school noticeboard 6.4.17 v0 - birmingham · the project enhances existing careers work,...
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School Noticeboard
Edition 25: Thursday 6 April 2017 Inside this issue (click on links below):
From the Director 2 Closure of Baverstock Academy 3 2017/18 Section 251 School Budget Notification 3 Consultation on the proposed changes to cease the provision of BCC funded full time Early
Education places for eligible 3 and 4 year olds from September 2017 3
Changes to Early Years Services and the impact on your school with integrated settings 4
Private Fostering 4
The Careers & Enterprise Company: Birmingham Enterprise Adviser Network 5 Safeguarding Against FGM in Primary Schools 5
Keeping Children Safe in Education training 6 Education Infrastructure Termly Bulletin (Apr 2017) 6 Professional Services Week: A BPS Birmingham Initiative - 26 – 30 June 2017 7 Link2ICT School News - April 2017 8 Link2ICT training courses 8
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From the Director
Dear Colleagues Happy Easter! We are now at the end of what has been a long term. Thank you all for your hard work this term, hopefully you will enjoy a well-deserved rest and lots of chocolate! You will have seen the announcement last week that Baverstock Academy will be closing on 31 August 2017. There is more information on this from Emma Leaman below. We at BCC have welcomed the new Interim Chief Executive, Stella Manzie, to Birmingham this week. I will be inviting Stella to join me on some school visits next term. Yesterday, the Learning Trust for Excellence held their first information session for schools wanting to hear more about their experiences of setting up a Co-operative Trust. The next session will take place on 17 May between 4.30pm and 6pm at Yardley Wood Community Primary. Please get in touch with Laura Hendry ([email protected]) if you are interested. Governors are also most welcome to attend. Congratulations to Fenella Arthur from Birches Green Infants who attended the 15th anniversary of the Teach First charity at Buckingham Palace recently. This charity aims to address educational disadvantage and Fenella has been supporting Teach First since she joined them in 2012. Finally, the Virtual School Head Teachers Annual Conference took place recently in Birmingham. The event was opened by one of the Birmingham Care Leavers Forum and the second day saw a choir of young people in care from across the West Midlands perform to over 250 delegates, receiving a four minute standing ovation. Massive congratulations to Andy Wright and team for a fantastic event. It was a real showcase for what Birmingham does best. Have a lovely break. Best wishes Colin
@anfieldexile
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Closure of Baverstock Academy Following the announcement from the Secretary of State that Baverstock Academy will close on 31 August 2017, we are working closely with the Academy to support all of the children and families affected. The attached letter was sent directly to Head Teachers last week and contains details of the approach we are taking and contact details in the event you have any queries. Emma Leaman, Assistant Director, Education Infrastructure and Early Years 07827 896733, [email protected] Project Lead: Charles Yankiah, 07712 436961, [email protected] School Place Planning: Dave Marlow, 07557 287517, [email protected]
2017/18 Section 251 School Budget Notification Birmingham City Council has updated the individual Section 251 Budget Statement to include, post 16 provision funding and updated Indicative Top Up funding for Resource Base provision. All notifications can be accessed from the following link: WEB LINK: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/downloads/file/5859/schools_section_251_budget_notification_2017_to_2018 CONTACT: Justin Pinkney EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 675 9302
Consultation on the proposed changes to cease the provision of BCC funded full time
Early Education places for eligible 3 and 4 year olds from September 2017 The consultation regarding the proposed changes to cease the provision of BCC funded full time Early Education places for eligible 3 and 4 year olds from September 2017 went live on the Birmingham City Council website on Friday 31 March 2017. The consultation closes Friday 28 April 2017. You can take part in the consultation by accessing the following link https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/people-1/full-time-ee-places-3-and-4-yr-olds/ CONTACT: Kevin Caulfield, Childcare Quality and Sufficiency Manager EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 464 1690
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Changes to Early Years Services and the impact on your school with integrated settings Please find attached at the end of this Noticeboard a letter from Emma Leaman inviting Heads and Chairs of Governors to workshop sessions, to prepare for changes to Children’s Centre service delivery. These are taking place on 27 and 28 April. CONTACT: Emma Leaman, Assistant Director Education Infrastructure and Early Years EMAIL: [email protected]
Private Fostering As part of its statutory obligation to safeguarding children, BCC are currently campaigning to raise awareness of private fostering and highlight the need to identify children who are looked after in these sorts of arrangements. We have a legal duty to ensure these children are safe and well cared for and provide them and their family with the correct advice and support. Currently there are 24 registered cases of private fostering in Birmingham but research estimates that there could be between 7,000 and 10,000 who are being privately fostered in the UK. As an education professional working closely with children and young people we are asking for your help in identifying possible private fostering arrangements. Private fostering is where a private arrangement has been made by the child’s parent (or someone with parental responsibility) and;
• the child is under the age of 16 (or 18 if the child is disabled)
• the child is living with a carer who is not a close relative (defined as: grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt or stepparent by marriage)
• the arrangement is expected to last for more than 28 days and on a full time basis Private foster carers and the parents of private foster children have a legal duty to notify the Local Authority about these arrangements, but this duty is not widely known, and so they are rarely reported. If you know or suspect that a child is being privately fostered, you should notify the Children’s Advice and Support Services (CASS) immediately preferably if you have a secure email account by email to [email protected] or alternatively [email protected] or telephone on 0121 303 1888. You should inform the carer and/or parent of the referral. The leaflet at the end of this Noticeboard contains further detailed information for professionals. We would also appreciate if you could print the poster also attached at the end of this Noticeboard and display it in staff rooms or communal spaces. For further information and to download leaflets targeted at parents and young people, you can visit our website at www.birmingham.gov.uk/privatefostering
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The Careers & Enterprise Company: Birmingham Enterprise Adviser Network Through the Enterprise Adviser Network, the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) is providing free support to Birmingham schools to deliver high-quality careers and enterprise strategies. The project enhances existing careers work, coordinating current activity to ensure that all students can gain access to careers information. Based on a clear, evidence-based approach to what works, the CEC targets support to where it is most needed. Enterprise Advisors are recruited and matched with schools by Enterprise Coordinators, who take
responsibility for schools within the area. Business volunteers work directly with the senior
leadership team to produce employer engagement plans to shape or add value to the school’s
careers, enterprise and employer engagement strategy. This may help you to:
• Create a strategy for careers, enterprise and employer engagement.
• Obtain better connections with local organisations
• Bring in local business people from your own personal network to deliver activities.
The Birmingham project is being managed by the Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) and has adopted an innovative approach, recruiting Enterprise Coordinators from key growth sectors identified in Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) Strategic Economic Plan where there are current and forthcoming local jobs i.e. construction, professional and financial services. Julie Stirrup from BCC 14 -19 Skills Team is leading on school liaison for the project building on the council’s current work with all schools and education providers to secure appropriate destinations and pathways for all young people, preventing and reducing numbers of young people who become NEET. WEB LINK: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/ CONTACT: John Garrett EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 285 0924
Safeguarding Against FGM in Primary Schools training Are you unsure how to safeguard girls in your school from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)? VENUE: Professional Development Centre, Parkfield Community School B8 3AX DATES: 27th April, 3rd May, 11th May 2017 TIME: 4pm – 5.30pm Refreshments provided By attending this twilight course you will leave with:
• enhanced awareness of the history regarding FGM,
• a clear understanding of the 4 different types of FGM,
• pre lesson parent meetings guidance,
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• a lesson plan for Years 5 & 6,
• associated resources for the lessons
• guidance for mother and daughter workshops
• contacts for further information and resources
• links to Birmingham Against FGM (BAFGM) Costs: £75 per person to include lesson pack Bookings: Email your choice of date to: [email protected] or telephone 0121 464 1131 CONTACT: Linda Vaughan EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 464 1131
Keeping Children Safe in Education training This training course, led by Matt Sparling and Andrew Moffat covers:
• Prevent duty
• Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
• Equality Act 2010
• Fundamental British Values
• Dangers of radicalisation and extremism Parkfield School and MJS Safeguarding are delivering innovative training on a choice of three dates. The course uses a No Outsiders approach to meet statutory guidance as set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education Sept 2016. Choice of dates: 26th April, 23rd May or 26th June Venue: Professional Development Centre, Parkfield Community School B8 3AX By attending this course you will leave with:
• Enhanced awareness of the Keeping Children Safe in Education (2016) Guidance
• Strategies to support your pupils in keeping themselves safe
• A copy of the No Outsiders in Our School book, including 35 lesson plans EYFS to Yr6
• Additional lesson plans and resources to meet the 20 specific safeguarding areas
• Recommended materials to use to support your pupils in keeping themselves safe. For further information on course content please contact Matt on 07450 533478 or to book places please telephone Linda on 0121 464 1131 or email [email protected]
Education Infrastructure Termly Bulletin (Apr 2017)
The bulletin provides you with important information about management of school buildings and site, including training available to support you. It also provides a number of reminders relating to Health and Safety and statutory requirements. The bulletin includes:
• Traded Service 2017-18
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• Asbestos Survey
• Asbestos Management Plan
• Local Authority Approval Requirements
• Landlord Approval for Academies
• School Maintenance
• BSS/Caretaker House
• Condition Collection Data (CDC)
Training Dates:
• Mandatory Duty Holder Training
• Asbestos Management Training
The bulletin can be downloaded from www.birmingham.gov.uk/downloads/download/463/asset_management_traded_service and also from the Education Asset Management website www.birminghameducationsupportservices.co.uk/Article/27504 CONTACT: Asset Management Officer EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 303 8847
Professional Services Week: A BPS Birmingham Initiative - 26th – 30 June 2017 Professional Services Week (PSW), an initiative organised by BPS (Birmingham Professional Services), is taking place 26th-30 June 2017. It is a week of exciting activities to provide an insight for Birmingham Schools into the growing Professional Services Sector. The participating professional firms will comprise of a diverse range of roles and provide information on the prospects for future training and employment to inspire young people. The activities will be hosted by Birmingham employers or co-hosted by representatives from professional service firms at your school:
• Dragons Den – student teams pitch their product/business plans to BPS representatives and receive competitive feedback - there will be winners!
• Business Walks – walking tour through the Business District hosted by BPS firms, to understand the host business, routes to employment and overall area atmosphere.
• Employer Talks – like the Business Walk, but without the walk!
• “The interview experience” – Interactive core skills sessions hosted by firms, including CV-writing/ interview tips.
• This is an opportunity for:
• Students to discover the world of professional services
• Schools to engage with professional firms, supporting your school with governorship fitting OFSTED’s requirements for greater engagement with wider communities.
To register your schools interest and to find out more visit: http://www.professionalservicesweek.co.uk or email: [email protected]. CONTACT: BPSBirmingham EMAIL: [email protected]. TEL: 0121 270 8000
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Link2ICT School News: April 2017
Here is your latest issue of the Link2ICT School Newsletter. In this edition, we premiere two new videos featuring BGfL 365 and how it is making a difference at Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, bring you Bren’s Blog where he reminds us that the journey to excellence is a continuous one, launch SATs Blast - another new curriculum resource added to the award-winning BGfL 365 Tool Suite, highlight the latest safeguarding news in our regular Online Safety Update, invite you to take part in Scratch Day 2017 and feature ScratchMaths - a computing and mathematical curriculum programme, and much more, not forgetting those all-important dates for your diary. We hope you find this newsletter of interest. If you do, pass it on to your colleagues in school. Our aim is to keep you up to date with new developments and to help you get the most from the services we provide. CONTACT: Link2ICT EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 303 5100
Link2ICT training courses
Teaching Science in the primary curriculum Link2ICT offers Science training courses designed to support Yr1, Yr2, Yr3, Yr4, Yr5 and
Yr6 class teacher.
Why should you consider these science courses: The revised National Curriculum has provided an opportunity to look again at the science curriculum and design an approach to science that enthuses and engages pupils whilst still maintaining a focus in rigour and progress. These new courses will support science leaders and Year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 teachers wishing to provide a more hands-on approach in the classroom, as well as those still getting to grips with curriculum requirements and subject knowledge. These courses will be applicable to all science schemes but is based on the principles of the Engaging Science scheme of work. Emphasis will be placed on practical approaches to science and supporting literacy through science.
CONTACT: Link2ICT EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 303 5100 WEB LINK: http://www.link2ict.org/index.php?option=com_dtregister&Itemid=303
MS Excel 2010 – Core Skills Level This full day course designed for staff looking to learn the basic functions within Excel. As part of the training you will cover:
• Introduction to Excel
• Workbooks and Worksheets (create, modify and save)
• Understand the structure and layout of spreadsheets
• Entering Information
• Perform calculations using formulas
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• Multiple Worksheets and Workbooks
• Formatting spreadsheets to make them look professional
• Create a variety of different charts
• Printing a Worksheet At the end of the session you will be able to:
• Navigate and manage workbooks
• Enter information and format cells
• Learn to use formulas within the worksheet
• Reference Cells in Other Worksheets
• Learn to format workbooks by Inserting, Deleting Cells, Rows and Columns
• Prepare Charts for reporting
• Learn to print documents CONTACT: Link2ICT EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 303 5100 WEB LINK: http://www.link2ict.org/training-courses-internal/32-microsoft/116-ms-excel-2010-core-skills
BGfL 365 Teaching and Learning This full day training aims to offer ‘hands on’ experience to enable teachers to explore the tools within the BGfL 365 environment. We will look at ways they can be used to enhance teaching and learning across all areas of the curriculum. This practical session will give staff the opportunity to create resources that they can take back and use in the classroom. The areas that will be covered in this session include:
• Managing resources and sharing with students
• Office 365 tools - email, calendars and announcements
• Your school in ‘The Cloud’. Office Online and One Drive – getting the most out of these tools, including the opportunity to collaborate online
• Workflow - to and from a range of devices
• Building curriculum resources for use with students
• J2e Tool Suite and how it can have a positive impact on teaching and learning. Pre-requisites: No previous knowledge required. Please bring your BGfL 365 login details if you have them. CONTACT: Link2ICT EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 303 5100 WEB LINK: http://www.link2ict.org/training-courses-internal/25-curriculum/428-using-bgfl-365-for-teaching-and-learning
New to BGfL 365 – SATs Blast BGfL 365 presents yet another new addition to its expanding range of curriculum resources...SATs Blast - the fun SATs maths game for primary school pupils. SATs Blast is part of the BETT award-winning j2e Tool Suite. SATs Blast provides:
• SATS maths games for Key Stage 1 and 2
• Practice or test mode
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• Teacher feedback on areas of success or to highlight problem areas
• Automatic test certificates for pupils who complete a SATs maths test
• Gamification - Earn points to release avatars, encouraging pupil engagement SATs Blast fits within the existing J2blast framework and works on any device. An ideal homework tool for the Easter break! Try out SATs Blast now - login to BGfL 365. CONTACT: Link2ICT EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 0121 303 5100
Urgent Notification to Secondary Heads: Baverstock Academy Closure Announcement
Dear Colleagues,
We were notified yesterday that the Secretary of State has taken the decision to close Baverstock
Academy from September 2017.
This briefing asks for specific support from all Birmingham schools to ensure that we work together to
secure a great education offer for those children who will be displaced and will be facing the challenge of
starting at a new school.
There are three key actions at the end of this briefing that I hope you will undertake in support of the Local
Authority as we manage the transition of Baverstock pupils into new school places.
BCC’s approach to preparing for potential closure falls into three broad categories:
i) Working with Baverstock Academy to ensure we have a good understanding of every pupil and
family in order to ensure appropriate support is in place for transition, through a casework approach
ii) Clarifying the admissions routes that will be used in order to ensure all children displaced from the
Academy are admitted into alternative school places in line with the Admissions Code, without
prejudice to children already on the waiting list
iii) Securing an education offer in partnership with schools, including resources to support schools to
take additional pupils
We intend where possible to work with area networks to co-ordinate admissions across groups of schools;
with everyone working together, we know it will be possible to provide a truly supportive transition for the
students directly affected with minimum detriment to your existing cohorts. In-year admissions requests
outside of the Baverstock context remain high and we will continue to rely on the support of all of our
schools to admit children in-year in addition to the current Baverstock students.
Proposed Admissions Routes:
We are currently finalising our approach to admissions for the existing Baverstock pupils. Numbers on roll
are changing daily but as of today student numbers are:
Year 10 – 72
Year 9 – 75
Year 8 – 63
Year 7 – 35
Prospective year 7 – 25
We are working with DFE colleagues to secure an offer for the entire year 10 cohort as they enter year 11,
enabling all students to complete current courses with minimum disruption. However, parents and carers
are entitled to apply for a place in any school and where there are vacancies, should be admitted without
delay.
For current years 7 – 9, going into years 8 – 10, we expect to secure places in line with the following
principles:
a) In the first instance we will allocate places in schools with vacancies, other than for children who
meet the criteria to be placed through our existing Fair Access Protocol.
b) We do not expect there to be sufficient vacancies within a reasonable distance for all pupils and will
therefore require a large number of schools to admit students over PAN, through a fair and
equitable process distributing pupils across their local schools.
Baverstock pupils will either be admitted to LA Maintained Schools in partnership with Heads and
Governors, or, in the case of own admissions authorities, schools will be requested and subsequently
directed as necessary to admit.
Given that the majority of secondary schools are their own admissions authority, we are seeking in principle
agreement from all schools to admit a fair share of pupils from Baverstock as requested by the Local
Authority, without delay or refusal. The decision to admit a pupil rests with the Academy Trust or Governing
Board for Own Admissions’ Authorities: I am therefore asking all Head Teachers to raise urgently with
Governors that there will be additional students requiring places as a result of Baverstock Closure. I am
also asking that all Governing Boards / Academy Trusts commit in principle to playing their part and admit
pupils through the allocation process that the Local Authority will co-ordinate. I would be grateful if any
Trust or Governing Board that believes it has a case for exemption contact me as a matter of urgency to
discuss so that we can move forwards with the strongest possible partnership and collaboration across the
City to support the children and families affected.
It is important to note that the co-ordinated process for securing places for Baverstock pupils will not be to
invite schools to add the students to waiting lists and see if they move up the list sufficiently to secure a
place; the approach we will be taking for Baverstock students who are effectively without school places
from September 1st will be to route through our Fair Access or No Reasonable Distance process, whereby
students are allocated places at one of their nearby schools. However, if parents apply directly to your
school, they are entitled to be placed on the waiting list and have the right to appeal for a place at your
school if refused a place.
We expect to be co-ordinating admissions over a 4-6 week period and wish to work in close partnership
through area networks to ensure a fair process. Ideally, to support the Local Authority, we would value a
lead from every secondary area network to provide a named link, who will support and validate the
allocations of places to secure a fair and equitable distribution, while paying due attention to parental
preference and individual student requirements.
Shaping the Education Offer: Additional Capacity
We expect that the majority of schools will take a fair share of displaced pupils, however we are aware that
a number of schools are in a position to provide additional capacity to accommodate displaced pupils.
If you believe you are in a position to take more than an equal share of displaced pupils, please could you
contact Dave Marlow (contact details below) as soon as possible to advise of potential capacity so that this
can be factored into the allocations process.
We are aware that many schools are concerned to ensure they do not disadvantage children currently on
waiting lists. Baverstock pupils placed by the LA will not be admitted through the normal in-year admissions
route and will not be routinely added to waiting lists unless requested directly by parents.
For the exceptional circumstances surrounding this school closure, once nearby vacancies are exhausted
we will move to distributing pupils across schools without vacancies on the basis that there is no school
place within a reasonable distance. We continue to expect schools to offer places from their waiting lists as
vacancies arise.
Resourcing the Education Offer
DFE and EFA have confirmed that the school budget share for the Academy from September 2017 will
remain with the Local Authority. We expect to allocate funding for displaced pupils by treating the residual
budget as growth fund; this will require further detailed modelling and agreement with Schools Forum,
decision expected May 2017. It is likely that this funding will follow children directly into school budgets to
secure appropriate provision and pathways for all Baverstock young people. This means that all students
who start a new school will bring a minimum funding level of AWPU and will also bring pupil premium as
eligible. We will be exploring the options of enhancing the growth funding rate to support transition costs
such as uniform and transport: we aim to have more definitive answers on the finances associated with
these changes within 4 weeks.
What should I do next?
To support the next steps at Baverstock there are three key actions which we would like you to undertake:
i) Secure in principle agreement from your Governing Body and/or Academy Trust to take a fair share
of displaced students, working closely with the LA to ensure individual pupils’ needs are effectively
identified and appropriate support is in place. Please contact me directly in the event your Chair
believes there is a case for exemption of your school from this process.
ii) Advise the LA if you have capacity to take more displaced students than your fair share, enabling
more Baverstock students potentially to maintain friendship groups.
iii) Work with your area network to nominate a dedicated lead to support BCC’s co-ordination of
admissions for students from Baverstock Academy and inform Charles Yankiah of contact details
If you have any further queries, do not hesitate to contact Charles Yankiah, contact details below.
Emma Leaman
Assistant Director, Education Infrastructure and Early Years, 07827 896733,
Project Lead: Charles Yankiah, 07712 436961, [email protected]
School Place Planning: Dave Marlow, 07557 287517, [email protected]
6th April 2017 Head of School/Chair of Governing Body Dear Colleagues, Changes to Early Years Services and the impact on your school with integrated settings I would like to invite you to an initial workshop session on one of the dates below, to prepare for changes to Children’s Centre service delivery in the new Early Years Health and Wellbeing offer. Date Time Room Building Places
Available 27/04/17 9.00 – 11.00 G01A 1 Lancaster Circus
Birmingham B4 7DJ
20 15.00 – 16.30 401 16
28/4/17 9.00 – 10.30 101 16 11.00 – 12.30 202 10
Please book onto your preferred slot through Eventbrite using the links below. Link for 27th April 2017 9am-11am https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-years-services-impact-on-your-school-with-integrated-settings-workshop-tickets-33275727597 Link for 27th April 3pm – 4.30pm workshop https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-years-services-impact-on-your-school-with-integrated-settings-workshop-tickets-33275845951 Link for 28th April 9am-10.30am workshop https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-years-services-and-the-impact-on-your-school-with-integrated-settings-tickets-33275944245 Link for 28th April 11am -12.30am workshop https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-years-services-and-the-impact-on-your-school-with-integrated-settings-tickets-33276127794
The focus of the sessions will be;
1. To confirm the outcome of the procurement process.
2. To provide outline details of the likely delivery model in your locality and the implications for your setting.
3. To discuss in detail the actions you may need to take as the
employer of staff delivery in children’s centre services in a school-based children’s centre setting.
4. To discuss in detail the implications for the assets in which your
setting is currently operating. I appreciate the urgency and significance of these very key issues for your settings. If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely,
Emma Leaman Assistant Director, Education Infrastructure and Early Years
Introduction Private fostering is where parents make arrangements with someone outside of their close family to look after their child for them for 28 days or longer. There were 1,500 children and young people reported as being cared for and accommodated in private fostering arrangements in England (at 31 March 2015). However, no-one knows the actual numbers of children being looked after in this way but estimates range from 7,000 to 10,000 children or more.
Many private fostering arrangements remain under reported and this is a concern as privately fostered children have been identified as a potentially vulnerable group.
Many professionals who work with children and young people in the city will come across private fostering situations and it is important that these are identified. Private foster carers and the parents of privately fostered children have a legal duty to notify the Local Authority about these arrangements, but this duty is not widely known, and so they are rarely reported.
It is vital that children’s social care is made aware of such arrangements so that they can safeguard the welfare of these potentially vulnerable children. Here is what you need to know.
What is Private Fostering? Private fostering is an arrangement by which a child or young person under 16 (or under 18 if they have a disability):
• does not live with a parent (or step parent),
• is cared for by an adult who is NOT a close relative (in this context a close relative is a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, including both full and half relations and relations by marriage),
• is in a private arrangement made by the parent and the carer,
• is being cared for by a carer in a different home which lasts, or is intended to last, for a continuous period of 28 days or more.
Some examples of private fostering include:
• A teenager moves in with a friend’s family because of a breakdown in relationships at home, or the parents move out of the area and don’t want to disrupt their child’s education
• A child is left with the unmarried partner of his/her parent because of the imprisonment of the parent.
• Host families looking after children during term time where the child is attending professional sports coaching or are studying at language schools or boarding schools during the summer holidays, where this is longer than 28 days.
Providing a safe and caring home for the child to live in
What are the duties of a Private Foster Carer? Private Foster Carers must:
• Notify the Local Authority of their intention to foster a child at least 6 weeks in advance or, if arrangements are made in an emergency, within 48 hours.
• Provide a safe and caring home for the child to live in
• Arrange medical and dental care and ensure the child attends school
• Help the child to keep in touch with their family and meet any religious or cultural needs as far as possible
• Notify the Local Authority of any change in their address, and of any person who moves into or out of the household.
• Notify the Local Authority within 48 hours when the child leaves their care, giving the name and address of the person into whose care the child was moved.
What is the responsibility of the parents? The parents should:
• notify the Local Authority of the proposed private fostering arrangement at least 6 weeks in advance or, if arrangements are made in an emergency, within 48 hours;
• retain Parental Responsibility for the child, so they must ensure that the arrangement is suitable for the child, and that the carer has all the information they need to care for the child;
• Be financially responsible for the child.
What are the duties of the Local Authority? The Local Authority will:
• Allocate a Social Worker to the family
• Assess the suitability of the arrangement and communicate with the parents, carer, child or young person and notify them of the outcome;
• Visit the child/young person every 6 weeks in the first year and every 12 weeks for the following years to ensure arrangements continue to be suitable for the child/young person;
• Provide advice to the carer and child/young person.
What can other professionals do to help? Education, health and social care professionals are often the first to become aware of private fostering arrangements. If you know or suspect that a child is being privately fostered, you should notify the Children’s Advice and Support Services (CASS) immediately preferably if you have a secure email account by email to [email protected] or alternatively [email protected] or telephone on 0121 303 1888.
You should inform the carer and/or parent of the referral.
Further information can be found at www.birmingham.gov.uk/privatefosteringincluding downloadable leaflets for parents, carers and young people.
If you have any other concerns about a child’s welfare, you should notify children’s social care immediately. All enquiries and referrals should be made via the CASS team details as above.
If you would like a copy of this booklet in another language, in large print, in Braille or on audio tape or CD, please phone 0121 303 8826 or email [email protected]
