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Discusses the changes to children's services undertaken to improve the outcomes of all young children. This book shows how the overall aims are to tackle child poverty, improve child protection and the education and childcare for young children, to raise standards, and to provide greater support for parents in bringing up their children.
With downloadable electronic resources Offering practical advice and guidance on how to establish and maintain effective multi-agency partnership working in your setting, this book will tell you how to meet the Every Child Matters outcomes for children and young people. It clarifies the skills and knowledge required in order to form productive partnerships, and shows you how to set up and maintain good collaborative practice. The following are provided: - useful checklists; - examples of best practice in multi-agency working; - a range of activities to support team building; - reflective questions, to facilitate training and improvement; - practical tools for evaluating the impact of multi-agency working; - photocopiable materials to use with each chapter of the book. It is an invaluable resource for leaders and managers in any early years setting, Children's Centre, primary, secondary or special school or Pupil Referral Unit, and will support anyone responsible for coordinating and managing multi-agency partnership working. Lecturers in higher education responsible for training members of the children's workforce will value this book, as well as Local Authority officers and Workforce Remodelling Advisers.
Although outcomes for children in care have improved in recent years, there remains a significant and widening gap between these and the outcomes for all children. The childhood and adolescence of many of the 60,000 children in care at any one time is often characterised by insecurity, ill-health and lack of fulfilment, resulting in the fact that they are over-represented in a range of vulnerable groups, including the homeless, teenage parents, young offenders and prisoners, those not in post-16 education, employment or training, and drug users. This Green Paper from the Department for Education and Skills sets out a series of proposals which seek to address this situation by reforming both the way the care system works for children and the quality of experience they receive. Proposals include: an improved placements system with the focus on expanding the number and quality of foster carers; powers for local authorities to direct schools to admit children in care, even where the school is fully subscribed; pilot schemes to allow young people to continue to live with foster carers up to the age of 21 years; introduction of a national bursary for young people in care going to university; regular Ofsted inspections of how each local authority is meeting the educational needs of children in care; better support to prevent exclusions of children in care; and enhanced entitlement to free school transport to ensure children do not have to change school when they change placement. The closing date for responses to this consultation document is 15 January 2007, either sent by email to: [email protected] or by post to: Consultation Unit, Area 1A, Castle View House, East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 2GJ. A series of focus groups and workshops will be held throughout the consultation period to consider views on the Green Paper, and four working groups of interested stakeholders are being set up in order to explore issues in more detail (under the headings of the future of the care population, social care pratices, placement reform, and best practice in schools) which will report to the DfES in Spring 2007.
With downloadable electronic resources Are you a new or trainee SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) looking for guidance? Do you have responsibility for your school's special educational needs (SEN) provision? Leading and co-ordinating SEN provision within a whole school is a mammoth task, and this book is your ultimate guide to getting it right. By breaking down the detailed information into manageable chunks, this book sets out the responsibilities of the SENCO and helps you make sure you are meeting the requirements of the SENCO Regulations. It is an invaluable guide for those working with children and young people from Birth to 19 in any setting. Chapters cover: - SEN, disability and Every Child Matters (ECM) legislation and policy - key elements of the National Award for SEN Coordination - coordinating SEN provision - planning and deploying the SEN budget - working in partnership with young people, parents and other professionals - leading, developing and supporting colleagues - record keeping and information management - provision mapping and management. Visit www.sagepub.co.uk/ritacheminais for downloadable materials to support the chapters in this book, which include templates, activities, a PowerPoint presentation, staff surveys and training plans. Suitable for new SENCOs and anyone responsible for SEN provision in their setting, this handbook will also be of interest to everyone involved with delivering the national SENCO training.
Are you struggling with the complexities of assessment? Demystifying the process of assessment for learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), this book explains in straightforward language how to put principles into practice. Looking at models of assessment, the book draws heavily on examples of real assessments from practice, and the relevant theory is explained in context. Lessons from research are applied to best practice, and issues covered include: - self-assessment and peer assessment - collecting evidence as a basis for making judgements - how to track the child′s development in the six areas of learning - using assessment to inform future planning - summative assessment in the EYFS - involving parents and carers in the assessment process - using assessment to support children with additional needs - moderation Throughout the book there are plenty of practical examples from a range of early years settings, with case studies for the Birth to Five age range. Students, teachers, teaching assistants and those working towards Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) will find this an invaluable guide.
What does working in partnership look like in practice? Getting multi-agency working right is an exciting but challenging goal in early years care and education; this book suggests ways to draw together the different professional ideas, methods and targets. Enhancing the delivery of services to children, parents and communities is essential if we are to address the detrimental effects of poverty and exclusion. Looking at the Birth to 8 age range and drawing on interviews with Children′s Centre leaders, the book considers: - the benefits, and complexities, of multi-agency working; - what enables, and impedes, good practice; - examples of successful multi-agency working; - what the ′new professionals′ look like; - international perspectives. Suitable for all pre-school and early years practitioners working in, or organizing, multi-agency practice at any level, this book is relevant to all those working in Children′s Services and useful for anyone studying early childhood or multi-agency working in practice. Michael Gasper is an educational consultant and researcher. He has over 30 years of experience in early years education and research, including roles as a mentor, assessor and tutor on the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL).
While the provision in Children’s and Young People’s Services endures much change and turbulence, the calling for well qualified and critically reflective practitioners remains ever present. This innovative and accessible core textbook explores the key themes, ideas, concepts and topics that are central to practitioners working across the 0-19 sector. It aims to help students develop the professional knowledge, practical skills and core values they need to work effectively with children and young people. Clearly divided into four sections; the practitioner, the learner, the workplace and the community, the book covers a broad range of issues including: The different roles and responsibilities of the workforce Multi-agency working and its challenges Working with parents, carers and the community Supporting children with additional needs and meeting the needs of gifted learners Work-based reflective practice Language learning and communication At each stage the book facilitates opportunities for personal and professional reflection, discussion, debate and action through case studies, activities, reflective tasks, areas for further consideration, and annotated further readings. The text also features a glossary of terms and links to practice standards. The book is supported by a free companion website featuring instructor resources such as assignable case studies, reflective tasks and activities, tables and figures from the book available to download, and sample chapters from the book; and student resources including helpful links to further information, links to relevant video material, and an interactive flashcard glossary. Empowering the Children’s and Young People’s Workforce seeks to empower the reader by supporting their initial and continuing professional development, enabling them to positively influence provision for children and young people. It is essential reading for anyone studying or working in this sector.
How can professionals work together with foster carers to create stable and therapeutic foster placements? Team Parenting for Children in Foster Care describes a unique model of supporting children in care which involves foster carers and professionals working together in the best interests of the child. This book lays out the key principles of Team Parenting - to meet the needs of troubled young people in an integrated way and incorporate therapy within a wider team of social workers, therapists, psychologists and foster carers - as well as the theory behind it and interventions used. It details how the approach contributes to the recovery of looked after children and each chapter includes examples that illustrates how Team Parenting works in practice. Team Parenting for Children in Foster Care includes ideas for systems and individual practice that will inform and improve foster carers' and professionals' work in any setting.
Adopted children who have experienced loss, abuse or neglect need additional support for their emotional development, and are more likely to have special educational needs. This useful resource provides a complete plan for creating adoption-friendly environments in primary, secondary and specialist schools. The book is grounded on new research which gathered together testimonies from over 400 school staff members, adoptive parents and adoption specialists. With realistic consideration of pressures and limitations currently faced by schools, it gives advice on eight key areas for school development, including communicating with parents, training staff, using resources wisely and recognising children's individual needs. Completing the toolkit is a broad selection of photocopiable and downloadable plans for establishing adoption-friendly frameworks, and for demonstrating good practice to staff, pupils, families and school inspectors.
