North East Regional Update September 2019

Regional Learning Event

In July we held our second annual regional learning event focused on sharing learning from recent inspection experiences in the region. A session on SEND was attended by local authority staff and health partners and there was also a session on ILACS and focused visits.

Young Ambassadors

The North East has five young ambassadors who are care experienced young people, funded by the 12 local authorities to support the work of the regional Children in Care Council (CiCC). They attended our directors’ branch meeting in July to share an update on their work, which includes monitoring how well each LA is implementing the regional CiCC priorities for LAC and care leavers.

Workforce

The first cohort of social work apprentices in the region will start in September, providing a further route for new entrants into the profession. We are now exploring the use of apprenticeships for social work managers. The regional workforce strategy was recently reviewed and priorities for 2019/20 are:

• Recruitment and retention of social workers and social care staff at all levels and developing the wider social care workforce

• Continuing to manage agency supply, demand, cost and quality

• Leadership and management development.

Peer Audit

A peer audit process has been in place in the region since last year. Authorities work in peer networks of three to carry out case file audits. Each of our four peer networks has now completed some peer audits and in September we will carry out a review of the learning from those that have taken place.

Lead Member Network

Over the last year we have reinvigorated the regional lead members network, which is now meeting quarterly, supported by the LGA Children’s Improvement Advisor for the region. We are currently planning a cross-regional workshop with lead members from the Yorkshire and Humber region, which will take place in October and focus on LAC and edge of care.

---

---