current round of Masterclasses is nearly finished, however we will be announcing more dates shortly, for a series that will run across the autumn.
Booking is via the links below:
27th September 12.00-13.30
Presented by Beth Corrigan and Anna Stephens from Solihull MBC.
The session will focus on our journey in developing our fostering recruitment and retention strategy in Solihull. This will focus on our achievements and some of the challenges we have faced as well as an opportunity to share ideas regionally in respect of improving placement sufficiency.
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