Welcome
Brent Council is focused on giving every child and young person the best opportunities to thrive and succeed.
In Brent, we celebrate our achievements and the achievements of our children and young people. Brent is the LGC UK Council of the Year 2020, with the panel of judges stating: “Brent has embraced its communities in a celebration of diversity, lifting up the whole borough. The council demonstrates how to convene place and communities – an antidote to today’s fractured society.”
As well as the strength of the Council’s COVID-19 response, its digital work and work with communities, the panel recognised the following strengths of Brent:
- 96.5% of schools are judged Good or Outstanding. 98.5% of early years settings are Good or Outstanding (100% PVI).
- No permanent exclusions at primary level in the past year
- Significant educational improvements achieved for boys of Black Caribbean Heritage. The 18/19 data shows at the end of Key Stage 2 there has been a 70% fall in the size of the gap.
- The Ofsted inspection judgements for Brent evidencing effective work making a positive impact for Brent children and young people. Across ILACS, SEND and YOS inspections and visits, all areas of the Council are judged at least Good (with some Outstanding elements) by Ofsted/HMIP. In the Special Education Needs and Disabilities Ofsted CQC Re-visit May 2019 Ofsted stated “Local leaders have fully embraced the spirit of the SEND reforms and worked together in partnership to make a positive difference to the lives of children and young people with SEND in Brent.”
We are a learning organisation, where children are paramount. The Children’s Services Leadership Team in Brent has extensive experience and the team provides an ideal environment to grow and develop as a leader of children’s services. The Strategic Director Children and Young People is the chair of the national Association of Directors of Children’s Services Educational Achievement committee, is the lead DCS for the Association of London Director of Children’s Services for Education and Schools and provides strong leadership and opportunities for team members.
We work collaboratively across the Children and Young People department and work in partnership through Brent’s multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, the Children’s Trust, the Strategic School Effectiveness Board, Brent Youth Parliament and our children in care council Care in Action.
Across the Brent Children and Young People department we work together to:
- Break down the cultural and structural divisions between service areas in the interest of improving outcomes for children and young people
- Deliver evidence based services and foster innovation and creativity
- Look ahead to identify and plan for future changes and pursue continuous improvement.
As part of looking ahead to identify and plan for future change to pursue continuous improvement, we have been reflecting on the impact of Covid 19, and as a result, we have agreed the following priorities with our partners:
- Leading with our schools on wellbeing and education recovery for our children and young people
- Maintaining focus on supporting priority groups to achieve
- Ensuring that children and families have access to appropriate, inclusive local education and support
- Delivering a multi-agency response for our most vulnerable adolescents
- Developing a Youth Strategy with the voluntary and community sector to promote positive opportunities for young people
By working together we can all help Build a Better Brent, making a real difference for those who need us most.