Business Plans 2009/10
Policy, Strategies and Guidance
Managing Director’s Introduction to 2009/10 CFE Business Plans
Our purpose is to ensure that the children of Kent are supported to be happy, healthy, safe from harm, can enjoy life and achieve at school, can make a positive contribution in their community and to society and go on to achieve economic wellbeing
The needs of the most vulnerable children and young people remain at the forefront of our planning and service delivery. Protecting children and keeping families together is our overriding priority. We will continue to take robust action to protect children and develop a wide range of preventative services, ensuring children are safe and supported in their families wherever possible. For those who do become looked after our main concern is to do everything possible to provide security and improve life chances and outcomes for these vulnerable children. We also want children to feel safe at school and in the places where they live.
We also believe that our children and young people deserve access to excellent educational opportunities. This requires the development of a rich, relevant, creative culture that focuses on personalisation and ensuring that all children are inspired and motivated to learn. The Directorate will continue to drive forward its ambition to create world class education in Kent, transforming the curriculum to ensure that we facilitate a wide range of education that matches young people’s aims and ambitions provided in buildings fit to deliver education in the 21st Century.
Annual Operating Plans 2009/10
The Standards & Achievement Division leads on and contributes to the delivery of a range of statutory national indicators and to key local plans including Towards 2010, the Vision for Kent, and particularly to the Kent Children and Young People’s Plan (2008-2011). The core purpose of the division is to work with schools and early years settings to raise standards and achievement for all children and young people, from birth to nineteen years of age, particularly those vulnerable to educational and social exclusion.
The responsibilities of the School Organisation Unit are far reaching and have widened even further since the introduction of Children’s Partnerships in September 2008.It is responsible for : Admissions & Transport, Early Years and Childcare,14 - 24 Innovation, School Organisation and School Governance
It secures commitment from, and provides the strategic link between the Local Children’s Services Partnerships (LCSP) and all major partners which provide services to children and young people such as district councils, Diocesan Boards, Police and Primary Health Trusts.
The Core Purpose of Local Children Services Partnerships (LCSPs) is to lead the delivery of improved Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes for children and, young people and their families, as agreed with KCC and the Kent Children’s Trust (KCT), through effective integrated commissioning across children’s services in the locality.
As part of this core purpose LCSPs are responsible for managing the delivery of key KCC services within the locality including some statutory services. Through local partnership boards LCSPs are strengthening joint working to ensure that these key KCC services are increasingly delivered in partnership where this make sense for local children, young people and families.
The Commissioning Division is responsible for providing, commissioning and purchasing a wide range of services to remove barriers to learning for vulnerable children and young people. This includes children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD) including those with additional and special educational needs. Many of these services are required by statute or statutory guidance.
The purpose of the Children’s Social Services Division is to plan, deliver, commission and develop services that provide protection for children at risk of abuse or neglect, that comprehensively meet the needs of children who are looked after, including the need for permanence, and that provide support for Children In Need and their wider family.
Children’s Social Services, often in partnership with other statutory agencies and the voluntary and community sector, also has an important leadership role in the community to provide guidance and services that prevent the need for statutory interventions in families.
The Children’s Social Services Division, one of the largest in England, consists of around 1,600 staff, 1244 full time equivalents and 60 staff teams which at any one time are providing a service for around 7,900 people.
The purpose of the Finance and Corporate Services Division is to deliver coherent, consistent and high quality support and services to all our customers, including Cabinet Members, Schools, Parents, University and College students, Unit Managers and Directorate staff. A key objective is to ensure sound financial planning, integrity and budgetary control in the Children, Families & Education Directorate. In addition, this Division works to maximise the capacity and contribution of the Directorate’s workforce to deliver customer focused efficient services and continuously improve overall effectiveness.
The purpose of the Strategy, Policy and Performance Division is to lead on the development and support of Children’s Services across Children, Families and Education Directorate and Kent Children’s Trust Partners in order to secure and maintain the best outcomes for children and their families in Kent.
The Division takes lead responsibility for strategic planning, policy, external inspection, Children’s Trust development, management information and performance management on behalf of the Children, Families and Education Directorate (CFE). The Division has a lead role in the Directorate for planning and performance monitoring undertaken at both a strategic and operational level which includes a focus on ensuring that the provision of services for vulnerable children and young people is compliant with national statutory requirements and performance standards. The Division works to develop and embed the community leadership role of schools and Local Children Services Partnerships to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families in their local area.
The Strategy, Policy and Performance Division achieves its aims and objectives through a diverse range of activities that are driven by four Units: Policy and Performance (for Vulnerable Children), Strategic Planning and Review, Extended Services Development and Management Information.
The Resources Division provides a number of focussed support services to our schools and the rest of the Directorate, including Members and staff in other units.
Annual Plans