ARC, in partnership with the Restorative Justice Council, have launched the Engaging Our Children document. This has been developed alongside the national TIAAS Roundtable group, which is made up of over 30 different organisations. The document calls for a connected approach across Education, Health, Social Care and Criminal Justice, placing the individual young person at the centre. This has been developed to not only challenge the ‘system’ at a national level - across our central Government, but also how, at a local level, work can be focussed and connected to help minimise gaps, reduce duplication, enhance understanding, resulting in a more effective and coherent offer for our young people. The document can be found here and we ask all ARC members to share widely with colleagues and across their networks.
This month I have been pleased to be part of two examples of connected approaches. In Leicestershire, at the event hosted by Limehurst Academy, the Virtual School are working with Health, Social Care and VRN partners to help educational settings and key professionals to develop relational approaches for the benefit of their children, young people, community and staff. In a similar vein, the London VRU continue to develop their Inclusion Charter implementation alongside Virtual Schools, ARC, Health and other partners. Both illustrate how connected relational approaches are being nurtured. I would welcome all examples of this good practice, so this can feature in future ARC newsletters.
This month has been extremely busy in terms of conferences. The National Association of Virtual School Head Teachers (NAVSH) held their annual conference at Aintree racecourse. In addition to ARC exhibiting there, ARC were present in delivering the ‘Include Me – I Want To Belong, Developing A Cultural Entitlement For All Young People, alongside the Virtual Schools across the Midlands, The Mighty Creatives and the Arts Council. This work is being supported by a key document which will be released next month. This was followed by the annual conference for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) again in Liverpool. Again, the cultural entitlement workshop was presented, with further opportunities to be part of presentations and discussions with the Secretary of State for Education, His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills (HMCI) and Professor Becky Francis. Finally, I was delighted to meet school practitioners and leaders at the Wolverhampton Trauma Informed conference. The delegates benefitted greatly from presentations by Dr Lisa Cherry and Andy & Matt Smith (Smashlife).
The extension of the entry date for nominations for the regional ARC Timpson Awards is helping more schools to raise their awareness of these prestigious awards. Please ensure that all settings you are linked with are nominated.
The initial line-up information of the ARC Annual Conference 2025 – Relational Approaches, Inclusion and Belonging – Myth, Neccesity or Achievable Reality – is launched with this months newsletter. This will be added to as we move into the summer term. Similarly, the two regional events have announced their initial presenters. Furthermore, ARC are partnering Red Kite Connect for a Trauma and Attachment Learning Forum (here) in Harrogate on 4th June 2025.
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