Children’s Workforce Development Strategy Engagement

February 2009 - If you are a local group working with children and young people and would like to participate in the work of the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) go to click here.

Along with Local Education Authority areas across the country, Hertfordshire is delivering the Every Child Matters agenda. This is being co-ordinated through the Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership, which is bringing together a range of stakeholders to jointly plan and co-ordinate service delivery and activities which place the child at the centre of provision.

The Every Child Matters agenda delivers in the following five key areas:

• Being Healthy
• Staying Safe
• Enjoying and Achieving
• Making a Positive Contribution
• Achieving Economic Wellbeing

Information about Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership and the Children and Young People’s Plan 2007/08 can be accessed at www.hertsdirect.org

Underpinning the successful delivery of the above is the underpinning ethos of improving joint working and collaboration; in essence working in new ways which provides a more co-ordinated approach to the services being received by the individual child or family.

Workforce development is at the centre of this working effectively together. Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership has adopted a Workforce Development Strategy, which is currently in the process of being refreshed. The Strategy sets out the need to improve the approach to recruitment, induction, training and retention to ensure that staff / volunteers see working with children and young people in a positive light in terms of their career and its progression.

Work to date

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) provided funding to each Local Education Authority area in England in 2006/07 to commence the work of engaging the private and voluntary sector service providers in workforce development. In Hertfordshire this has involved building a list of contacts and undertaking a mapping exercise to learn how organisations are currently developing their workforce.

The mapping exercise was reported to a networking event held in March 2007.

> Download the full mapping report here (pdf)

From here forward

An application in partnership with Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership has been funded by CWDC. This will provide a focal point for engaging private and voluntary sector service providers and enable the work commenced in 2006 / 2007 to move forward.

The project will disseminate information relating to the Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership and in particular Workforce Development. The project will identify opportunities for engagement and ensure a pro-active approach to working in partnership with private, voluntary and statutory sector organisations.

In particular the project in 2007 / 2008 will deliver in the following areas:

• Develop a database of providers and circulate regular e-mail bulletins to promote the Children’s Trust Partnership activity
• Promote the value and importance of workforce development in building the capacity and expertise of organisations
• Establish a Networking Forum and organise four meetings each year for providers
• Collect information to update the mapping survey
• Support voluntary sector representation on the Children’s Trust Partnership committees / working groups
• Administer and promote a small grant budget to support service providers access training
• Attend and actively participate in Children’s Workforce Development meetings at a county and regional level.

The project will work with Family Matters Institute, which has been awarded the contract for Bedfordshire. CWDC has confirmed funding through to March 2008 with the commitment for a further two years subject to ongoing funding

Information about Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership and the Children and Young People’s Plan 2007/08 can be accessed at www.hertsdirect.org

For more information about the Children’s Workforce Development Strategy Engagement Project – please contact Shaddy Mansouri-Marsh at Community Action Dacorum, 48 High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP1 3AF. E-Mail: shaddy@communityactiondacorum.org.uk Tel: 01442 253935

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