Tuesday 25 March 2025

A message from Sara

I'm sure many of you will have watched Adolescence over the last week or so and will have reflected on what it means for the children in your setting. The four-part drama shines a spotlight on the issues of child exploitation, grooming, online safety, misogyny, social media and youth violence. It's opened the eyes of many that don't work with children and young people and raised important issues that are prompting discussions in parliament and across media. I thought it was an insightful piece of television and I'm glad that it has got people talking about how we can keep our young people safe. If it's got you thinking about the support you offer on these subjects, the PSHE Association has written a useful blog on the topic that includes links to its free resources. There's also some useful content that you can share with families on InternetMatters.org.

In preparation for the next six zones going live in our SEND and Inclusion Support Model, we are holding a number of Zone Inclusions Partnership (ZIP) meetings over the next two weeks. We have conducted two so far, with another two this week. These ZIP meetings are a chance for us to discuss with schools what will happen with the model in the summer term, but also to hear from them what they would to focus on over the coming months. The big themes so far were speech and language, working with health partners in the room, and the impact of poverty in their areas. Once all of the meetings have taken place, we will provide a fuller update on next steps and what we've learnt from the first term, in the first two zones.

Finally, this week, please take the time to read the updated information on Element 3 funding. I'd like to thank schools for the significant work you've undertaken to get us to this point and appreciate your patience as we are completing the moderation.

Thanks

Sara Tough OBE

Executive Director of Children's Services
Norfolk County Council
Chair of the Children and Young People Strategic Alliance