Summer update
Dear Colleagues
As usual lots going on so I hope I don't overwhelm you all.
We were visited by our new Managing Director for CFE, Rosalind Turner on 1 June 2009 in Cranbrook where she heard about the establishment of the Children’s Centre, the extended schools provision, parent fora and our Early Years Foundation Stage project Communicating Friendly Spaces.
The Cranbrook and Paddock Wood Local Children’s Services Partnership Plan is now complete and is published on Kent Trust Web together with a summary and a cross reference to national indicators and the Kent CYPP. Thank you to all of you who contributed so positively. Please take time to look at it at the following link http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/Clusters2/cl_cranbrookpw_LCYP_plans.cfm
You may also be interested in looking at the data relating to our Partnership at the following link.
http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/Children/kct_toolkit_index.cfm
We have 6 steering groups under each of the key themes moving the plan forward and if you have a particular interest then please contact me to join one of them. In addition we have separate project groups running such as SEAL, 2012 and CAF. As a cross cutting group we also share a Rural Alliance partnership with Ashford Rural to tackle the more strategic barriers within our area such as transport, access and facilities.
I am pleased to say that following our last headteacher meeting, Cranbrook School has agreed to host the joint INSET event on 22 February 2010. Even more pleasing is that our preferred keynote speaker, Guy Claxton, has been booked for the day. For those headteachers who were not able to attend the meeting, can you let me know at your earliest convenience if you want your school staff to participate. We have a planning meeting this evening and if you would like to part of future meetings let me know.
This is Drugs Awareness week and there was an event held in Cranbrook on 6th June by our multi-agency partners to raise the issues of Drugs and Alcohol with young people and parents. The event was well received and one of the early indicators is that our young people are not sufficiently aware of the change in law regarding cannabis use. A second event will take place in Paddock Wood on 13th June 2009 this weekend and a survey will be carried out to assess the situation there. Photos are available on the events part of our website.
The Early Years staff and multi-agency partners enjoyed a very engaging evening on 2 June with Penny Tassoni who talked about the importance of Positive Relationships for young children, promoting strong attachment and good speaking and listening skills. This tied in very well with our Communicating Friendly Spaces project across the EYFS. Thank you to Goudhurst School for letting us use their hall.
There is a lot of training on offer through the Partnership at the moment which makes it a very busy few months.
Please don’t forget that the CAF essential update training for headteachers and managers is taking place on 18 June in the morning at the Ramada Jarvis hotel to be followed by a briefing on the Your Choice funding suitable for headteachers and PSAs/FLOs in particular.
We embarked on our multi-agency training course in Solution Focused Training on Monday and I was very heartened by the number of staff and partner agencies who participated. The follow on session will take place at Salomons on 24 June in the morning followed by the final session that afternoon particularly for those who want to join the Families First team, our proposed early intervention and support service for families.
I met yesterday with a small group to plan a SEAL event which will take place from 12.30 – 4.00pm on 13 July 2009 at the Hop Farm. We decided the key words for this event were valuing, nurturing, celebrating and supporting – an opportunity to thank staff for their involvement in SEAL so far, sharing best practice with one another and setting up a support network to take it forward and ensure it is fully embedded in school practices. There will be a treat for all staff who attend so think about who would benefit from an afternoon of nurturing. Don’t all run at once….. the event will also be open to some of our partners to find out more about linking in with SEAL.
We have now had formal notification of our award from the Local Area Agreement monies. Cranbrook and Paddock Wood are due to receive £10000 for having made the biggest improvement with primary attendance out of all the Partnerships. CPW raised attendance from 94.7% in 06/07 to 95.1% in 07/08. Alas I can’t take any of the credit but well done to headteachers, EWOs and parents for improving attendance in our area and giving a boost to our funds this year.
I met with 17 of our voluntary sector partners yesterday in an 8 hour but extremely interesting marathon to see what each organisation felt they could offer to the delivery of our Local CYPP. It is fascinating to know what expertise is out there and we now need to streamline the way we work with our partners to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people. I will share my ideas more widely at the LCSP and steering groups. Congratulations goes to 121 Befriending who have just heard that they have received the Queens Award for their work and well deserved.
And finally a quick note to congratulate Benenden C of E Primary School on their 400th Centenary celebrations. Their pageant will take place on the evening of 8th July at 6pm and I’m sure the school and the children would welcome your attendance.
Some staffing news - we have 3 fairly new members of staff who have joined us.
Sarah Jackson joined us before Easter as the new partnership PSA based in Mascalls School and has been working on the SPARK transition project and some early years transition work.
Louise Rodrigues has joined as a Childcare Development Officer working with pre-schools at the Paddock Wood end of the Partnership and looking at after school club provision and development.
Alex Devlin joined us on 1 June as the new Specialist Teacher for Communication and Interaction replacing Sheryl Bunyard.
We will shortly be advertising for a CAF Coordinator and CAF Administrator across Tunbridge Wells and Cranbrook and Paddock Wood. Both posts will be 3 days per week to support the Common Assessment Framework operations for the Partnerships.
I look forward to seeing Headteachers again on 1 July 2009 at Mascalls School. 9-10.00am - separate secondary and primary meetings; 10-12.30pm joint meeting; 1.00pm-3.00pm training. And I look forward to seeing key partners at the Local Children Services Partnership Board on 9 July at The Swattenden Centre from 1.00pm – 4.00pm. We will not be providing lunch on this occasion.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries about the work we are engaged in or if you feel you would like to get involved in any aspect of our work. We are very inclusive in Cranbrook and Paddock Wood!
Regards
Julie