Annual Conference 2022 Programme
Please note that it may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of ADCS to change the content and timing of the programme, the speakers, or the venue. All programme updates and amendments made will be available on this webpage.
Wednesday 6 July
From 11:45am: DCS Only Sessions
6:00pm: Close
Thursday 7 July
9:00am - 10:30am - DCS only Sessions
9:00am - Registration open for all delegates
11:00am - President’s Address
Steve Crocker - ADCS President
11:30am - Plenary: Young people from Wessex Dance Academy – an example of how the arts can change and impact the lives of young people
Wessex Dance Academy is an evidence-based contemporary dance programme for Hampshire’s most vulnerable young people. This session highlights what being involved in the project has meant to some of the young people and presents a premiere of their new work. The young people are from across Hampshire and have been referred to the programme by social workers or schools.
Chair: Steve Crocker, ADCS President
12 noon - Keynote Address: Secretary of State
Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP, Secretary of State for Education
12:45pm - Lunch
2:00pm - Plenary: SEND Green Paper
A chance to reflect on and discuss the recent SEND and AP Green Paper, to consider what the reforms mean for children, families and our services, how best to turn this vision into a reality and what needs to happen next.
Speakers: Charlie Lang, Deputy Director, SEND Review Division, Department for Education; Mrunal Sisodia, Co-Chair of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums, Charlotte Ramsden, Immediate Past President
Chair: Edwina Grant, Chair of the ADCS Health,Care and Additional Needs Policy Committee.
3:15pm - Plenary: Schools White Paper
A discussion about the White Paper, and resultant legislation, turning the vision into reality and ensuring that learner’s needs and rights are at the heart of reforms, not structures.
Speakers: Paul Cohen, Deputy Director for School Improvement and Multi-Academy Trust Growth, Department for Education; Edwina Grant, Chair of ADCS Health, Care & Additional Needs Policy Committee, Andy Park, Executive Headteacher, Prospere Learning Trust
Chair: Gail Tolley, Chair ADCS Educational Achievement Policy Committee.
4:30pm - Workshop Sessions
(a) Children’s mental health and wellbeing - Identifying national, regional and local challenges, as well as opportunities, to inform the Association’s case for a national review of mental health services.
Chair: Chris Munday, Chair ADCS Resources & Sustainability Policy Committee.
(b) Turning Family Hubs Policy into Reality– Getting to grips with the government’s flagship early years policy, family hubs. How can we plan, lead and deliver service reform and transform lives and life chances?
Chair: Sara Tough, Chair ADCS Families, Communities and Young People Policy Committee.
(c) Trauma informed approaches - A spotlight on trauma-informed responses when working with different cohorts and groups of children, young people, families and indeed whole communities.
Chair: John Pearce, ADCS Vice President.
(d) Anti-racism initatives and practice – A spotlight on diversity and inclusion in the workforce, from frontline social workers through to leadership.
Chair: Rachael Wardell, Chair ADCS Workforce Development Policy Committee.
(e) Youth justice – A spotlight on how different regions are working collectively to address to long-standing challenges in the youth justice system.
Chair: Paul Marshall, DCS Manchester City Council.
6:00pm - Close
7:30pm - Drinks reception
8:00pm - Dinner
Friday 8 July
9:15am - Inspection
A horizon scanning session with particular a focus on forthcoming reforms in relation to the registration and regulation of hitherto unregulated placements for children in care and care leavers plus proposed changes in regulation resulting from the green and white papers, the care review and other relevant
developments.
Speakers: Yvette Stanley, National Director, Regulation and Social Care, Ofsted Christine Williams, Deputy Director, Social Care and Regulatory Practice, and Chris Russell, HMI National Director Education
Chair: Andy Smith, Chair ADCS Standards, Performance and Inspection Policy Committee.
10:45am - Cultural change to end violence against women and girls
Last year, what HMI Constabulary termed “an epidemic of violence against women and girls” came to the fore as a result of a series of tragic and high-profile deaths and tens of thousands of children and young people disclosed allegations of abuses in education settings via a dedicated website. This session will consider how to affect the changes needed?
Speakers: Maggie Blyth, Deputy Chief Constable and National Police Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls; Yvette Stanley, National Director, Regulation and Social Care, Jacqui Burke, Director of Children’s Services, Hackney Council
Chair: Steve Crocker, ADCS President.
12 noon - Independent Review of Children’s Social Care
After the publication of the Review’s final report, this session will reflect on the headline findings and recommended reforms whilst considering what comes next in terms of planning and implementation given the interplay between this review and other key reports and studies.
Speakers: Josh MacAlister, Chair of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, Leon Feinstein, Professor of Education and Children’s Social Care and Director, The Rees Centre; Judith Denton, Expert by Experience; Suzanne Lunn, Director Children’s Social Care, Department for Education, and Sophie Langdale, Director for Children’s Social Care - strategy and practice, Judith Denton, expert by experience.
Chair: Steve Crocker, ADCS President.
1:15pm - President’s Closing Remarks
Steve Crocker, ADCS President
1:30pm - Close of Conference - Lunch available