Welcome to the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Page
Elaine McHale, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Chair
Update from the 2010/11 Annual Report
The Yorkshire and Humber branch continues to meet bi-monthly. Attendance levels are high and the group has continued to develop and strengthen as a region in many aspects. The meetings prove valuable in discussing proposals, making decisions, sharing ideas and the region prides itself on its collaborative working and dedicated support to each other.
Guests have attended our meetings such as Marion Davies, Christine Gilbert, HMCI, and these meetings have proved productive and interesting.
The past year has been particularly challenging with a range of outcomes from our announced and unannounced inspections. However the branch has continued to support each other around these processes and during difficult times.
One success this year has without a doubt been the regional Safeguarding Project, which has revealed some very interesting and extremely useful findings about how the local authorities in the region deal with children’s referrals. The evidence base and information links well with the Munro Review. We have received full participation from all but one of the local authorities in the region making it a truly regional collaboration. The findings and analysis will enable us to review, and therefore improve, practice regionally to a greater level.
The Attract and Support project is another major and significant project, consisting of many workstreams, including: the development of a regional social worker agency; media recruitment for social workers; succession planning; skills bank; and workforce development. This project also has full participation and secured funding and we are excited at what this will bring.
As a region we are seeking to identify ways of collaborating in the delivery of services in order to reduce expenditure and realign our focus for 2011.
We have seen some recent changes to our membership. Nigel Richardson has now transferred as DCS to Leeds. We have recently welcomed John Readman to Hull and Judith Harwood will be DCS for Barnsley in the very near future.